Photo by Erin Nelson.
Aaron Williams of the Your City Podcast is set up in the Homewood City Hall meeting room.
In an effort to help people become better neighbors to those around them, Aaron Williams, a Gardendale resident, has started the “Your City” podcast, the second season of which focuses on the city of Homewood.
Williams, a web developer, began the podcast with his home city of Gardendale before heading to Homewood for season two. Speaking with city leaders from different arenas, he said he hopes to bring people together in a time where unity can be hard to come by.
After hosting a Dungeons and Dragons podcast for a while, Williams had the idea for the podcast, he said. He “wanted to paint a picture of community,” highlighting everyone from business people to politicians to pastors and more.
The first season included conversations with a pastor in Gardendale, Gardendale Mayor Stan Hogeland, Gardendale Chamber of Commerce leaders, business leaders and Chad Eads, head coach of the Gardendale High School football team. The second season, focused in Homewood, included, through eight episodes, interviews with City Council members Alex Wyatt and Barry Smith, Chamber of Commerce Director Meredith Drennen, Judith Wright and Laura Tucker with the Homewood Library, Robbie Lee with The Exceptional Foundation and several more.
Williams said he cares deeply about focusing one’s time and money on the local community, and taking his passions and his ability to create a podcast and combining them led to “Your City.”
The second season was released in July, while the first season was released in installments from November 2021 to January 2022, Williams said.
The focus for the podcast is on smaller cities, Williams said, and Homewood “seemed like a place that was going to be pretty receptive.”
Taking time to talk to so many people and investigate the cities he’s covered has been a lesson for Williams, he said.
“I’ve learned a lot about how cities run,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of people representing your interest. … I’m learning how processes keep a city functioning.”
Knowing the people and the community around you is an important part of being a good neighbor, Williams said.
“Get to know your neighbor so we can be good neighbors,” Williams said, repeating one of the show’s taglines. “I think learning the story of your city helps create a connection to it.”
Williams said it’s important to know each other so people can trust one another and talk with one another.
“How can you have a community if you don’t talk to each other?” Williams said.
The willingness of those he’s interviewed has helped him “believe I'm doing something people find valuable,” Williams said.
“Those who hear [the show] like it,” Williams said.
One time, his wife, Yu-Ting, made a cake and delivered it to a customer, who knew about her husband and the podcast. He was really excited about the show and came out to the car, where Williams was sitting, to praise him for his efforts, Williams said. Others have told Williams that while they knew some of his guests before the show, the podcast has taught them new things about their friends and colleagues, he said.
The podcast can be found wherever people listen to podcasts, Williams said, and he plans to keep going and find another city to feature soon, with the same goal of connecting people to the people and places that are all around them.
“I feel like people get distracted … by all this noise that is happening very far away from them,” Williams said. “And so, in a way, we forget that there’s good people and that there’s cool stuff happening right next to you.”
Editor’s note: Homewood Star Editor Neal Embry was a guest in one episode of the Your City podcast.
