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00:00:01
hi, I'm Zu
22 Plays5 days ago
Hey everyone! My name is Zuhair and this is my latest podcasting venture! As I was thinking which show or movie to cover first, I figured, why not just introduce myself and take a trip down memory lane. Thanks for being here! Can't wait to chat with you.
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Transcript
Zuhaira's 2026 Mantra and Podcasting Return
00:00:00
Speaker
So, I read this quote last year. That kind of turned into my mantra for 2026. It goes somewhere along the lines of, first, make it exist.
00:00:12
Speaker
Perfect it later. And, well, that's why we're here.
00:00:25
Speaker
Hello, everybody. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Zuhaira Lee. For those of you who do, Welcome back. It's good to see you. All the same, I'm glad everybody's here. I have missed pot-tasking.
00:00:38
Speaker
I have missed yapping. I have missed chatting with you all. How have you guys been? How are you? How's life? How's your new year treating you? What are we watching? What are we listening to?
00:00:49
Speaker
What travels have we been on? What have we explored? What's bringing us joy these days? I miss hearing from you guys. I miss chatting with you guys. I have missed just being in front of a mic and podcasting and rambling and just going on about whatever.
Reflecting on the Podcasting Journey
00:01:07
Speaker
Last year, i was supposed to be celebrating ah five years of this podcast journey. It started roughly around when COVID started, if not soon before.
00:01:23
Speaker
Believe it or not, this is actually my fourth show. I'm starting from scratch. Second one that I'm starting by myself, which has been super nerve-wracking for me. It's been a struggle getting in front of this mic. I've been saying I've been doing it all year. It's January 24th at the time of this recording. So finally here.
00:01:44
Speaker
Finally doing it. Just because I feel like I've missed it enough. And, yeah, so this is this is the fourth show. And I kind of want to just take this opportunity to talk about what my podcasting journey has been like, how I got here, what I'm hoping to get out of it, and honestly just using this platform kind of reconnect with people.
00:02:08
Speaker
One of the coolest things is that I've met and had the opportunity to chat was just from people around the world. People who were like-minded, people who just kind of made me feel like the things that I thought were weird for liking was actually cool and entertaining and worth talking about and worth falling in love with. So just being able to build those relationships with people as big or small as they may have been, whether it was a feedback email or a DM or actually meeting some people in person and or having late night calls with, it's just, it's been such a blessing and an opportunity for the connections I've been able to make through podcasting. And yeah, I just, I want to get that going again. And I want to get it going on my terms.
00:02:54
Speaker
So a little trip down memory lane.
From Fandom Chit Chat to Zoo's Views
00:02:56
Speaker
The first show that I started was called Fandom Chit Chat. And that was the other one that I did by myself. And the purpose of that one was that ah had social circles in different areas of my life.
00:03:12
Speaker
And every one of these social circles knew how much I loved watching movies and keeping up with TV shows and watching anime. So things like a new Marvel movie comes out.
00:03:24
Speaker
And I go home to Richmond and catch up with my smiley friends. And they're like... What do you think? What do you think? What do you think? And then maybe I catch up with my college friends. What do think? you think? What do you think? what do you think and And just felt like and was repeating myself a lot instead of being able to have continued, insightful, meaningful conversations.
00:03:47
Speaker
So it wasn't necessarily a means to just be like, hey, go listen to this and answer. But it's made it to just kind of like keep the conversation going as opposed to being redundant. And I think it really accomplished that.
00:04:01
Speaker
So what I would do is sometimes i would talk about myself. Sometimes I'd talk about a guest, talk about this content, like with the guest. That was really... into it so that it would be more exciting and stuff and we would just yap about our thoughts for an hour or two and post it on apple podcast and spotify and all this stuff and i had this really cool experience of whenever i got to catch up with people in my life they'd be like yo i listened to the episode i watched the movie as well i really like this point you made or i didn't quite agree with this and
00:04:36
Speaker
I didn't even think about X, Y and Z that way. And it was just such a cool way to be able to reconnect with people. Because once I started my photography as a career, like post college, I just didn't really get to see people as much was still is almost 11 years in and still is a very lonely lifestyle.
00:05:01
Speaker
So to be able to just continue a conversation and go on with stuff that we're like-minded about, things that make us happy, things that keep us entertained, things that maybe might even be a distraction from other things in life was just really fulfilling.
00:05:16
Speaker
And I thought about just bringing Fandom Chit Chat back because I really liked that name. But ah want this show to have the opportunity to just... be more than just tv shows and movies if that makes sense maybe if there is an opportunity where i just want to talk life or if i do want to talk about photography or if i do want to talk about martial arts or travels or family or just anything else that comes away within that time like i think zoo's views just gets to
00:05:49
Speaker
Hit that a little bit more. That way it's not literally things that I'm watching, but it's just the the perception of Zoo, the life of Zoo. A little ah little personal vlog, if you will.
00:06:00
Speaker
So that's kind of the the biggest feeling from fandom chit-chat that I want to Hopefully recreate. So my social circle, my friends, my now expanded circle, all the people who just enjoy hearing me podcast can maybe have this avenue to hear from me again. i don't know. We'll see.
00:06:22
Speaker
After that, this one definitely happened during COVID, was Nerdified News.
Nerdified News and Podcasting Friendships
00:06:29
Speaker
i'm I'm 95% sure I came up with that name. It's a pretty sick name.
00:06:34
Speaker
And for the life of me, I cannot think of the guy who invited me to be on this show. I feel kind of bad about that. I've been thinking about it all day. haven't talked to in like four or five years either. So it's like, sorry.
00:06:50
Speaker
dude. But how this came to be was that I was really into the Marvel Cinematic Universe podcast, who obviously talks about MCU movies and MCU shows. And it was kind of this peak of like phase two, phase three era where had three movies coming out a year and the shows on netflix were huge like daredevil and luke gate and jessica jones and this was when i first like got into listening to podcasts because i just work from the car so much so i got hooked on this podcast i joined the facebook group was just cool you know sending in feedback emails and talking to like-minded fans and
00:07:32
Speaker
hearing the theories and trailer reactions and stuff like that so super fun and in that group was where the invite came out hey I'm starting this news-based podcast would anyone like to join and I was like you know it'd be nice having consistent co-hosts because I didn't really have a release schedule it was just on a whim and i just don't really like doing things by myself which is why it was really hard for me to start this one by myself So the best thing that happened coming out of that was that I got to meet one of my best friends, Sarah Day, who is now the host of the Bookwatch podcast, which is also an awesome show that you should go check out.
00:08:16
Speaker
So she was the other one that responded. And we met via our first online recording. Didn't meet in person until like months, if not a year later. And we just had ah great connection right off the bat. We liked the planning process. We liked talking to each other.
00:08:35
Speaker
um We just liked podcasting together and things just really took off from there in terms of like this podcasting relationship. From there, me and her started this game called Fantasy Heroes, which is basically fantasy football for Marvel characters that might be popping up in the MCU. So you have a draft of people who have showed up before, like Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton.
00:09:02
Speaker
whatever and if they show up in a title for that year you get a certain amount of points if they get killed you lose points if their name gets mentioned you gain points and i want to say we're on like year i don't even know maybe year six or seven of this game now dang has it really been that long um but yeah it's a free game it's been a lot of fun again like the fact that we had like this international audience off of it and these consistent groups that come up with really cool team names that compete with each other and tell us how much fun they have with it and how much they love it and this discord channel like so many connections have just grown off of like my history with podcasting that's just been
00:09:52
Speaker
Really, really neat.
Community and Challenges in Podcasting
00:09:54
Speaker
And the next thing that came out of that is during COVID, have the Stranded Panda Network had like these weekly calls.
00:10:04
Speaker
um They had like this little Marvel trivia game night, and then we would just hang out in a Zoom call. And for me on the East Coast, that would go on until like 3, 4 in the morning.
00:10:18
Speaker
And it was so much fun. Again, just people who were like-minded Marvel fans just chatting and hanging out and stuff like that. And this is where Matt Carroll at the time, it was like, they were kind of expanding. They were starting new shows that were hitting like different universes and different topics and stuff.
00:10:37
Speaker
So i don't know how it got to the topic of me talking about animated content, or maybe I was talking about Young Justice, or I don't know what it was, but Me and another guy in the group, J. Scottie Sinclair, who was still very much active in the Stranded Panda network, especially with shows like Multiverse News.
00:10:59
Speaker
um Matt was like, why don't you two start a show together that's about animation? I was like, wow. I didn't think I'd actually get to be part of Stranded Panda. i was It was like getting to work with you know celebrities for me at the time.
00:11:16
Speaker
So was like, man, to have a show on this network, like, yeah, I'm ecstatic. I'm honored. Like, absolutely. I'll do this. And I wasn't really enjoying Nerdified News that much at this point, too. I don't even think that show lasted two months. So when I had this opportunity, I was I kind of did both for a little bit. I just really wasn't having fun with the first one, even though i prioritized it. And i was just kind of like, yeah, I'm done with that.
00:11:39
Speaker
It's cool having network backing and an audience and a fan base and um it was funny because it was a Marvel show that recruited us to start a podcast and then the first thing that we cover is one of my all-time favorite shows which is Young Justice which is based off DC characters that are all sidekicks it's where my sign-off came from and the first few weeks were just I was re-watching he was watching for the first time and then we were just talking about that and
00:12:11
Speaker
It was it was a lot of fun revisiting one of my favorite shows, talking to somebody else that was like minded about it, hearing fans that were fans from network talk about how much they love the show or how they started it just because we were watching it And it just it really took off. I was having so much fun just watching content like that and anime and Disney movies and just being able to freely speak about it and just to be able to find like minded people like it was it was such an experience. And we hit this stride, especially after we added one of my friends.
00:12:48
Speaker
ah Same thing. Just on a Wednesday night, we were in this group chat and this and this ah Zoom call after trivia. One of our friends, Andrew Rogers and Jay Scott, he goes, hey, if anybody ever wants to join the show. And Andrew just raises hand. Yeah, I'll join. i I'm interested in this. It's like, all right, cool.
00:13:08
Speaker
He hopped on and then just it took off from just the three of us doing the show. The point where all of us weren't watching the same things as everyone. So we would cover one thing, but give like a one minute snippet of what our thoughts were on recent episodes. We had like this international ranking. I think we hit like number four in the country for the manga and animation category. And we were like in the high 20s in the world.
00:13:31
Speaker
And people from around the world were reaching out to us. We had feedback emails every week and shows that people wanted to hear about. Hey, can you guys watch this? Hey, what were your thoughts on this? Hey, are you going to cover this? Like, it was...
00:13:43
Speaker
it it was just It was just this awesome hot streak of loving it. I could not get enough of it. I was watching stuff all the time. i was trying to record as much as possible. i got to guest on like other podcasts from other people and other places and We had people reaching out to us for interviews. So we had animators and people who create scores and directors and producers and just people who were promoting their titles and stuff like through our podcast. We even had ads like Liquid Ivy and Blendjet and people reaching out to us to have ah coupon codes and we were making money off of it. I was like, oh my God, I'm actually having like my streaming services like paid for because I'm generating just a little bit of income from this. and
00:14:32
Speaker
It got so big and it got so cool and it got so fun until it didn't. I'm not speaking for anybody else. I'm speaking for any of my former co-hosts. Literally, this is just like my perspective of it. But it just got to this point where it's like there was – there felt like a fixation on our ranking and where we were and what the listener retention was like and how much we were making. And all the the logistics side of it that like once those numbers –
00:15:04
Speaker
drop because we weren't as consistent because you know life happens and things slow down and we need breaks once all that stuff started to kick in it was just kind of like yeah let's just record for the sake of recording like that's what this always was a about right and i wasn't i just i never felt like i was really seen to eye on that um It felt like it was just in this loop of like, yeah, let's just record to record. Let's talk about content that we're happy about and move forward with there. And then we would have a good rhythm going again and then it would fall off. And then how about this? Why not this? Why not bring this person in? How come we don't do that? how come we're not talking about this? You're watching that show. Well, I don't have that streaming service. I'm watching this show. Yeah, well, that's not really my cup of tea. And it was across different time zones with these co-hosts too. And of course, like life changes. So it's like,
00:15:58
Speaker
Things just weren't lining up. And then it just got to a point where it it was just hard to maintain. And then there was an unintended hiatus. and
00:16:11
Speaker
Just stopped. And... It sucked. Because I was really into it. And I really loved it. And... Other shows on the network started.
00:16:25
Speaker
And there was a point where... I was invited to be on them. um Things like Avengers Assemble. um You know, just to be able to talk about other movies, talk about other shows. When Ms. Marvel came out, I was on Marvel Cinematic Universe podcast every week just to talk about that show was ah from the Pakistani perspective, being a Pakistani and that show being heavily based off of that. So, you know, there was this point where it's like I was invited to things so much and i was a guest host on things so much and then it's... I just...
00:17:05
Speaker
wasn't people stopped asking um then people just didn't have time to record with me or they weren't interested in the stuff that i was interested in um and it just felt like this network of podcasting that i loved so much just outgrew me um and i got Again, this just my perspective. This is, I don't know if anybody else feels the same way or has other thoughts on it, but just felt like Ellen really wanted to do it unless I was the one pushing for it. Like it didn't really ever feel like
00:17:48
Speaker
Anything was mine. I didn't really feel like I had any control of how things were done and how things were perceived. And all of this was a partnership, so it's not like I could just take over it.
00:18:01
Speaker
And it broke my heart every time that somebody sent an email or a DM or added me on the Facebook group chat and said, you guys going to cover this content?
00:18:15
Speaker
Where have you been? going to record soon? What's up? Y'all live? And every single time I got one of those messages, I'm just like, damn, I need to get back on the mic. Again, just...
00:18:28
Speaker
either the schedule wouldn't work out or I felt like I was doing the work to put things together. um it just, it I'm very easily demotivated, especially when it comes to doing things by myself. i I thrive in community. I thrive in partnerships and circles and stuff like that.
00:18:46
Speaker
And that is one of the things I'm working on for this year is just accepting that it's okay to do things by yourself and that it's okay to be alone.
00:18:57
Speaker
And i feel like I just got to where i missed podcasting enough that I could get over this thing of not wanting to do it by myself. If it meant that I could reignite the love for it or get these connections back or just talk about content for the joy of talking about content.
00:19:17
Speaker
It really sucked last year. My Hero Academia ended, never got a chance to talk about it or share with anybody about it or have a sit down and chat about ah show that was like my Mount Rushmore of anime finally concluding.
00:19:33
Speaker
K-pop Demon Hunters was such a huge hit. And i never got to record or share thoughts except for a couple of like comments on a Facebook post here and there.
00:19:46
Speaker
um Seeing incredible movies like F1, being blown away by movies like Superman that touched on so much that I loved about Young Justice.
00:19:58
Speaker
Just to be able to be so in love with all these things and not be able to talk to people knowing that there's so many like-minded people out there. that love it and enjoyed as much as I do was just a really difficult time last year. And, um, I think in all the, in the three big creative outlets of my life had these annual benchmarks that I never got to enjoy It was five years of being a podcaster, shared, 10 years being at my martial arts school, and then had a plateau with that and had issues with that and just wasn't loving it.
00:20:36
Speaker
Same thing with being a photographer. 10 years of being a real estate and architecture photographer, and i just hit this lull of like... why am I still doing this? I'm not having fun with this.
00:20:49
Speaker
This industry doesn't actually care about what I do and how I operate. And that was just me like misunderstanding, like the direction that I wanted to
Rekindling Creative Passions
00:20:58
Speaker
go in. But it, it sucked that the three biggest creative outlets in my life just didn't,
00:21:06
Speaker
bring me joy and this year's is about taking steps to try to make that happen again miss doing this there's stuff that's coming out this year that i really want to be able to talk about there's stuff that i've already seen that i'd really love to be able to talk about and um it's honestly just been the the love of people that are listening to this that made me really want to do it again the amount of people say that they like my voice and that they like my perceptions and things that i talk about and i'm never going to be the one to say i'm never going to be the one to agree with you that i'm worth listening to and i'm you know worth having around and stuff like that because just a very self-deprecating human being um but it does mean the world to me that
00:21:56
Speaker
over a whole year of not being able to podcast, people are still reaching out saying that they want to hear from me. So here I am. I'm back for you. I'm back for myself too.
00:22:10
Speaker
This is weird. Um, but I'm weird. So it's fine. I'm trying to attract more. weird like-minded people who will enjoy this medium and enjoy the things that I want talk about and enjoy things that bring them happiness and content for the sake of just taking a little break from life.
00:22:35
Speaker
Huge shout out to people like Sarah Day from Bookwatch, Haley Hobbs from Source Pages, Reed Murphy from 323 with Reed Murphy, who have just pushed me and included me.
00:22:49
Speaker
That's a huge thank you to stranded Panda because I wouldn't be here without
Gratitude and Future Goals
00:22:53
Speaker
them. They kind of made me feel like a celebrity at times, even with a few instances where I'm photographing a client's house and I talk, you know, talk about shows or whatever.
00:23:05
Speaker
And I bring up that a podcast and say that I'm on this network. It's like oh, my God, I've heard you before. Yeah. Things like having an open invite to my birthday and listeners of the show actually showing up, being like, hey, you know i heard you were here and I was living in this area i was visiting this area and wanted to introduce myself. It's such a beautiful experience and being being part of the Stranded Pen and Network really really helped me i and be here. So the goal of this show is just going to be to do it for the sake of doing it.
00:23:33
Speaker
If I get lots of followers, great. If I hit a ranking again, great. um But at the end of the day, like it just I want to talk about shows. so i want to talk about movies. I want to talk about music.
00:23:46
Speaker
I've been reading more. Maybe I'll actually talk about books. I am one book away from being done with the Throne of Glass series. So maybe we'll try about books. I want to be able to respond to DMs again and respond to emails again and build connections with people.
00:24:04
Speaker
So that's the goal. That's why we're here. So if there's stuff you want me to watch, there's stuff you want me to talk about. um If you feel like you're in the same boat of being in love with some of these titles and shows and movies and don't feel like you have someone that just kind of like clicks the way that you do.
00:24:25
Speaker
Yeah, let's chat. Tell me what I should be watching. Tell me what I've been missing out on in the world. um This is a great space. Great Avenue. You guys are awesome people and I love having you around.
00:24:37
Speaker
So let's hope that the confidence and momentum of this little kickoff introductory episode rolls and that I keep doing this for years to come and Yeah, umm I'm nervous and I'm sure you can feel it through this recording in the almost 30 minutes that you've been listening.
00:24:58
Speaker
Congrats for making it this far. But yeah, I plan on having people on to just talk about things and Just have something to be me with.
00:25:10
Speaker
So yeah, I love you guys. I'm here because of you. I will continue to push because of you. and i'm looking forward to plenty of chats in the future. And until then, stay whelmed.