Inclusion In Podcasts
Tags: discuss, healthydebate, inclusion
Published: 2018-12-17 21:02:08

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title: Inclusion In Podcasts
published: true
description: 
tags: discuss, healthydebate, inclusion
cover_image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1537103699434-e0628dda4bc8?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1050&q=80
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So this is a potentially sticky subject, but I wanted to discuss it. I'm going to frame it around the .NET Core podcast that I produce

_I'll only link to it once, and here it is: [The .NET Core Podcast](https://dotnetcore.show/)_

but I think that it can relate to any kind of content that we, as a community, produce:

- Blogs
- Videos
- Podcasts

We happen to live in an incredibly exciting era. Anyone can create a blog, podcast, YouTube/Mixer/Twitch series at the push of a button, and have their opinions heard by anyone who wants to tune in. 

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Looking at the wide variety of shows in the podcasting space, there are a _lot_ of shows that are about including folks in the tech space. There are shows about and by:

- women in tech
- the African-American experience in tech
- the LGBTQ+ experience in tech

and that's just naming a small sub-section of the shows which cover the tech space.

This is a fantastic thing, and we need more of them. I love to hear about technology, and the experiences of the folks who use it on a daily basis. And if that person's background, experience or view point is different to mine, then so much the better.

_because my opinions will be informed by my own background, and seeing something from someone else's point of view will **always** be educational_

One of the things that I've been thinking about with regards to the podcasts that I help to create is whether the guest list and view points presented are inclusive or diverse enough.

Take my .NET Core podcast for instance. At the time of writing this post, I've released 15 episodes and just under half of those have been interviews. In these episodes, I'm asking folks that I either know or have been introduced to, about their thoughts and opinions on .NET Core and the related technologies. The problem is

_and I'm worried that it most definitely is a problem_

that all of the guests so far have been caucasian and identify as male (him/his).

Looking at the old adage:

> If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem

has me worried. I know that the show has only had 15 episodes, and I'm hardly going to change the world with this particular show. But what else can I be doing to make it more inclusive?

And to that end, how can we all make other shows or areas of the tech space more inclusive?

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The obvious answer 

_at least to me_

seems to be that we should be reaching out to folks outside of our own experience, background, gender, or ethnicity

_or anything else that you can think of_

and asking for advice from the folks we find in those areas. As my friend Keheira once said:

> You can be certain that I'm going to be turning around and helping the person behind me climb that ladder

_that's not a direct quote (mainly because I'm an idiot and couldn't remember it exactly), but I think it gets the point across_

But is just blindly reaching out to folks the right way to go about it? For my own show, I've thought about throwing a tweet out saying something like:

> I'm interested in talking to folks from the #dotnetcore community, regardless of their background or identity. If you'd like to talk Core, then please get in touch. My DMs are open to any and all.

But is that enough? Should we be cold approaching folks and saying, "hey I host a show/have a blog/a YouTube channel, and you should totally be on it because I want to hear what you have to say"?

_obviously not those words exactly_

Would reaching out to someone in that manner not scare them off?

I guess as long as the question is phrased such that it shows that we are interested in _that person's_ opinions, not the opinions of any group that you identify them as being part of... Then again, is that a problem?

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> If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem

Am I a little too worried about something that I shouldn't be, or am I right to be thinking that I'm not providing an easy to reach outlet for everyone to have their say?

I really want to know everyone's opinions on this. Should I be worried that the content that I produce (outside of my development stuff) might potentially only represent one particular point of view?

I'm not going to change the world, and I know that for certain, but maybe I could help change a tiny part of it. Or maybe I don't need to make that my mission.

What should we do in order to include everyone, Dev.Together?