Elevated Conversations – A Podcast Hosted by Colby Jeffers

Baha’i rapper Colby Jeffers is a creative dynamo! We recently interviewed him about his album Created Noble (which you can read here) and in this post, we talk to him about his podcast series called Elevated Conversations. The podcast aims to explore meaningful topics and themes that can help us progress socially, intellectually and spiritually. Colby has produced 35 episodes so far with a variety of guests on a diverse range of topics, and we recommend checking it out!

Here’s what Colby shared with us about his podcast, Elevated Conversations, why he decided to host it, how he hopes it will affect listeners, and some words of encouragement for others thinking of starting their own podcast series: 

Baha’i Blog: Can you tell us a little bit about the podcast series and who it’s for?

The mission of the Elevated Conversations podcast is to uplift, educate, and inspire by exploring meaningful topics and themes that lead to social, intellectual, and spiritual progress. The podcast is geared towards Baha’is and like-minded friends who seek to contribute to the betterment of the world. Another one of my passions is creating Baha’i-inspired hip hop, so the podcast often centers on music, and many of the featured guests have been fellow Baha’i artists.

Baha’i Blog: Can you tell us why you decided to start the podcast series and how it’s evolved over time?

To be honest, I started the Elevated Conversations podcast back in 2019 as a bit of an experiment. I had personally been really getting into podcasts as a listener, and one day thought, “it would be a lot of fun to host a podcast, myself!!” I love having conversations with others, and it’s a central part of our work in serving the Cause and humanity, so it felt very natural to take this passion into a podcast, which has been an emerging form of media and discourse over the past few years.

Funny enough, the first few episodes were actually just me sharing my thoughts on topics I was interested in, such as basketball and rap music, and approaching them from a spiritual, Baha’i-inspired perspective. However, once I built my chops up a bit, I started inviting guests onto the podcast to have actual conversations! I’ve interviewed a variety of guests, including several fellow Baha’i artists, to dive into recent projects they have released.

Most recently, I completed an eight episode series diving into my latest music album, Created Noble, bringing on guests who contributed to the inspiration or creation of the album. It was super enriching and insightful! Over the first 35 episodes of the podcast, it’s been a very organic process, and I’ve just been taking it one episode at a time. I’ve got lots of ideas for future episodes, though, so I’m excited to see how the podcast will continue to evolve in the future!

Baha’i Blog: What are some of the things you’ve learned over the course of making this happen?

I feel like I have learned quite a bit! First and foremost, the actual conversations taking place on the podcast have been really elevated! So I’m always learning and deepening my understanding on a variety of topics with every episode I record, which is such a bounty!

Secondly, I’ve learned that there is seriously so much room for creativity when it comes to serving the Faith in the framework for action that has been continuously unfolding across the Baha’i world. I have found hosting this podcast to be such an amazing, albeit humble, way to contribute to discourse in society.

Additionally, I feel that the long form, deeper-dive style of podcasts is a nice contrast to the short form, often superficial nature of some social media platforms.

Baha’i Blog: How do you hope the podcast will affect its listeners?

My biggest hope is that anyone listening to the podcast leaves feeling spiritually elevated! I hope that they feel that they truly learned something new and insightful with each episode. Additionally, I hope that the Elevated Conversations podcast can be a platform for other artists and creatives to feature their work and share more deeply about the meaning and process behind their creative expressions.

Baha’i Blog: Do you have any suggestions for others who have been thinking of starting their own podcast?

My main suggestion is: DO IT!! Some of the key questions I would suggest reflecting upon before starting a podcast would be: What topic(s) do you want to focus on? What type of podcast will it be (interview, monologue, round-table with several guests, story-telling, or a combination)? Who is your audience? Is it a short term project with a finite number of episodes, or an ongoing program? And most importantly, how will the podcast serve the Cause and humanity?

Once you’ve gained some clarity on the direction of the podcast, I suggest committing for at least a few months of creating content to build your capacity, and then operate in a mode of learning by acting and reflecting, as well as consulting with and studying other podcast hosts to gain insights and improve your podcast over time.

Baha’i Blog: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I love connecting and collaborating with others, so if you take the time to check out the Elevated Conversations podcast, please be sure to send me your feedback! Additionally, if you’re a Baha’i creative and would like to share more about your work, I’d love to have an elevated conversation with you about it and feature it on the program! Lastly, if you need any help starting a podcast, I’m happy to assist you in any way that I can! I’m pretty easy to get in touch with on social media platforms @colbyjeffers or through email at [email protected].

Baha’i Blog: Where can people find the podcast?

You can find the Elevated Conversations podcast on all the major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. You can also listen to the podcast on my website: www.colbyjeffers.com

Baha’i Blog: Thank you, Colby, for taking the time to tell us about your podcast series. Congratulations on producing 35 episodes so far!

You can listen to Elevated Conversations here: www.colbyjeffers.com/elevated-conversations

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Naysan Naraqi

Naysan is passionate about using the arts and media to explore the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Back in 2011, Naysan started up the Baha’i Blog project, channeling his experiences in both media and technology companies to help create a hub for Baha’i-inspired content online.