Katherine Itacy
The following post is reprinted with Katherine Itacy’s permission from her website katherineitacy.com.
That’s right, my friends—after a brief hiatus from recording myself speak, I’m very happy to announce that I’ve launched a brand-new podcast, which I’ve decided to call “The Phunky Diabetic Podcast” after the legendary Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest.
Some of you will remember that my BFF/Person/Plus One/soulmate Nikki and I had the podcast “Hammer Time With Nikki and Kate” going for a hot minute. For anyone who’s interested in hearing those hilarious episodes, you can find them on Apple Podcasts here.
We had a great time recording the episodes, but unfortunately, it was taking up way too much of Nikki’s nonexistent “free time,” especially since she was busy raising toddlers at the time.
After Nikki stepped away, I recorded a few more episodes on my own, but it just wasn’t the same. Except for one episode when I interviewed the über talented Angie Bonin of Angelina Rose Photography about women in business, it was just me talking into a microphone.
The reason I love podcasts is that you can listen to two or more people discussing various topics, with each person contributing their own unique viewpoint. What I was doing was essentially narrating a blog post. How boring is that?
I had no desire to pump out boring content for content’s sake, so I decided to stop podcasting altogether.
Besides, I was busy enough in 2019 just dealing with all my new (and old) health problems. What little time and energy I had each day to focus was spent editing my soon-to-be-released memoir, Relentless: From National Champion to Physically Disabled Activist.
But now that my book is being formatted for publication and I’ve had even more time on my hands while recovering from COVID-19, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’d like to spend my time and energy going forward.
A big part of my former identity revolved around my advocacy efforts. I was on state and national boards of directors, I testified at the Rhode Island State House on various crime and crime-related bills, I spoke on public access programs, etc. I was fighting for change on an almost daily basis, and it felt good.
But I can’t do that anymore—at least, not to that extent and not in those ways.
I’ve had to rethink how I can contribute to activism and advocacy going forward, and it’s something I’ll continue to reenvision in the coming months and years.
What I realized is that I could create a new podcast, this time focusing on the lives and experiences of other diabetics. I could interview guests and discuss important things like access to healthcare in America, diabetic healthcare in other countries, diabulimia and other eating disorders, the shame and secrecy that stems from neglecting your diabetes or being unable to sufficiently control it, sex and dating while diabetic, what happens when you prioritize your career over your health, the amazing feats diabetics have accomplished, and so much more.
So that’s what I’m doing!
In the coming months, I hope to be interviewing some pretty impressive people on the highs and lows (small pun intended) they’ve experienced while coping with this disease.
(While I’m busy creating more content for the podcast, you might want to check out these three short video clips I recorded for Bowhead Health regarding my experience contracting and recovering from COVID-19.)
You can check out the first episode of the podcast, which is entitled “COVID-19 and Me,” by clicking here. In it, I explain why I decided to create the podcast, why I spell funky with a “ph-,” and what I envision for future episodes. I also share my experience with contracting COVID-19, and explain why the virus can be a lot more dangerous to a diabetic’s health.
Soon, you’ll have the option to stream and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and Google Play, but in the meantime, by subscribing to phunkydiabeticpodcast.com, you’ll be able to stay up to date on what’s going on with the podcast and be notified when new episodes are posted.
Of course, you don’t need to have diabetes to get something out of the episodes. Besides the fact that you probably have a co-worker, family member, or friend who at least has type 2 or even had gestational diabetes while pregnant, each episode will touch on issues we all can relate to. Especially nowadays, aren’t we all just trying to do what we can to stay healthy?
Anyway, please stay tuned and enjoy!