More often than not, things come to be because of ideas formed from desires or frustrations. In Amani Maranga’s case, he wanted to express himself and he wanted to be authentic in his delivery. Understanding that he wasn’t one to sit and write down his thoughts, he opted to venture into podcasting. So, he plugged his headphones onto his phone and recorded the first episode (Healing through Acceptance) of his podcast – Living Truthfully – from the comfort of his bedroom. The episode was released on 4th December of 2018.
And just like that, Amani had a podcast to his name; one that was fulfilling his need to speak his mind.
‘Living Truthfully’ was inspired by a series Amani had once watched called Living Biblically. As is said of the importance of business names, this too can be seen in the name he chose for his podcast. After all, it was and would be the first element his potential listeners would be exposed to.
The plan was to record consistently, upload the recordings on podcast platforms, and thereafter share them with his networks. By the third episode, he invited his first guest Marcus Olang to talk about what the festive season looks like following a break up. And by the 15th episode, three guests had made appearances on the podcast, and discussed topics such as aspects of childhood that still affect men, and why men get married.
Slowly, the podcast was curving out a niche but wasn’t limited to male audiences. When an audio engineer friend from Big City Studios listened to Amani’s podcast and proposed offering production services, Amani took up the offer. Since then, he has mastered the art of audio production and has set up his own studio.
It’s been over two years of Living Truthfully, and Amani’s eagerness to express himself and feature stories of other men remains as steady as it was in the beginning. Living Truthfully podcast has 81 episodes featuring a number of topics, from addiction, to business, to mental health.
As more conversations continue to take place in the studio, we urge you to listen to some of the past episodes, and see for yourself why this podcast made it onto our list of notable Kenyan podcasts.