Podcast Spotlight: #ElderWisdom | Stories From The Green Bench Podcast

Podcasts aren’t just for under-40’s! Welcome to #ElderWisdom, where co-hosts Erin Davis and Lloyd Hetherington explore love, life, tragedy, friendship, and so much more. Davis and Hetherington invite their guests to take a seat on the virtual green bench, which represents rest, reflection, and a place to offer advice. Each biweekly episode is inspiring and leaves listeners with solid nuggets of wisdom from older adults. The hosts cover ageism, Alzheimer’s, grief, and volunteering. 

Davis and Hetherington have backgrounds as authors and nonprofit workers, and are able to speak clearly to a life well lived and loved. This podcast is recommended for listeners of all ages! For younger audiences, it is extremely comforting. Episodes feel like sitting in your grandparents’ home next to the fire, hearing stories from their past. For older audiences, you can find solace in each interview. Baby Boomers are the largest living adult generation, and #ElderWisdom is a perfect example of their representation.

We were fortunate to talk with Davis and Hetherington about the podcast, how they differentiate from other podcasts, and their future plans in podcasting. See below for our full Q&A.

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DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?

DAVIS: When I stepped away from conventional broadcasting after a 30+ year career of hosting major market morning radio, I was searching for new and gentler opportunities that were a good fit for the messages of positivity, hope and joy that I wanted to help spread and that direct my life. #ElderWisdom combined those elements with my “tell me a story” mantra – so this was a perfect fit.

HETHERINGTON: I always love to try new things so I said yes when an invitation was extended to me at The Village of Riverside Glen retirement home.

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DISCOVER PODS: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to #ElderWisdom | Stories From The Green Bench Podcast?

DAVIS: There are so many people who have lived, and are living full lives: experiences that should be shared, perspectives that need light shone upon them. In #ElderWisdom our listener gets to sit with a new friend, learn from his or her hardships and adventures, and connect with people at a time when we are all craving closeness with others.

HETHERINGTON: Everyone should listen to the Stories from the Green Bench! For the older audience it affirms that they too have shared experiences and encourage them to share their stories. For the younger listeners it helps to bring about a healthy respect for the elderly. It is hard to believe that the elderly souls you see sitting in the retirement residences have travelled the world, overcome adversities, lived through tragedies and yet are calm and at peace.

DISCOVER PODS: What kind of feedback have you heard from your listeners?

DAVIS: It’s been astounding: not only the number of downloads since we began, but the messages from people who are grateful to have met our guests and have appreciated their lessons and laughs, humanity and wisdom – all gifts to every one of us associated with #ElderWisdom whether a participant or recipient.

HETHERINGTON: The feedback both electronically and from friendly encounters is very positive. Often the individual relates to a specific incident shared in the podcast.

DISCOVER PODS: Describe your recording set up? What equipment are you using?

DAVIS: Our home had a wine room which we converted – through professional-grade sound insulation – into a recording studio. In previous homes, we’ve done the same with a walk-in closet; this is much more comfortable! My microphone is Blue Yeti Pro, we record into and edit on Audacity, full-function software program on our Mac devices and have had great success in doing so, both in quantity and quality of productions.

HETHERINGTON: The set up is very basic. With the use of a high quality microphone, a laptop and the internet we are able to transform a room in the retirement residence into a sound studio for the recordings.

DISCOVER PODS: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster?

DAVIS: Fortunately, we have an amazing team working together on this podcast, so the challenges are few. But here’s the main one: as Bob Seger sang in “Against the Wind” it’s “what to leave in – what to leave out”. Our guests sometimes talk for an hour (for what will be a half-hour podcast) which makes choosing what will make it to our listeners’ ears and hearts a difficult decision.

HETHERINGTON: The biggest challenge we face is to value and respect the individuals being interviewed while making their stories relevant to the listeners.

DISCOVER PODS: Where do you want to take your podcast?

DAVIS: Our aim, and I speak for my producer/partner/husband Rob and me, not for Memory Tree or Schlegel Villages of course, is to continue to rise in the podcast rankings (at one point this year we were #7 on Relationships podcasts in the Apple tally) so that as many people as possible can meet our guests and my delightful co-host and share in their stories and experiences.

HETHERINGTON: It is our hope to extend the listening audience both chronologically and geographically since I believe we have a relevant message for this present age. I am really looking forward to meeting many new guests and hearing their stories and of course the regular conversations with the lovely Erin Davis.

DISCOVER PODS: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

DAVIS: I listen intently to the Real Time podcast for the Canadian Real Estate Association as my husband and I produce this as well, and I am host. It’s not as narcissistic as it may sound; I am always trying to pick up on ways to improve whatever we are working on for the next one. I have another podcast coming out this spring too, so more work/listening on the way. But on dog walks I love to hear Keith Morrison telling me a Dateline story. True crime is my escape, but I don’t walk Rosie in the dark!

HETHERINGTON: My listening is very limited.  I enjoy the podcasts prepared by my church and love to sit in on Zoom Broadcasts by my former college, Guelph Story Telling Guild and Everbrite Connecting Circles.  I do enjoy sitting with the others living in the retirement home to listen to our #ElderWisdom podcast as a group when the episodes are released.

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DISCOVER PODS: Anything else you’d like to add?

DAVIS: Just what a joy it is to find this new chapter in my professional life. When I left radio in late 2016 I didn’t know what path I would take; there was writing (the HarperCollinsCA 2019 bestseller Mourning Has Broken: Love, Loss and Reclaiming Joy) and a book tour, freelance audio books and other varied voice work. But to be able to share the microphone with Lloyd Hetherington and bring seniors’ experiences to a wide audience is truly a lovely new chapter in our lives!

HETHERINGTON: There is a great future in Podcasts.  They are the Speakers Corners of today.  They allow for an expression of diverse opinions to diverse audiences.