We spoke with Allison Gill, host of The Daily Beans, a women-owned and operated progressive news podcast for your morning commute brought to you by the webby award-winning hosts of Mueller, She Wrote.

MK - What do you hope listeners take away from your podcast episodes, and how do you believe your content contributes to the broader conversation on the topics you discuss?

AG - I hope listeners take away facts presented in a way that isn't intended to make them angry or fearful. So much of the media relies on evoking negative emotions to keep an audience engaged in an effort to increase advertising revenue. I started my own network because the bottom line is not my main focus, and I want to engage listeners with facts delivered from relatable sources through a lens of lived experience. Additionally, I tend to operate outside the realm of 3-minute sound bites. Our interviews go in depth, and result from an active conversation relying on listening as much as speaking - as opposed to a list of questions intended to generate viral moments. I believe there's a hunger for that kind of genuine interaction, and I don't like to rely on the idea that someone delivering the news is talking "at" the listener more than talking "with" them. 

MK - Can you share a particularly memorable moment or episode from your podcast that resonated with you or your audience?

AG - More generally, people are really into stories about student debt forgiveness, punctuated by stories of actual debt relief sent in by listeners and the profound impact it's having on their lives. Also generally, we get a lot of feedback about how our news helps people feel more confident when they talk about politics with their friends and family, and that the relatability really helps keep folks sane in these unprecedented times. More specifically, there was a moment in a recent show where the co-host and I did our routine countdown and clap to synchronize our audio files. The sync isn't something that's included in the finished product, but one of us for some reason clapped early, which sent us both into hysterical laughter. It was so funny, we left that moment in, and I think that fallibility and laughter really resonated with everyone - we got tons of messages thanking us for leaving that blooper in the final edit. On a more serious note, there was an intense response to our recent episode covering the death of Nex Benedict - the non-binary student in Oklahoma who died a day after being attacked and beaten up at school. We had to hand that story off to each other a few times because we were overwhelmed with emotion and often unable to continue. People appreciated that we weren't afraid to show that vulnerability - nor would we want to be robotic when delivering that kind of horrible and tragic news. 

MK - How do you stay informed and up to date on the latest developments and trends related to the subjects you cover in your podcast?

AG - I'm steeped in the news 24/7, and I like to pay attention to what people are interested in as opposed to what the legacy media tries to tell us we should be interested in. Mostly, I spend a lot of time reading court filings and judge's orders, then developing stories from those. After delivering the news in an interactive manner for so long, you get a taste for the kinds of news stories people want to hear about. So I watch social media for trends, I keep an eye on the news wire for headlines I think will resonate with people, and I'm constantly refreshing PACER - the court docket website - to write my shows. And, of course, I look for moments of humor and humanity that I think we can all get behind. 

MK - We’re excited for your event at the (6/16) City Winery in Boston, Massachusetts. Can you share with us what fans can expect from the live show? 

AG - One of the best live shows I've ever hosted was in Boston in 2019, and this will be my first trip back since the pandemic. Boston remains one of my favorite cities. I'm looking forward to a show that we're all part of. There will be special guests TBA, a Meet and Greet ahead of the show, and an interactive Q&A with the audience from the stage. There will be humor and swearing, and of course, our trademark good news. And maybe some Dropkick Murphys. 

Reserve tickets
City Winery Boston presents The Daily Beans Live! News. With Swearing. With Allison Gill of Mueller She Wrote on June 16th at 7pm.