Causepods

Guest

Matthew Zachary

• Stupid Cancer - YouTube

On todays show we welcome Matthew Zachary, the founder and host of The Stupid Cancer Show. The show started out on the radio during the transition that radio made from terrestrial stations onto the internet and before podcasts were really in the common domain. It focuses on and is aimed at members of the younger generations who are affected by cancer. Since we usually associate cancer with later life, Matthew saw how the experience of cancer in teenage or early adult years was an under represented and marginalized experience. This awareness came from his own battles with cancer in his 20s and him really wanting to extend a limb of support to those who find themselves in a similar situation.

Our conversation covers the beginnings of the organization and broadcast. Matthew explains his motivations for confronting the specific challenges facing younger people with cancer. With over a decade passing since Stupid Cancer was established, Matthew has a great perspective on the changes that have occurred in the last ten years and notes some the vast improvements in support that his and other organizations are now able to provide. We also then discuss the podcast format and hear from Matthew why the Stupid Cancer Show migrated to YouTube and away from a purely audio format. One of the big takeaways from the conversation is Matthew’s assertion that the impact of a project such as his show cannot be quantitatively measured when the effects are so often more qualitative and intangible. He also stresses the need for dialogue and the democratization of such initiatives in which those in charge are listening to the audience and those at which it is aimed. For a fascinating talk with someone affecting real positive change in a global community, be sure to to listen in!

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See the show notes and a transcript at http://www.causepods.org/podcast/matthew-zachary

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