Unfiltered, uncut and honest are the best words to describe the INO Podcast featuring Marcus Myers and Kofi The Doctor Jones. With Myers as a radio/broadcast personality on Pulse Radio Show on HOTT 95.3 FM and Jones, the other half of the DJ Slash Hype Team, the 27-year-olds make an entertaining pair and bring a refreshing take on Barbadian society.
INO is pretty self-explanatory in the Bajan dialect – “I ain no (know)” or their tagline “Information, kNowledge, Observation”. The duo engages in a no holds barred healthy debate and frank conversation about a variety of subjects with tidbits of humour.
Recorded every Sunday and uploaded weekly on iTunes, SoundCloud, Facebook and YouTube, these millennials ask the controversial questions that persons are often reluctant to ask – from whether there is a White Barbados to politics to trans-sitioning in the LGBTQI community. Persons from all walks of life are welcomed to sit down and share their stories.
Taking advantage of the evolution of online streaming media platforms, three friends – Myers (the creator), Jones (producer) and Romar Parris (engineer) – started the podcast back in 2017 with the premise of recording the authentic conversations that Bajans had behind closed doors. The hosts work well together or as Jones describes it, “Marcus charts the maps and I steer the ship.”
Speaking to Bajan Vibes, Myers revealed that he sought to create a programme that makes the uncomfortable comfortable.
“We live in a time of the internet now where there are a lot of people that like to tell you what you are not allowed to talk about and that is based on the fact that certain things make people uncomfortable. But the reality is the truth is uncomfortable, but that doesn’t make it disappear… I think when we really attack it head on, then it makes it easier,” said Myers.
“I would rather us have these small doses of uncomfortable truths that we can deal with in certain conversations… [so] that when we go out into the world we are equipped with this knowledge for whatever comes at us instead of putting us in a bubble where we only listen to things that make us feel comfortable,” he continued.
“We have an opportunity to bring questions that the average Barbadian might want to ask, did not have the opportunity to ask or [is] afraid to ask. There are questions that people genuinely wanted to know the answer to. It is either we are frightened or don’t have the opportunity to talk about these things,” Jones interjected.
Sitting with their guests in the center, the hosts flesh out their opinions and during the process are enlightened. Jones explained that in keeping with the name INO, they acknowledge their ignorance or lack of knowledge on a topic and are open to learning new information and changing their opinions along the way.
“My views on homosexuality changed since beginning the podcast. We have interviewed members of the LGBTQI community and talking to them is a different perspective. It never occurred to me that you could be born and not be comfortable in your skin; not be comfortable with societal norms. From talking to different allies and members of the community, it changed my mind,” Jones remarked.
During their interviews, the hosts and the guests are vulnerable to the public, disclosing bits of personal experiences and embarrassing moments. Myers indicated that they also dismantled false narratives during the show. He pointed out that quite often persons had an assumption of individuals that changed after conversing with them. He informed Bajan Vibes that he would like to see the eradication of discrimination in Barbadian society.
“What I learned is that people with these unique life experiences are more similar to me than I thought they were,” Myers said.
“I would like that we all judge people based on their ideas and opinions instead of having this preconceived notion that because they were raised in this background, they must have this opinion or because they went through this, they must be this way. I would like for us to break down those barriers that we have for no real reason [for] and just try to talk to everybody,” he added.
To keep up with INOPodcasts follow them on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and many other platforms via the handle @INOPodcasts. (KK)
