Elevated Convo – A New Podcast Series

When I was at the Association for Baha’i Studies conference in Calgary, Canada, I met a guy named Mateen, who asked if I had any insights I could share from my experience producing the Baha’i Blogcast with Rainn Wilson . Mateen, and a friend named Jason, wanted to create a podcast to help foster elevated conversations and to explore various topics related to the Baha’i Teachings and world’s major religions. And I’m excited to share that Mateen and Jason have successfully created an awesome podcast called Elevated Convo ! We’ve since become good friends. It’s been so encouraging to me to see two guys, with very little experience in the podcast world, actually dive headfirst into it, and produce a wonderful podcast! I decided to chat with Mateen and Jason about the Elevated Convo podcast, so I could share what it’s all about: Can you tell us a little bit about the podcast series and who it’s for? Mateen Our podcast explores listener-submitted questions through a spiritual lens. Someone writes in and asks a question about something they’d like a spiritual perspective on, and then we pull quotes from various religions around that topic. For instance, in our first episode a friend wrote in and asked “I just moved to a big city and I’m trying to make friends, but I notice all the friend groups I’m exploring are gossiping about each other. What should I do?” We then go and find religious quotes around the topic of gossiping/backbiting, and break down each of the quotes and offer some practical advice based on these spiritual teachings. We both grew up in the Bahaʼi Faith so our perspective and quotes we share are largely guided by the Faith, but we make sure to include quotes from other religions as well (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc…) to make sure everyone feels welcome on the podcast, and to demonstrate that all religions have the same fundamental truths. The idea is to make these fundamental spiritual truths accessible to a modern audience and demonstrate how to apply them in everyday life. As far as who the show is for, we hope it’s helpful for people that are spiritually curious and want an approachable and practical way to explore the teachings of the Bahaʼi Faith and other religions. We also hope the show is helpful for Bahaʼis as well, as it can inspire conversations with friends that are curious about the Faith and offer an easy way to explore the Bahaʼi teachings further. For instance, if the topic of gossiping, materialism, prayer, detachment, etc. comes up in a conversation, you could say “oh, I just listened to a podcast about that topic, let me send it to you!” Can you tell us why you decided to start the podcast series? Jason We started this podcast because we wanted to make these fundamental universal religious teachings more accessible and shareable. I think it’s easy for us to think that the problems we deal with today are new or unique in some way, but many would be surprised how applicable religious texts are to everyday questions, and these religious texts are hundreds and thousands of years old! What are some of the things you’ve learned over the course of making this happen? Mateen We’ve learned it’s important to meet people where they’re at, not only in terms of messaging but in terms of platform. We’ve had the most success with taking short bite sized clips from our show and posting them on social media, as that’s where so many spend their time nowadays. How do you hope the podcast will affect its listeners? Jason We hope our podcast provides our listeners with a chance to reflect on bigger picture questions in life, as we’ve heard from many listeners that they don’t always have a place to have elevated conversations. Reading our comments and seeing people respond positively to what we’ve shared so far has been so rewarding. Do you have any suggestions for others who have been thinking of starting their own podcast? Mateen We think it’s so important to share your message online! Both of us organize Bahaʼi events in Los Angeles, and typically a good turnout would be 20 people, and 50 would be incredible. Now with our podcast across all platforms we get thousands of views via Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok, etc. every single week. It’s crazy to think that we’re sharing our message even while we’re asleep! We would absolutely encourage anyone who’s looking to get into this space, and we’d love to offer advice and assist however we can. It is really not that difficult with all the technology now out there. Just DM us on social media and we’d love to help you out get your own show started! Is there anything else you’d like to share? Jason We’re so grateful to all the support from the community we’ve already received. And to those wondering how best to support us: the single best thing you can do is share the show with others! Whether sharing a full episode or just a clip on social media, posting in a group chat or sending to a friend is a fantastic way to support the show. We had a clip on instagram reach 100,000 views, and the only way it happened is by people reposting and sharing it with others. Where can people find the podcast? Mateen You can find us anywhere you get your podcasts! On YouTube , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or on any other platform, simply search “Elevated Convo.” We also share shorter clips of the podcast on Instagram , Tiktok and Facebook . You can find us by searching @ElevatedConvoPod. Give us a follow! Thank you so much, Mateen and Jason, and congratulations again on creating such an interesting and enjoyable podcast!