BYU–Hawaii ohana members Deedra Ramachandram and Terrell Wu shared they decided to create their podcast “DT Talks” to spread the aloha spirit when BYUH students cannot be together. BYUH students shared how listening to the podcast is uplifting, entertaining and informative.
Ramachandram, a Winter 2020 graduate from Malaysia, explained she and her friend, Terrell Wu, a sophomore from Malaysia majoring in communications, created the “DT Talks” podcast in March: D for Deedra and T for Terrell. They released their first episode in June.
“We created the podcast because we wanted to spread the spirit of aloha we felt during our time in Hawaii,” Ramachandram explained. “We wanted to project [the aloha spirit] through this podcast by listening to people’s experiences, talking about it and getting to know them through the podcast.”
She stated they cover many podcast topics like relationships, college life, getting a job, mental health and more to come.
Wu said, “When the school started sending students home and school was moved remotely, I was very sad because I was looking forward to the Culture Night, hanging out with friends and dating even. However, as time went on, I wanted to ... focus on something I can do at this time.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, Wu said he spent time pondering and realized he has a passion for uplifting others, which caused him to change his major from marketing to communications.
Wu shared they made preparations before creating the podcast and were inspired by other Malaysian YouTubers and podcasters.
During the podcast, Ramachandram and Wu listen and talk about problems people have gone through in life and how they can improve and see the good things in life.
Wu said they love to share positivity. Some of his favorite episodes they have recorded are “Insecurities,” “Getting Out of Our Comfort Zones” and “Random Acts of Kindness.”
“The purpose of our podcast is to share and bring the aloha spirit to our listeners and, of course, sharing optimism towards life,” Wu shared.
Crystal Tania, a freshman from Indonesia majoring in communications, said she listens to the “DT Talks” podcast and likes how they focus on positivity, which inspires her to become a better person and help others.
“They are also not afraid to touch on sensitive topics like what most teenagers are dealing with today,” shared Tania. She said discussions on these topics helped her realize she isn’t alone in her struggles.
Olive Yuen, a sophomore from Singapore majoring in communications, said, “I think it’s interesting they are taking opinions from students and locals. Not only are they discussing topics, but also [they’re] providing a platform for voices to be heard while keeping it equally entertaining as it is informative. I especially loved the episode about home and which country I considered as home. It was a rather self-reflective moment I never really thought about until then.”
Not only are they discussing topics, but also [they’re] providing a platform for voices to be heard while keeping it equally entertaining as it is informative.
The podcast has listeners at BYUH and Malaysia, and also in New York. Chan Anli, a student at Nassau Community College in New York majoring in fashion design, said, “‘DT Talks’ motivated me when I was low.” She explained, “I remember in one of the episodes, they were writing a letter to their inner self. In the letter, they mentioned family background and what they thought they were bad at.”
She added she realized she was not alone, and other people struggle like her. She stated DT Talks is a very inspiring podcast that helped her and can help anyone else out there.
While Ramachandram lives in Malaysia and Wu is on Oahu, to make their podcasts possible they find time to get together through Zoom calls.
Wu said, “The biggest struggle is finding the right time to record and, more importantly, finding guests to speak at that time as well. [For] either one of us, it will be too early in the morning or too late at night. We do not have a studio, and Deedra is on the other side of the world, so it is hard to do things physically. The pandemic has so many restrictions, which made it challenging to record with someone most of the time. We have to create a schedule where both of us are free, and we would usually record during the weekends and post the episode on the following weekend.”
Ramachandram said, “Even though we have difficulties, we make do with what we have because we want to make sure the message is out there for our listeners. We want to let people [who are] listening, or anyone out there, know they are not alone in whatever situation they are going through. We are always here to listen.” Wu added, “If you need some optimism or motivation, you can listen to our podcast since we encourage people to do good [and] always to hope for good things to come.”
Since starting their first episode, they said they have received positive feedback from families and friends, which motivates them to continue and spread the spirit of aloha. Ramachandram said, “We are not professionals. We are learning, but we always try to deliver good content in hopes of helping anyone out there, wherever they are.”
Wu said to students struggling, “If you are feeling lonely, sad or overwhelmed due to the pandemic, we are here for you. You can find us on our social media, Facebook, Spotify, BuzzSprout, Google and Apple Podcasts. We are here for you.”