Tag: favorite

Behind the Microcast:

Tell us about your accounts. You have a few usernames, don’t you?
Yes! I am known as Violaceous Curiosity and Mental Musings on the site now. Funny enough, Mental Musings started out as Snarky Side Dish by Sandrine, went to Babbling Old Bat and has now settled on the latest incarnation

What do your family and friends know you as?
Everyone knows me as Kayla.

Care to tell us where are you from?
Proudly from Monroe, LA.

Do you have any occupations outside of the microcasting world?
I keep myself busy. I see myself as a sociologist and activist, first and foremost. Then there is being a content creator for YKYZ…and a few other things.

How did you get into microcasting?
I started on YKYZ as a content creator, and when we got the opportunity to start microcasting I jumped on it.

Can you tell us a little bit about what your microcast is about?
Violaceous Curiosity is about fighting injustice from the perspective of intersectional feminism, which is the view that all people are equal regardless of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, class, etc. Mental Musings is my space to speak my mind more like a verbal journal, talking about daily life, random topics that may irk me, and pointing out the ridiculousness of humanity…all with a bit of sass.

What lead you to pick that topic?
As a sociologist and activist, the general topic for Violaceous Curiosity was an obvious choice since it is what I do on a daily basis and have been working on for many years. The other microcast has been an evolution of sorts.

Do you have a favorite thing about microcasting?
The platform on YKYZ allows people to really interact, and you don’t get that with regular podcasts, which takes this to another level. Much of what I am working on centers on starting a conversation and generating ideas, and with YKYZ I am able to do that.

What about a creative process? Do you have one?
I approach the process in more of an academic way with VC since it’s more fact-based, but I always try to find a good quote at the beginning to grab listeners’ attention. With MM I just let my hair down and let it flow.

Do you write scripts?
I have never scripted any episode. I gather my information and my quote, plan an overall idea in my head and let it happen naturally. If I script it I feel it will sound like I am presenting a research paper.

What type of recording equipment do you use?
I use a Samson Q2U microphone that was a lovely birthday gift from a friend.

If you could interview anyone for your microcast, who would it be and why?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg…hands down. She was only the second female Supreme Court Justice, overcame insurmountable odds to get there, and has fought for equality across the board for decades. RBG is fearless, and before Covid-19 hit, I had an appointment to get her initials tattooed behind my left ear.

If you could switch lives with another microcasters on ykyz for just one day, who would you pick and why?
ThatOneGirl– Teresa. She and I are the OGs of the site, so we’ve known each other longer than anyone on there. Plus, I would get to play with her dogs, her cat, AND her chinchillas! Bonus for her and my Dad would be them getting to spend the day together since they are BFFs on the site.

So it’s clear you like animals. Do you have any of your own?
I have 1 semi-inside Tortishelle cat named Southpaw and one full-time outside golden Tabby named Hamilton Jr. After Dad’s back is better we are adopting dogs again.

Let’s talk food. What’s your favorite thing to eat?
This is going to sound really sad, but I really am bored of eating. If I could take a pill every day for my nutrients and be done with it I would. That sounds like I have an eating disorder, which I don’t, but I just am not excited by food anymore.

Can you pick just one color as a favorite?
Purple clearly. I mean I am VIOLACEOUS Curiosity after all. Black and grey are my other favorites.

What are you hiding from everyone? Care to spill your hidden talents?
That I will admit here? Hahaha Well, I was an opera singer at quite a young age, and I have some nerdy talents, like being able to write grammatically correct sentences that are a page long or more and having an unusually exceptional long-term memory (My college communications professor had me tested). Other than those I am quite a medical oddity, and if anyone is curious they should feel free to ask me about it.

What kind of music would people catch you listing to?
Having spent so many years singing opera I now love the male operatic roles, classical, classic rock and folk, and some indie like early Tori Amos.

Do you have a favorite movie or show?
Dead Poets Society and Philadelphia are my favorite movies.

And the last one, What are some of your plans for the future?
I have my sights set on a few things, and continuing to help build YKYZ is a top priority. The past year or so has been a rebuilding process for me since I lost my mother, left the world of academia behind, found solutions to health issues, and discovered how YKYZ and what I want to do with my life work so well together, so I’m honestly just looking forward to working on all of that, getting even healthier, helping my father get healthier, getting more tattoos, and still not having kids…always not having kids. One day down the road I’m determined to have a non-profit in honor of my mother that helps people of any gender with issues of partner and sexual abuse/assault/harassment…but that’s one day.

Behind the Microcast:


We will start with some easy ones, what is your ykyz username?
My main ykyz username is DoctorIrish. However, I also have a second one that I do reviews on and it’s called ImperfectReviews.

What do people call you in your everyday life?
In my everyday life, my friends and family call me Noah.

Where are you from?
I am originally from Ireland!

What occupation do you have outside of the microcasting world?
Outside of the microcasting world, I am a Doctor.

What got you into microcastings?
While looking up information on “microsatellite” I came across the phrase “microcast”, some further investigation led me to ykyz. I saw the website was pretty new and interesting and the idea of starting a microcast about health topics, stuff a Doctor could answer seemed really appealing to me. Eventually, I got offered a contract and that motivated me to keep on doing it. Now I find it a fun side hobby and a challenge to condense all these complex health information topics into 90 seconds or less.

What is your microcast about?
I always use the phrase “anything a Doctor could answer” because it’s more than just Health and wellness. We’re taught to address every aspect of the patient, including their lives. So, I make my microcast broad and try to talk about lots of different things, not just disease and health, but things like medicine, mental health, medicine and sociology or medicine and anthropology. The possibilities are endless.

What led you to pick the topic you did?
It’s the field in my life I specialize in, that I trained in for so many years. I have a passion for it and I want to keep growing. If I learn to condense information into 90 seconds or less of course that can be helpful also. I think this topic will help me grow as a Doctor and as a person. I’ve also always had a passion for helping people learn. If someone takes information that’s relevant to them from my microcast, then I feel very humbled and happy.

What would you say your favorite thing about microcasting is?
Tough question! There’s a lot to enjoy actually. Challenging myself to fit a topic into 90 seconds is always a satisfying outcome after creating the microcast. Microcasting has taught me a lot, like how to use recording programs, how to be more articulate and speak more confidently. It’s another way to express creativity because I can choose music, the intro, content delivery style and so much more.  However, my absolute favorite thing about microcasting is engaging with my community on ykyz. I’m always happy to hear from people that bleat back regarding a microcast I put up. It’s exciting and so humbling that someone would take the time to listen.

Do you have a creative process you use when making a microcast episode?
I do have a formula I follow. First, I keep in mind questions that people have asked me in real life and of course suggestions I receive on Discord and Twitter and other social media. During my day I write on a bunch of post-it notes, ideas for episodes that occur to me also, and they do come up randomly! I ask myself questions a lot. Then, I write a script with bullet points, stick to them and from experience I know how much writing is going to translate into a 90-second microcast. Next comes choosing how I will deliver the information, what kind of intro is catchy and a title that both stands out and is informative.

Do you write scripts for your microcast episodes?
90% of my microcasts are scripted. I write bullet points that help guide me to the next point and in between points although I often improvise. The script is a kind of a template for the topic.

What type of recording equipment do you use?
I use a Blue Snowball Microphone with a pop filter and Audacity is the program that I use to record my microcasts and edit them.

If you could interview anyone for your microcast, who would it be and why?
Really tough question, there are a lot of people I would love to interview, so many actors and actresses definitely because there is definitely a lot to learn about the way they see health, their role in health as a role model, just the topics are endless… I’ll put a pin in that question for now! For now, realistically I would love to interview anyone else that has a passion for health.

If you could switch loves with another microcaster on ykyz for just one day, who would you pick and why?
I have mulled this question over and there are so many. I really enjoyed switching places with AlbaoftheCultureMix and talking about Ireland. I would love to talk about other cultures as I have lived all around the world. For now, I would have to say NerdyOldGuy because I too have a passion for gaming and the idea of being immersed in the industry of gaming, getting to write about it, microcast and get excited about new projects sounds amazing.

Do you have any pets?
Just the one, pet rabbit!

What’s your favorite food or type of food?
Nothing beats a homemade cheeseburger. Maybe a chicken tikka masala with warm naan comes close though.

How about a favorite color?
Black looks good on everything!

Can you share any hidden talents with us all?
I studied music and art for years before I knew what I wanted to do. I play guitar, bass, and even the double bass! I would love to pick up another stringed instrument. As well as that, I can speak French and Irish (maybe not as fluently as in the past).

What type of music do you like listening to?
When I was younger I would have said Nirvana, Dream Theater or Led Zeppelin. But now, after studying music, my appreciation for music in virtually all its forms has made it really impossible for me to pick any one song or band. Nevermind, I pick Led Zeppelin lol.

What are some of your favorite movies or shows?
I watch the same dumb shows over and over again. I’ve watched The Office at least 15 times. I watch Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Parks and Rec, Scrubs, Father Ted and Better Call Saul on repeat too.

Lastly, what are some future plans you have that you wouldn’t mind sharing?
To keep growing the microcast, work on improving the quality and the number of episodes and topics and of course reach out to more potential listeners. I want to help grow ykyz and become more involved in it and be there to see it when it inevitably succeeds! For my professional career, I want to enter into a subspeciality of medicine and help more people.