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Since 1952, WGTE has been educating generations of learners. What started as French lessons in a local Toledo classroom has continued to evolve into engaging programming for the whole family. Through television, radio and community outreach, WGTE speaks to those who are eager to learn – enriching lives and improving the Northwest Ohio/Southern Michigan area.
WGTE believes that everyone has a story to tell. Its recent Voices Around Us podcast project helps to amplify those voices and share diverse stories and backgrounds throughout the community. Voices Around Us is supported in part by The City of Toledo, the Lucas County Commissioners and The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo.
Currently, nine different podcasts within the project cover an array of topics from social issues and health to arts and agriculture. However, the series will continue to grow and expand as new ideas are submitted.
One podcast in the series, Soul of the Glass City, highlights what makes Northwest Ohio so great. Host Monique Ward takes listeners on a deep dive into the lives, businesses and experiences of the local individuals inspiring the soul of Toledo each day.
Another podcast within the Voices Around Us project, Lake Effect, takes on a different local perspective through the Great Lakes, more specifically Lake Erie. Host James Proffitt highlights the local love of Lake Erie through scientists, captains, farmers, historians and others.
On the arts side, Proud to be Of Rust and Glass with Curtis Deeter emphasizes the journey of making art in the Midwest. Whether it be with a novel, a painting or another medium, Deeter aims to show a more human side to the creative process, uplifting local creatives and inviting guests to share their stories.
In more of a medical sense, Dr. Rajiv Parinja, a local psychiatrist with Mercy Health, takes listeners on a deep dive into the brain, one neural system at a time, through Brain Politics. Using the program he developed called “ENaBLe ME” (Evolution and Neuroscience Based Learning and Mindfulness Exercises), Dr. Parinja, helps people understand how their brains work through his podcast.
Another podcast on the series, Farmworker Chronicles, seeks to bring light to the local agriculture workers helping to bring food to our tables every day. Hosts Gwen Short and Wendy Aviña explore how these laborers got into the industry, sharing their stories and highlighting the dangers of working in agriculture.
The Mental Gains Podcast sheds light on what it’s like living with a persistent mental illness in Northwest Ohio. Hosts Verna Mullins and Matt Russell both come from career backgrounds in mental health advocacy and are utilizing this to help listeners to understand and navigate mental health diagnoses and recovery.
Telling It Our Way, another podcast in the series hosted by Ally Day and Becca Monteleone, presents stories from local individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, covering topics from work life to romantic relationships and everything in between. Both hosts are University of Toledo professors, using their knowledge and experience to help share these complex stories.
Another podcast sharing complex stories is Women and What We-Do. Hosts Mary Brucker and Sierra Ortiz take an intersectional feminist approach to sharing the accomplishments of area women while serving as guides and mentors to other women watching.
Similarly, Women Got Game is highlighting women and their impact. Host Sophia Fisher, a licensed sports agent explores the experience of women in sports throughout Northwest Ohio. Fisher aims to illuminate the journey of female athletes, coaches and sports enthusiasts and these women’s impact on the sports world as a whole.
To listen to any of these podcasts within the Voices Around Us project, visit wgte.org or check them out any place you get your podcasts. Are you interested in joining the podcast? Visit wgte.org/about/voices-around-us to submit your idea today.
