With the 21st century’s innovation of streaming video and sound at the click of a button, art has found its way to express itself in plenty of new ways. Piedmont junior Jarrett Ray has taken advantage of it, in the form of podcasting.
Ray is a junior at Piedmont, but started his undergraduate at Dalton State University. He took two gap years after his freshman year and later applied for Piedmont. He then started his podcast “Real Talk Radio” in November of 2021.
“The idea behind it was I was into radio when I was working at Amazon. I was looking for a school that dealt with mass communications or entertainment, and so I came across Piedmont,” Ray said. “I was trying to figure out what my future career path would be. I was trying to get my life together.
Since that November, Ray’s podcast has amassed more than 100 subscribers on YouTube. He is trying to increase that number, with topics including but not limited to mental health, movies, the LGBTQ+ and racism. Friend and radio co-host Alexis Baumgardner has recognized the work and passion Ray puts into his craft.
“He really brings his passion. He puts his all into the show. He’s very outgoing about it,” Baumgardner said. “He’s not shying away from the controversy. He wants to talk about it and get the conversation going.”
Ray has certainly mirrored his podcast and radio shows after his idols and their shows. His favorite podcast is Spears and Steinberg, and his favorite radio show is The Breakfast Club. “They’re real, they’re uncut, they’re raw. That’s why I named it ‘Real Talk Radio’.”
Ray had money on his mind in the early days of his podcasts, but later found it that ideology would not serve him any good. He hopes his podcast will open doors to opportunities beyond YouTube and university radio stations.
“I’m learning because I stopped thinking about the money,” he said. “It makes my content better and more relatable, because now I’m more relaxed. At first, I was more tense. I was trying to relate too hard to my audience. Now where I want to see it go is lead me to open doors and more opportunities, like talk show hosts. Hopefully other people see my content and say ‘This guy- he’s knowledgeable about stuff, he’s entertaining. Maybe he can take it farther than that.’”
After changing his mind on his reason to do what he does, the artistic aspect of podcasting and radio has influenced him to do more than just talk into a microphone. He expresses himself through his words and topics.
“I believe all art is an extension of yourself,” he said. “I feel like podcasting is an extension of your personality. In my opinion, it allows you to tell your story of who you are. There’s no filter. You can cover whatever kind of content you want.”
Ray’s radio show “Wake Up! With JRay and AB” airs every Thursday at 11 on Z98.7 FM, the student-run radio station at Piedmont University. His podcast “Real Talk Radio” can be streamed on any podcasting service, and the video version can be found on YouTube on the channel “Real Talk Radio.”
