Working in Journalism and Building a Podcast Production Company in Nigeria with Aisha Salaudeen
[00:00:00] Tunrayo: Hello, welcome to the Life in Brown podcast. My name is Motunrayo and today on the show, I’m sharing my conversation with Aisha Salaudeen who is a journalist and producer at CNN in Nigeria. And she's also the production lead at 27 productions, a media production company that creates the I Like Girls podcast. I Like Girls is a podcast that documents the stories of African women and the experiences life throws at us for being women.
So in this episode, Aisha talks about how her journey into journalism and how she made the transition from studying a business and accounting degree to working as a journalist. And she also talks about why she created her media company - 27 productions. Aisha also shares her experience of creating a narrative storytelling podcast in Nigeria.
And she shared some tips for podcasters but I believe that the tips that [00:01:00] Aisha shares are useful to everyone, regardless of what career path you pursue. So definitely listen out for that.
Aisha also shares some podcast recommendations so podcasts she's enjoyed recently and some that she would recommend that everyone listens to. I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Aisha Salaudeen
Hi Aisha. Welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:22] Aisha: Hi, thank you so much for having me.
Tunrayo: I wanted us to start with just talking a little bit about your journey into journalism and media. So if you could just share a bit about Your background And interest in working in the media.
Aisha: I guess I was just one of those people that kind of study something else because maybe your parents ask you to, or it looks more lucrative. So I always wanted to be in the media as a child, but as I grew up, somehow I found that I was studying business economics at uni. And, what really rekindled my love for the media was one of my friends - Ibukun.
[00:01:56] Aisha: She used to be part of the school radio. and there was this [00:02:00] random day. I just went to her. Right. Cause I was curious about what she was always doing. Like, you know, and then I went there, I liked what she did. So I spoke to RAM Air radio, the manager and said, Hey, I really want to do this. I like what my friends are doing.
And luckily for me, they were looking for volunteers at the time. So he kind of said, oh yeah, come next week. I'll show you how it works. And then, I did an hour of training and started playing lots of Nigerian music. And then I used to get comments from people saying, oh, thank you so much for playing that song.
You love it. And so it became a thing where they knew that at so, so and so time there'd be some random girl playing like Nigerian music. And it was just kind of nice vibes. And I took it up a notch and was like talking about it on my social media. So it kind of became a cool thing that I did. Um, and then I kind of wanted to express myself outside the radio to talk, cuz I wasn't allowed to talk about like the Nigerian government and stuff on the radio like no one cares.
Right. It's Bradford. Who cares? Um
and so I started [00:03:00] writing articles and sending those articles to social commentary, to Nigerian newspapers. It was just me talking about how I don't think the president is doing a good job or like about Boko Haram. Just deep stuff.
Right. And. people used to say, oh, I saw your article on like, I dunno the guardian.
And I think you can write. And I was like, oh, I just wanted to write. But a lot of people kept saying, you can write, you can write. I was like, oh I can. And so it just became this thing that I was like, oh, okay, I'm great with the radio. I can write, like, it looks like I should be in the media. And then fast forward when I got a completely different thing in my master's, but fast forward.
So when I moved back to Nigeria, in 2017, I knew for sure that I wanted to be a journalist then. And I knew that I wouldn't be able to tell the kind of stories that I wanted to tell from the UK. cuz I really wanted to talk about African stories and it felt a bit dishonest, staying back. So I moved back home.
Of course, I was working as an accountant, [00:04:00] eh, for a bit because I had to make money but I started freelancing for international media organizations. So I'll just send them cold emails and say. I know that I don't have anything published, but I promise I can write. and I'll talk about this. And then in 2017, I pitched to Al Jazeera. That was like the very first time there was an End Sars protest. And they were like, oh, this is really important right? About it. And that was kind of like my first, um, work in the international media, like proper reporting as a journalist, cuz I had to talk to so many people and it was like fact-checking and all of that good stuff.
So that first article with Al Jazeera kind of solidified that I wasn’t a fraud and I knew what I was doing because I had been experiencing pressure from my parents the entire time my dad was like, go and finish your ACCA yada, yada.
[00:04:46] Aisha: And I was like, no, I'm published with Al-Jazeera right now, leave me alone. I know what I'm doing. So it was a big deal for me. And, from there, it just kind of took off and I started freelancing and writing for all of these big international media organizations. And then [00:05:00] I guess that's kind of how I found myself in journalism.
[00:05:04] Tunrayo: Okay. So you said you were freelancing, for some organizations. So how did you move then from freelancing to like, well, I say a full-time job at CNN? How was that?
[00:05:13] Aisha: Mm
okay. Interesting. Like CNN wasn’t my first full-time job. It was well, to answer your question, I was broke, I guess, cuz freelancing is it just comes when it comes. Right. Unless you have like a personal relationship with editors really when they call you when they need stories.
But like I knew it wasn't sustainable cuz I was fresh out of uni. I had sort of defied. No, what's the word when you disobey your parents and like I had gone against what they wanted me to do or what they thought was best for me? I needed to prove myself and I realized that freelancing, wasn't going to cut it. So I did the craziest thing.
I went on Twitter and said, Hey everyone, I am a journalist
I need a full-time job. I have no idea how to go about this. I can't remember the exact [00:06:00] wording, but it was pretty much,
I dunno, what the hell I'm doing. I need a job, help me. and it had so many retweets, cuz people kind of knew me from my ranting days about
like um, those think pieces. And so someone kind of saw it and said, Hey, like I know someone at Steers business, this, this media publication, and they're looking for a journalist. I was like, sign me up. And then of course I did a bunch of, I went through the interview process and yeah, that's how I got my first full-time job. I started in 2018 and
They helped my writing a lot. Stairs is just really a huge part of my journey as a journalist. So that's kind of how I find myself in full-time journalism.
Tunrayo: And I think the question I have now is that you've done like writing, so you started with like radio in university. so in terms of media forms, you do different things. So do you have like a preference or do you like a mix of, different media forms?
Aisha: I do not like a mix. I do not like writing anymore. [00:07:00] I don't. I did writing repetitively from 2017 up until 2019. I'm sick of it. I like producing, which is what I do now. cuz I produce TV shows. So I like going out on the field, getting the stories, recording, and talking to people. I like that a lot.
I still have to write now, but it's not my favourite part of the job. So I think if I was to answer, I think I'd say [00:07:26] producing TV shows the most is my favourite thing to do.
[00:07:30] Tunrayo: So, not radio, not audio, not podcasts
Aisha: I love podcasting, but it doesn't give me the same energy that it
[00:07:37] Aisha: gives me when I like I'm out there on the field, talking to people, catching flights on the road. It's interesting. Like I meet all kinds of people. I talk to all sorts of people. I cover all kinds of stories, but with podcasting, I'm kind of. you know, I'm still in my room. I have my headphones on that kind of thing. No, I want to be out there.
So I think producing TV shows.
[00:07:59] Tunrayo: Pretty. [00:08:00] Okay. So since you said you like producing TV shows. So what made you decide to start, 27 productions? Which is audio. Um, I think focused company
[00:08:09] Aisha: yeah, so I, as I said, so I have this problem. I get tired of things easily. If I do something consecutively for like years or months, I'm tired. I decided that it was time to start the podcast. I started the podcast last year. May I can't remember. And it's, um, called I Like Girls. Its summary is that it documents the stories of African women.
and I started it under Aisha Salaudeen, but a few months into it, I realized that I wanted to raise funds for the podcast and I wanted to give it some kind of identity that didn't have anything to do with me. And so I thought, why don't I start a production company that will house I like girls as well as a ton of other podcasts that I know that I'm going to start in the future, cuz it's easier for people to trust a registered [00:09:00] company or a brand as opposed to a random journalist who has a bunch of podcasts.
[00:09:04] Aisha: So that was really why I started the production company. but now that I'm in it, it's kind of like just an avenue for me to do what I love doing telling stories, but like on my own terms, so. As a full-time employee for another company. it's not your terms. I mean, you can suggest stuff and whatever, but it really has to be on the company's terms.
But with like 27 productions, I can pretty much do whatever the hell I want. Right. Um, it's like, it's my vision. and so that's kind of, I wanted that creative freedom to like tell stories the way I wanted to. And so that's why, um, it exists. The other reason is kind of like podcasting is still relatively new.
Um, in Africa, like you are explaining to people and they still go ahead and say, oh, is it radio? So I felt like I needed, a house to sort of be part of the people that advance or help podcasting to evolve on the, which seems like such a big dream, but really [00:10:00] that's one of the reasons. So yeah, I hope I answered the.
[00:10:03] Tunrayo: Yes. So how have you, found, because you said you, you created the company so you could get like funding and, um, you created the company. so you could also approach sponsors and all of that. So I know that finding sponsors for anything is very difficult. So, and I, well, I've listened to, I like girls, I know you have some like FinTech sponsors and other sponsors.
So I wanted to ask how, what your experience was like getting, funding towards the podcast.
[00:10:29] Aisha: Yeah, it's basically what you said, like funding anything is really hard, but with podcasting is especially hard because like I said, it's new, a lot of people still don't know what you're talking about when you say podcast, so it's harder to get people to buy into your idea cause they just dunno what you're talking about.
Right. But, what I did was I identified companies, and organizations that kind of have a track record for supporting women and just women-related activities. So Paystack, one of the things that they are big on is gender equality. And [00:11:00] thankfully, because of like their team, they know what podcasting is.
So it's kind of like, it's just like we align, they care about women. They care about podcasts. They care about creatives and they were like, okay. And then I showed them the numbers from the last season. They were like they're not that great, but we trust you.
So like they, you know, they took a chance on me. Same thing with Piggyest.
Piggyvest is, um, thinking about starting, not thinking about they have, like, they do have like a content and media team. So my pitch to them was kind of like, Hey guys, why don't you use, I like girls, like as a test to see what podcasting on your platform would look like. So it was kind of like helping them satisfy their curiosity.
And as you know, one of the co-founders of Piggyvest really cares deeply actually all of them care about women's rights. So it just, again, it felt like you aligned, I guess, to summarize, I just found people whose goals sort of aligned and they were willing to like, take a chance on a new random podcaster.
And I guess I got lucky. So I [00:12:00] am happy about that.
[00:12:01] Tunrayo: Yeah. I think the funding bit is very difficult because my podcast, I, I, personally funded myself And I listened to someone and they said, oh if you want to be rich, don't start a podcast. Cause it's not an easy way to do it.
You probably spend more money than actually make money. so that was like interesting to hear like the approach you took. Cause I hadn't even thought about it like, oh, you could actually find, I knew organizations were in that space. Your approach is good to hear. And then the other thing I wanted to ask is about like, besides I know funding is hard, so what's like, I like what's the most difficult part about making a podcast in Nigeria?
[00:12:42] Aisha: I mean, so besides the funding, which we've already established, um, I think it's just the fact. It's just not as popular in the sense that people just don't know what it is. So it's like you've gone on to make this amazing podcast. people don't know what podcasting is. [00:13:00] People don't have access to that data or whatever to listen to your podcast, or you are in a room filled with amazing executives and you spend, I don't know, 10 minutes explaining what podcasting is and they just go, oh, so it’s radio.
It's like, no, no, that's not what I said. So I think it’s hard for podcasts to travel because people just know what you're talking about. let me see, what else is the most difficult part of podcasting?
Growth is also slow. Growth is really slow. So podcasting is again because it's new. It's not like a viral moment on social media where people start to associate your podcast and say, oh, that babe, that went viral. It's really slow progress. Even if you're running ads. It takes time a long time. So some of the best podcasts to come out of Nigeria, like Loose Talk, took five years to get to 2 million downloads.
Um, I Said What I Said took, I think four and a half, maybe three and a half, three and a half years to get to 2 million downloads plus. So it's like, you have to be patient with that [00:14:00] growth. So it's really difficult. You can't come into podcasting thinking, oh yeah. You know, I'm gonna have 10,000 downloads in like one month.
You really have to be patient. So I think that, like, that's one challenge that you have to keep in mind when starting a podcast.
Tunrayo: So what keeps you going? Because I, the growth thing I can relate with is so like when it's not growing as fast as you want, like what keeps you, going and keeps you producing more episodes?
Aisha: Well for season two, it was the fact that I had collected people's money so, so every time I was looking at the numbers, I'm like, my God but yeah. Paystack and Piggvest gave me money. So you better keep going. Um, but I think for the most part, it's just knowing that I'm documenting the stories of women and that's really important to me.
[00:14:45] Aisha: That's something I care deeply about. And it's kind of like, even if it's just a thousand people that get to hear it, they. Or understand even better then it's it feels like it's worth it. And just being, having a background in the media, I know that growth with [00:15:00] podcasts is slow, so I'm not in a hurry. Like I'm very happy to do everything I need to do to promote the podcast, but I'm kind of like if it doesn't come fast like I'm good.
So that knowledge also helps me to just.
Tunrayo: Yeah, I think the same about the whole growth thing. I think I started my podcast. okay. I like listening to podcasts so my husband told me why don’t you go and start your podcast? And I didn't really think about growth. I didn't think about anything. And at the time I had the cause I like, um, reading fiction.
[00:15:27] Tunrayo: So I was, reviewing books on YouTube at the time. So I was like, okay, I didn't really like coming on camera and recording that. So podcasting seems like an easier way. At least you don't have to think about how you look, you just record with your mic and headphones and everything. So I started there and then it's only, now that I'm now thinking about, so like, because you, you go on YouTube is, is something with 5,000 views in six hours. And then you think like how long that will take for a podcast to get that many views
[00:15:52] Aisha: yeah.
[00:15:53] Tunrayo: or listens.
[00:15:53] Aisha: Yeah. It does take long. You really have to be patient. You really have to be.
[00:15:58] Tunrayo: And then the other thing is, I [00:16:00] know, like with your podcast that you work with other people like You work with other people in your team to produce the show. So what was it like finding, what was it like finding a team to work with?
[00:16:09] Aisha: Ooh. Um, it was hard for me, especially to find an audio engineer that understands storytelling podcasts. So, finding an audio engineer is easy because there are so many. But like one that understands like narrative storytelling, the kind that I do, cuz a lot of the podcasts that we have are just, you are like interviewing a guest, the two of you having laughs.
It's not the whole, you have to cut one part of the quote and then there's a voiceover. Um, I guess I got lucky because how did I find him? I don't even remember. I think, oh, he had sent me a DM like three months before to be on this podcast and I completely aired him. Sorry. And then . . And then when I wanted to start my podcast, I remember that there was some audio engineer that messaged me and I just sent a long apology.
I'm like, I'm sorry, but join my podcast. So, um, it is hard. Uh, I have to do, I have to do that thing where I put out calls, like, Hey, I need a writer and then do the whole [00:17:00] application processing.
It's just exhausting and long. So it is hard to find people that are specific to podcasts. So it is easy to find, like let's say, a writer. Um, a really good writer or whatever, but like one that really understands podcasting.
So what I find myself doing is just getting people who don't really understand and who have the general knowledge of the media and like perhaps script writing. And I sort of train them to, you know, know how to like write scripts for narrative podcasts, that kind of thing, or like, you know, to edit for like podcasts, which has paid off because I have some people that have been with me for two seasons now, three, three members of the team.
So I feel like it was a worthy investment. Yeah.
Tunrayo: It's good to hear like how you're doing it. Cause
[00:17:48] Aisha: you do everything on your own, right?
[00:17:51] Tunrayo: I do. I do everything on my own, is listen. And I have a full-time job.
[00:17:54] Aisha: girl. It's hard. It's hard.
[00:17:57] Tunrayo: it's hard. Yeah.
[00:17:58] Aisha: you're doing. [00:18:00]
[00:18:00] Tunrayo: I, I listen to like other podcasts, but the thing is, I think I just have to like pace myself. Cause sometimes I listen to like storytelling narrative podcasts. I can't, I don't have like the resources to do this podcast cause I can only do what I can do and what I can afford.
[00:18:13] Aisha: Yeah, it's hard. And like, you just have to be patient with yourself to be honest and be honest with yourself. like, I don't have the capacity for this and I can't do everything. It's also why, like I knew I couldn't do it. That's why I got a team.
And even though I have a team I'm still stressed, so I can't even imagine how you just, you're doing everything with your full time job.
I, I don't know. I would die. Cause what It's it's a lot.
[00:18:37] Tunrayo: Yeah, so I don't make it weekly. I don't.
[00:18:40] Aisha: All right.
[00:18:41] Tunrayo: publish episodes weekly because it'll be too much. So it's usually biweekly. And then the other bit I would ask you is like, what would you say to someone that's like, new to, let's say someone who wants to get into podcasting?
Yes, let's make it specifically to podcasting. Cause a lot of people want to make podcasts. but [00:19:00] um, so like what would you say to someone who wants to start a podcast. what would be like your, maybe three tips that you or one tip that you would advise you would make them tell them to consider?
Aisha: I like to tell people that they should start small because when people hear podcasting, they think, oh, I have to get a studio and like five cameras and da, da, no, like, the barrier to entry for podcasting is
[00:19:19] Aisha: really low. So people always go all out. It's kind of like when that thing they say, when you have a baby, never mind that I don't have a child and then you buy
like 70 different outfits and then you realize when you have the child like I just needed like four or five.
So that's kind of like the thing you're podcasting. You need to pace yourself and just buy the basic stuff. You have your laptop, your microphone, your headphones, Adobe audition or whatever editing app. So start small, save your money as much as you can in the. because people tend to go all out. I think that's the first, that's the first thing I want people to know.
You don't need all the equipment in the world, especially if it's just like a one-man or two-man podcast. Right. the second thing is people [00:20:00] always make this weird mistake where they say my podcast is about anything and everything. No, it's not like don't do that. I've had people who have like, pitched to me and said, Hey, I have this podcast.
And I'm so excited. I'm like, what's your about? It's like, oh yeah know my husband and I just come to chat about our day and it’s kind of I don't get it, what do you mean? Like, so what I'm trying to say is that your podcast should have a theme or a structure where we know, like, this podcast is about banter or this one is about history, but this one's about culture or women.
Like it's, it doesn't help if he has no structure and I dunno what to expect. And today, it's about 70 different things. It also helps you as a podcaster to have like, structure. So you know exactly what you want your podcast to be about, you know, who your audience is. So you're creating for them in mind, you know, I mean, it is just important to have that structure.
You can't be all over the place. It's just then I don't want to listen if it's all over the place. So I think people [00:21:00] need to know what exactly their podcast is about. Need to find the right equipment. What would be the last thing? And I think people need to be kinder to themselves, right?
So podcasters, especially first-time podcasters are usually like hard on themselves and compare themselves to like the best of the best podcasts. But like, if you go back and look at the history of the best of the best podcasts, they've been there for years and they also started like you. Even the podcast with the best resources still had to do the hard work of starting and then expanding.
So I just want new podcasters to be kinder to themselves. Like, Hey, like it's a journey podcasting. It's hard as hell. So take it slow, and be patient with yourself. so yeah, I think those would be my three. I don't even know tips if that makes sense. Yeah.
[00:21:42] Tunrayo: I think, yeah. What you said is valid because I feel like even when I started, I thought I was going to talk about books and then I, and then I started and I was like, no, I didn't want to talk about that anymore. So I, I kind of feel like my podcast are done different things and it's only, now that I'm trying to like [00:22:00] fine tune what I want to do.
And then other times I'm like, but it's difficult knowing like sticking to one area.
[00:22:06] Aisha: But it's fine to not know at the start. Right? I think the problem is when. It becomes all over the place. And then as a new listener, I cannot place what the podcast is about, but it's okay for podcasters to evolve and realise, you know what? I don't want to talk about this anymore, or I want to do this.
It’s just - have a structure. So even when you change that structure, the message is very clear that I used to be about this. I don't know. I used to talk about walking dogs before, but now I want to talk about cats. As opposed to today's cats, tomorrow is dogs. It's just all over the place. So, yeah, I'm a big fan of like podcasters evolving and changing topics.
As long as there is a structure, you cannot do everything. You cannot be everything. So just pick a side, basically.
[00:22:52] Tunrayo: Yeah. I think the tips you shared, even though it's about starting a podcast and I've had the podcast [00:23:00] for while, it's still like valid for me because there's always that sense of comparing. I'll be looking at like, I dunno, NPR, or something. And I don’t have that budget.
[00:23:07] Aisha: Girl, no NPR, what?
[00:23:10] Tunrayo: or like, like, um, you know, I recently saw, you know, Megan Markle, has a podcast and got a $60 million podcast
[00:23:18] Aisha: Oh, I love that podcast.
[00:23:19] Tunrayo: Deal or something. I was like, oh my God, like, look at me. And it's like, maybe I'm supposed to quit podcasting. Like, who’s going to listen to this after listening to Meghan Markle on Spotify?
[00:23:25] Aisha: no.
[00:23:27] Aisha: First of all, you have to remember that she's Meghan Markle. She literally has millions of listeners all over the world. And then she's partnering with Spotify. I mean, Spotify, you cannot compare yourself to them. it's so far off it's
Do you get what I mean? Like, you can't do that to yourself. You have to be patient and like, you know, hope for the possibility of your future, where you get to that point where it's like, you're also partnering with the Spotifys. But it's a long journey, to be honest. And I guess it just it's hard, but [00:24:00] we have to remember sometimes that it's very slow.
And then I guess with the goal in mind, we keep trying and trying
[00:24:07] Tunrayo: Okay. Uh, Aisha, we're coming to like the end. So this is like, Just like rapid-fire questions. Well only, only like two questions, but, um, the first one would be what was the podcast that got you interested in podcasting?
[00:24:20] Aisha: oh my God. It was, This is Uncomfortable. The work you said you heard me on. The only thing I knew about podcasting was just to listen to them right. And have fun and whatever. And then I have like money anxiety, as you know, from listening to that podcast. And my husband was like, why don’t you just listen to This is Uncomfortable?
Cause he wanted me to realize. I wasn't alone. Like tons of people have money anxiety. And I think when I listened to it, I picked up the wrong lesson that he wanted. I was just so fascinated by the storytelling. Like, you know, the way Reema would come on with the voiceover and there are quotes in between and the choice of music and the [00:25:00] storytelling.
I was just like, I love this. I want to do this. And so This is Uncomfortable like heavily inspired me. Um, that was a podcast that made me want to start a podcast. Other podcasts obviously helped cuz Gimlet Academy has a podcast about how to make a podcast and then I listened to it and it was so helpful.
Practical tips. I loved it so much. Um, there's also Ear Hustle and Serial. Um, Serial is literally one of the best podcasts in the world. And it was, everything was the same narrative storytelling style. And I was just like, I have to do this. So if you listen to my podcast enough, you can tell. I was literally mirroring Serial and This is Uncomfortable. Like it's very obvious to anyone who listens to both podcasts. So yeah, those are my inspirations.
[00:25:50] Tunrayo: I know Gimlet media because, their podcast Startup was like, one of the podcasts I listened to when I first listened to podcasts. So the one, but you said the one about how to make a podcast. I think I'm going to search for that because I [00:26:00] actually haven't heard of it.
[00:26:00] Aisha: If you just check Gimlet Media, um, there's a podcast about how to make a podcast. It's so good. It was so helpful.
[00:26:08] Tunrayo: Yeah. I'll look at it and then apply what, I can apply with my limited resources. yeah.
[00:26:14] Aisha: I think you're good. To be honest, it's just, it'd be nice to listen to fine-tune some stuff, but I think you're doing okay.
[00:26:19] Tunrayo: Oh, thank you. and then the other thing, the other question is, what, podcasts have you enjoyed listening to recently? So, I mean the last few weeks, so
[00:26:29] Aisha: Well, Archetypes by Meghan Markle. I'm opening my Spotify right now. I just, um, finished listening to the episode with Mindy Kaling because what first thing you need to know is I'm obsessed with Meghan Markle. I know that's not what you asked me, but I love Meghan Markle right from her time at Suits as Rachel Zane. I love the podcast, the storytelling is amazing.
I'm checking my Spotify library. It's that thing where you know what you listen to, but when they ask you forget. [00:27:00]
I'm listening to female criminals, it's a Spotify Original podcast. It's basically as the name implies about female criminals. I love it so much. The last thing I listened to was the Elizabeth Holmes episode, cuz it kind of breaks down their history and everything. then Everything is Alive. I love that podcast so much. It's Radiotopia. It's basically about inanimate objects and what they would say to us if they could talk
[00:27:26] Tunrayo: Yeah,
[00:27:27] Aisha: and then Imagined Life story. This is the last one. Cuz if you let me go, I'll give you… Imagined Life is amazing. It's also narrative storytelling, and it's pretty much about, um, it's kind of this thing where it tells you the history of someone really popular without mentioning the.
So you don't get to know who they're talking about until the end is so amazing. It's kind of like, oh, imagine you're born in South Africa, you're doing this and da, da, and then at the end, they're like, oh, you are Elon Musk. And you're like, what the fuck? I couldn't. Oh, wait, am I allowed to swear this? Sorry.
And then at the end, you're like, wait, it’s Elon [00:28:00] Musk. So like, it's really awesome. I feel like I should say a Nigerian podcast because it's, I like Tea with Tay by Temisan.
[00:28:07] Tunrayo: okay.
[00:28:08] Aisha: by Eggcorn Digital. It is fantastic. He talks to Nigerian celebrities and asks them about their backstories. And I love how you can tell that a lot of research has gone into the questions he's asking.
So he's not saying, tell me about when you grew up. He's saying so when you grow up in Jos on so and so streets and used to sell Akara on the road, what was it like? You know, that he knows. So I love it so much. This is amazing. Fantastic. And it's one of Nigeria’s best podcasts if I say so myself.
Tunrayo: And, what is one podcast that not enough people know about that you like that not enough people know about?
Aisha: I feel like all the podcasts. I know, like they have so many numbers. I don't, I don't know. Can I just [00:29:00] do like
[00:29:00] Tunrayo: question.
[00:29:01] Aisha: What do I recommend people listen to? I don't know that.
[00:29:06] Tunrayo: Yes. Yeah.
[00:29:08] Aisha: Yeah. I think people should listen to, Ear Hustle. It's really one of my favourite podcasts and it's pretty much about prison life in I forget the name of the prison now, but it's really amazing. You get to hear yes. San Quentin.
[00:29:25] Tunrayo: Is it, San Quentin?
[00:29:25] Aisha: Yes, you are. Right. Um, it's really amazing. I love like the diversity and just you, you know how, when you think of people in prison, you're like, oh my God, no, it's jail. But then you just get to hear from the people behind those weird orange jumpsuits.
And it's amazing storytelling. so, yeah.
Tunrayo: Well, I haven't listened to it in a while, but I used to listen to it a lot and I, it really changed like, my perception on prison, life and everything. And just, and I was so, happy when, like, I think the first host was Earlon Woods when he was released.
[00:29:58] Aisha: Yes. Oh my God. Same, [00:30:00]
[00:30:01] Aisha: Same,
[00:30:02] Tunrayo: Yeah. So it's a really good podcast. And then the last question is you produce, I Like Girls. When people listen to it, what do you want people to take away from the podcast?
[00:30:15] Aisha: Yeah. So when people listen to, I Like Girls, I want them to understand that African women experience life very differently from, I don't know, every other woman, right? And because the whole goal or the point of the podcast is to document their experiences, to show the lived reality of women of African descent, like all over the world.
So, I hope that when people listen, they get that from the podcast, and they understand those experiences better. And just like the shared trauma or pain or happiness or joy of African women, um, across the globe.
[00:30:54] Tunrayo: Aisha, where can we find you on the internet?
[00:30:58] Aisha: Oh God. [00:31:00] Um, so yeah, I'm on Twitter as @AishaSalaudeen, it's just my name and Instagram as @nanasalaudeen, also my name.
Tunrayo: And they can also follow, I like girls has an Instagram page.
[00:31:12] Aisha: my God. Look up me plugging my own account and stuff. Yes. So the podcast is @ilikegirls pod on Twitter and Instagram. I hope people listen and I like it.
[00:31:26] Tunrayo: Thank you, Aisha
[00:31:27] Aisha: Thank you.
Tunrayo: Thank you for listening to this episode with Ayesha. If you've enjoyed the episode, please check out Aisha's podcast. I like girls. Wherever you are listening to this podcast. Also, I would recommend checking out Aisha's episode on I like girls called Ms Lecturer. It is an episode about what it's like being a female academic in Nigeria.
I think often when stories are told about academia in Nigeria; it is usually about male lecturers, harassing students or [00:32:00] students facing strikes, which are important stories to be told, but what is it like being a female academic in Nigeria? What, challenges do female academics face in Nigeria, and how do they handle that? So that's a really good episode. I'll recommend listening to it
Also, if you've enjoyed the episode, please take a screenshot of the podcast and share it on your Instagram stories and tag me @lifeinbrownpod. I really love to hear from you and know who's listening. I know what you've enjoyed about the podcast. Thank you for listening again.