to those listeners. The radio version of This Old Tree has already been
picked up by its first station, Classical 95.9 WCRI in Rhode Island, and
Doug would like to see wide radio distribution of the show. As of this
writing, the podcast is downloaded by folks in more than 30 countries.
The podcasts that inspired Doug were numerous. "First I think of
Ologies, with Alie Ward," he says. "The host is very engaging and tal-
ented at asking the right questions of guest experts; she takes you
along as if in a conversation with friends. Another podcast I strive
to emulate is SideDoor, from the Smithsonian. It uses very sharp
editing and well-paced storytelling to dive into historical events and
dramas and bring them alive. I listen to a handful of other podcasts
as well, such as The Ancients because I'm an ancient history buff,
and the Art of Consulting for professional skills. There are others."
Doug produces the podcast and says that creating his setup was time
consuming but not hard; he read books, watched YouTube videos,
and enjoyed the process of figuring things out, one step at a time. He
bought a good mic, learned how to use the sound editing software
GarageBand, and found out how to upload the podcast to various direc-
tories, like Apple and Spotify. Doug's podcast platform is Buzzsprout
($12/month), which offers an automated service called magic mas-
tering, which equalizes sound levels and filters out background noise.
The Tree of Hope was an American elm (Ulmus americana) planted in the center median near the famed Lafayette
Theater in Harlem. During the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s, it was considered a good luck charm to Black
performers looking to make the big time. Horticulturist, garden historian, writer, and storyteller Abra Lee joined Doug in
this episode to tell the story of the Tree of Hope's rise to fame, its demise, and its enduring legacy. Tree of Hope photo in
the public domain; Abra Lee photo from Oregon State University by Carlos Alejandro Photography, CC BY-SA 2.0.
"I want listeners
to feel like
they're coming
along, making
discoveries
with me."
28 CityTREES
