22 Sides
22 Sides is a podcast that will let you get to know some fascinating people and keep up with many things that are happening in and around the Houston area.
22 Sides
Welcome to 22 Sides - Talk Is Cheap, But Ours Is Worth Your Time
What happens when two friends decide to capture the complexity of America's most diverse city through unfiltered conversation? Welcome to 22 Sides, where we've created a platform for authentic dialogue that breaks through the limitations of social media bubbles and explores the multidimensional nature of people and ideas.
We're your hosts, Robin and Alexis – a community-connected massage therapist and a 76-year-old transgender fashion enthusiast with decades of experience navigating Houston's vibrant cultural landscape. Together, we're diving into conversations that refuse to be confined to a single perspective. From local politics to corseting classes, from everyday successes to supernatural mysteries, our podcast reflects the beautiful complexity found in both our guests and our city.
Houston serves as the perfect backdrop for our explorations – a metropolis larger than some states, where tornadoes can strike one neighborhood while another remains under clear skies. We'll navigate its rich tapestry of foodie spaces, art communities, political dialogues, and the fascinating people who make this city unique. Having previously hosted The Trans Advocate podcast, we're bringing our experience back to the airwaves with a format that prioritizes face-to-face connection and unscripted authenticity.
Each episode represents a different "side" of conversation, with higher-numbered sides venturing into increasingly complex or adult-oriented territory. We don't expect agreement from our guests (or even each other), but we do insist on thoughtful dialogue. Sometimes the conversations go exactly where we expect; other times, they veer in completely unexpected directions – and those surprises often yield the most memorable insights.
Ready to explore all 22 sides of conversation with us? Find new episodes weekly at 22sides.com, where you can also access transcripts and send us your thoughts directly. Subscribe now and discover what happens when we embrace the full spectrum of human experience.
We hope you will listen often.
For more information, visit our website 22sides.com
Wonderful.
Speaker 2:Action Lights, camera action.
Speaker 1:No camera yet. No camera yet.
Speaker 2:Oh, I should turn it off, I guess. Wait, I didn't turn it on, no, big deal.
Speaker 1:Maybe it's lights stress ball action.
Speaker 2:Could be. That could certainly be. I'm Alexis, I'm here with Robin and this is the very first start of Officially 22 Sides the podcast.
Speaker 1:It's very exciting, you look excited. I am excited. We've talked about this for a couple of months and I think we've both been brainstorming about it for even longer.
Speaker 2:A couple of months. I think it's a lot longer than a couple of months, but that's okay.
Speaker 1:I'm just being nice.
Speaker 2:You're being nice, trying to make us not look like we can't get anything done.
Speaker 1:No, I think anything worth doing takes time.
Speaker 2:Right, so what do you think we're going to do? Why are we doing this whole podcast thing?
Speaker 1:We're offering a platform for the people that we know, the people that we haven't met yet, to come together and just share conversations, everything from everyday successes to failures, to highlighting one's local events, maybe even getting into conversations about mystery, fantasy, ghosts, like lots of, lots of variety of topics. Oh, and topics oh really yeah, I think it's just fun to have another talking space. Everyone has podcasts, so why shouldn't we?
Speaker 2:I like that reason. I think that's a good reason. You know, it's not like we haven't done a podcast before we have. We loved it yes, the trans advocate podcast was very successful and basically we shut it down during the pandemic because it wasn't working if we didn't have face-to-face abilities etc.
Speaker 1:It didn't really give us the same vibe.
Speaker 2:No, not at all, and so that's one of the big things that we're going to do is, as much as possible, we're going to do face-to-face, and some of the people we do know well enough where, if it's not face-to-face, it's probably going to be okay, yeah, of the people we do know well enough where.
Speaker 1:If it's not face-to-face, it's probably going to be okay. Yeah, we can zoom them in at a certain point, but, especially after the pandemic, having places to come together to share what's really going on, how do we really feel let's get out of that social media bubble? I think that this podcast platform offers a lot of potential for those things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think you know one of the big things we're in Houston. That would be in Texas.
Speaker 1:Yes, Houston Texas.
Speaker 2:In the U? S currently. I mean people keep talking about it being part of Mexico at times, but whatever.
Speaker 1:It's the most diverse city in the world, and that's what interests me is if we can get along here, just imagine what could happen.
Speaker 2:The problem is we don't necessarily get along all that well. Well, you're right, I mean there are a lot of problems. There's a lot you know lots of corruption, lots of interesting politicians, and we know an awful lot of them.
Speaker 1:It's very imperfect and we're making it, you know, together, one step at a time is what I like to say. Yeah, pretty much Through one disaster after the other, and since this dumpster fire season's not going away, let's just keep going.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and one thing about Houston is we're good at disasters.
Speaker 1:I really loved how the last mayor said we don't need any more experience, like, let's just take what we have and call it a day, right?
Speaker 2:I mean we have hurricanes pretty much every year. Some of them come close, Some of them come right through the middle of town, and Houston's also really big. I mean people don't understand we can have like tornadoes in one part of town and never even see a cloud in other parts of town.
Speaker 1:The density is bigger than some states, I would say yeah, but we have a lot to offer. We have different foodie spaces, we have different art spaces, we have a lot of political dialogue across the different platforms. So I don't think there's a topic we can't cover, which is why I want to call it 22 Sides. I don't want it to be just one sort of monologue topic. And then, you know, I really value people's time, so if they're tuning in to listen, they're going to get a little something out of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and, along the way you know, we'll give you some hints by talking about what side this is on when we started. For instance, side one is where we are right now, because side one is just talking about the podcast yeah, it's probably not the most interesting and then side two, I think, is going to be people. Okay, now, that's a totally open type situation.
Speaker 2:A lot of topics yeah, totally open topic, but we've already started interviewing people and we have some really interesting interviews already we do so we'll have those out there and people can listen to them also, and then we'll continue doing it with people and then there may be some other topics. I mean, the higher the number is for me, the more interesting the topic is and the closer to the well you know. It maybe needs an adult disclaimer.
Speaker 1:Most of ours probably need an adult disclaimer, I think almost all of them need adult disclaimers just to get it out of the way, and I think it's time for platforms to show the diverse complexities in each person. So I think, even though if we have one person here, they're going to talk about a lot of different things. They don't have to just be you know. They don't have to just be you know in the one shoot from your hips conversation that we know them to have with their professionals in their world. They can share about where they're professional. They can share about what they're dealing with as a human. They can share about some of the things that they just love to have fun with. And the more complexities we can talk about on a platform, then the more we can start enjoying about one another when we're not on podcasts and we frequently don't know where it's going to go.
Speaker 1:Well, we have no idea, which is a good thing.
Speaker 2:Like we had someone who had just gotten a position as president of an association and and I thought that's what we were going to talk about. And then we did for about a minute and a half. Then the rest of the podcast was everything else.
Speaker 1:Well, you know this as well as I do, but I want the world to keep knowing this is sometimes the things that we're good at are not the things that we want to talk about all the time Exactly. Not the thing that we want to give more of our attention to Like. Sometimes, yes, but not all the time.
Speaker 2:And also talking about things that you aren't good at sometimes is more fun than talking for everyone.
Speaker 1:Well, and there will be tender topics. There will be topics where you know people have lived real thorough, tough lives, but we need to talk about those things too. And the wonderful thing about a podcast is you can always forward it. You can skip the episode, you don't have to listen to it, right? I? I appreciate the people who will and do and who share and you know, not one thing is for everyone but if we have a lot of topics, maybe they'll find their way on this platform.
Speaker 2:So how do people get to us? You know? 22sidescom that's the easiest place. Yeah, there'll be several other ways you can get to us and from 22sidescom you can either play the podcast, you can go and look at more information, and we do intend to have transcripts.
Speaker 1:And it'll keep growing from there, so always come back to it.
Speaker 2:And it'll just go and go. We intend to do these at least weekly. Knowing us, it'll be weekly-ish.
Speaker 1:It'll be there when you get back, you know. I mean, that's all you really need to know. We're not going to oversaturate platforms, we're just going to continuously keep talking, keep showing.
Speaker 2:The other thing about it is that we will have an ability for you to send us your thoughts and it'll go directly to our podcast so that it doesn't get mixed up in the other 700 or 800 emails each day that we each get.
Speaker 1:Sure sure.
Speaker 2:I mean, my problem is I find the emails like three weeks later and it's like, oh darn, I wish I'd seen that. Yeah, this will be right to the podcast.
Speaker 1:Well, that's great. The thing about both of us is we love meeting new people, so if they have anyone that we should could would be talking to just point us in that direction.
Speaker 2:And, by the way, we don't have to agree with you. No, perfectly happy having people we don't agree with no, just have a conversation, right, yeah, but, but we might also change your mind.
Speaker 1:Hey, it's happened before. Hey, I don't know that I set out to do it much, but I I love to learn about people. That's one of the things why I like podcasts is because I feel like it is a quick approach to the community that you want to be in the conversation with, just a click away, maybe while you're cleaning, maybe while you're living your life, and that's a beautiful thing. Books have their own dimensions, you can go in, but podcasts are just different.
Speaker 2:I almost never set out to change someone's mind, but I might want to check and make sure they made it up on very good grounds, shall we? Say and that their information is accurate, Because a lot of times the things that we hear it's not accurate.
Speaker 1:Well, if we're telling tales on this podcast, it's going to be fun. There's going to be fantasy, it's going to be hot. I mean, you're going to know it's a tale. You're going to know that. I mean you're going to know it's a tail. You're going to know that. Oh, you may not know.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm not necessarily going to tell you whether it's made up or real.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:And some of the things that are absolutely, 100% real you're going to claim have to be made up.
Speaker 1:Well, that's 22 sides right there right.
Speaker 2:Yep, the whole bit, and so tell me a little bit about yourself, robin.
Speaker 1:I am currently 42 years old. I have an occupation as a massage therapist and I love being a volunteer around community events just to meet people, be around the arts, and when I'm not doing those things, I'm always getting myself into the next project or walking a dog or helping the next person out, like I. I just don't sit still for long. This is about the longest time I'll sit still.
Speaker 2:And everyone in Houston knows Robin. I'm convinced.
Speaker 1:There's not a place I can go without being in a next connection with someone I know a reunion. I call it a reunion, you know if, if we've known each other in one way or the other, we're always going to stop and have a conversation. Houston's a really big city, but it also kind of lives like a small town. There's not a lot of places you can go without being recognized.
Speaker 2:And you see the people over and over and it's southern so we have conversations.
Speaker 1:Exactly yeah.
Speaker 2:And from my end. I'm Alexis. I'm a transgender woman and I've been around for a long time.
Speaker 1:How long?
Speaker 2:So long 76 years.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay.
Speaker 2:And you know I've been out as a transgender person for most of that time, so there's a lot of experience that I have in those areas and that I'm probably going to talk about fashion a lot. It's one of my most favorite things.
Speaker 1:Let's not skip the favorite things.
Speaker 2:And you know, we're probably going to do a corseting class somewhere in here because people keep asking me. I've done those before. Yes, and I love corsets and there's a lot of things you can do to make them more comfortable.
Speaker 1:And it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter the gender you are.
Speaker 2:Oh, gender, what is that? I've always been confused about that. Sure, sure, sure, and you know're. So we're going to probably talk about stuff like that. I know one of our early on podcasts. We're going to talk a little bit about hunting and guns you know, we get around. We get around the topic, that's one of our guests that'll be talking about that, and we're like that's where we're going today, I guess, and and so I think it should really be fun yeah, we tend to do things that are fun.
Speaker 1:I like that about us.
Speaker 2:If it's not fun, we'll just stop and that podcast won't show up Like what's the point?
Speaker 1:Yeah, hey, thanks for stopping in. Take care and keep coming back to this, because we're going to keep adding to it, we're going to keep growing it.
Speaker 2:And if we do it right, you'll never know what you're going to find.
