New Palestinian teenager’s podcast grabs attention

NEW PALESTINE – The list of people Jacob Buehrer interviewed for his newly created podcast is impressive. A glimpse of the names might make one wonder how a New Palestine teenager is fortunate enough to have in-depth conversations with some nationally known names in politics, business, and entertainment.

From former Apple CEO John Sculley to Michael Reagan, the son of President Ronald Reagan, it was a good start for Jacob, a junior at New Palestine High School who launched his podcast, “The Jacob Buehrer Show” , six months ago as a way to express your creative energy.

“I had the opportunity to interview Michael Reagan on the 40th anniversary of his father’s assassination attempt,” Jacob said. “For me it was amazing.”

The podcast can be streamed every two weeks on Apple and Spotify and draws listeners from all over the world. While most interviews are done remotely, Jacob did some fieldwork and even tracked down a professional he wanted to interview at an airport when he was in Miami.

“I’ve had listeners all over the country and around the world, like in Brazil and other countries,” Jacob said.

The first episode, in December 2020, focused on politics, one of his passions. It was “nothing big,” said Jacob. But the adventure was fun, and he thought, why not try to get some famous people on the show?

“With COVID and school cut short on some days, I just started contacting people because I was thinking, what can they say the most, ‘no,'” said Jacob.

With a little ingenuity, he was able to find the phone numbers and email addresses of some famous people and started contacting them. To his surprise, many were ready to attend his show.

“Some of them wondered how I got their contact information, but I always said, ‘Don’t worry. I have a great opportunity for you, ”said Jacob.

As someone who has always been interested in broadcasting, Jacob said he’s looking for something to get him off the couch and play a more active role. Making a podcast did that.

It gets solid marks, averaging 4.5 out of 5 in online reviews. Podcasts average a few thousand listeners per episode, but the number of listeners varies depending on the guest.

Jacob was proud to have secured an interview with Michelle Tidball, who was rapper Kanye West’s running mate during West’s presidential campaign last fall. Jacob learned that he was one of a handful of reporters who were able to interview the candidate.

“I really don’t know how I as a kid got this because they told me they said ‘no’ to Forbes,” Jacob said.

In a podcast with former astronaut Mark Mullane, who flew three space missions, Buehrer has a down-to-earth conversation, asking Mullane how he got involved in aviation and what it was like for him as a teenager. , to pursue his dreams.

The whole process has been a great lesson for Jacob as it has taught him to go ahead and follow his ideas even if others don’t think his dreams have a chance to be successful.

“I’ve had kids that I go to school with tell me my podcast is nothing, but I get comments from California and everywhere telling me they really like it,” Jacob said. “It motivates me to continue. “

His parents, Janice and Trent Buehrer, are proud of their son’s podcast and love the fact that he finds a way to use his curiosity about politics, entertainment, and other topics to ask questions and talk to people around him. ‘he finds interesting.

“He has a lot of self-confidence to approach people, even strangers and just strike up a conversation,” his mother said. “He has always been a very nice person, a social child. He’s not afraid to reach out and call or talk to people.

The family are interested in seeing where their son’s hobby could lead. Janice said it would be fun to watch and see if the podcast leads to a career in broadcasting.

“He’s just not the kind of kid who can sit still for very long, he’s a goer and doer who easily gets on board,” his mother said. “He’s always looking to learn.

Like many teenagers, Jacob is not the mainstream school’s biggest fan; he enjoys learning in his own way, and so far it is working, the family said.

“He researches people online, and if he finds something interesting, he goes after it,” Janice said.

Right now his podcast is just for fun, with no advertisers, but Jacob noted that you never know what can happen. He’s not sure what to study in college, but he was inspired to learn more about business because he learned that money follows if a person comes up with a good product. He also learned that the key to success is not to give up.

“This guy I spoke to, it took 15 years to start his fitness center in one place, and now he’s got over 2,000 everywhere,” Jacob said. “I have always believed (in following) your passion, and what you are good at will show.”

His two most recent podcasts are interviews with Sam LeBlond, the nephew of President George W. Bush and grandson of President George HW Bush.

Last Friday, he was scheduled to interview former Army Under Secretary Patrick Murphy.

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