The Realest Podcast For Everyone Out There Making Moves
6.99 Per Pound is the podcast serving up sage life advice hot deli food style — assorted and unpretentious
New Yorkers are no strangers to the grind. As Joann Park, the co-host of new podcast 6.99 Per Pound puts it, we have a unique “slash culture” where everybody is juggling multiple gigs.
It’s not uncommon to meet someone who’s running a zine, fostering dogs full-time, and opening up a matcha cafe all on top of their regular 9 to 5. Our unconventional culture keeps people on their feet and doing the most, but what exactly does everyone do? And how did they even get there?
For everyone looking to switch industries or simply figuring out what they want to do, this is the podcast demystifying industries and serving up inspiration one episode at a time.
With guests from Chelsea White, writer & producer of MTV’s Girl Code (and much more), to Justin Chon, a Korean American actor who actually doesn’t mind being known as the “Asian guy from Twilight,” the conversations are as diverse as the options you find at your local deli.
The title of the podcast itself is a shout out to deli food culture — $6.99 was the price of hot food per pound back when co-host Jaeki Cho used to work as the cashier/occasional pizza guy/occasional sandwich guy — the diversiform work ethic all started from there. Whether you vibe with the occupation of the episode or not, hearing how professionals own their passion will motivate you to get out there and do your thing.
The hosts also place a lot of emphasis on having an array of guests that’s as diverse as possible. Beyond solely inviting entertainers and creatives, they literally want to speak with everybody.
Jaeki explains his hope for the podcast, “I feel like people in the creative industry just want to know about the creative industry and often times, they forget that there’s a whole ‘nother list of occupations that we should be aware of. It might bore some people but yo, there’s beauty in everything… Just having a very natural, inquisitive perspective and a much more worldly view of everything.”
Staying true to the essence of their podcast, Joann and Jaeki are familiar with the hustle themselves. Aside from this creative outlet, Joann leads content strategy at Great Big Story, CNN’s cinematic answer to Vice. Jaeki currently oversees Alumni, a premium sneaker menswear boutique, and has a content production company in the works. He’s also helped produce Bad Rap, a Netflix documentary following the lives of Asian American hip-hop artists.
For the duo, podcasts driven by POCs, especially Asian Americans, didn’t really really speak to them so they set out to start their own, but better. First introduced to each other while Jaeki was producing his documentary, the idea for them to work together came from their co-producer Julie (also full of wisdom and guidance herself). After the pilot, the dream team, as Joann calls the crew, realized there was something great and different happening there.
Right when you encounter their hosting dynamic, you see how it stands out from other homegrown podcasts. Jaeki explains, “We don’t have a podcast that talks like me — the way I speak about things, the vocabularies I use, the way I approach things. It’s like yin and yang. Joann comes through with her very West Coast energy — she sounds mad sunny, whereas I sound like a train track just dragging the audio. That itself is a niche! And you don’t have Asian Americans talking reckless while also delivering a message in the podcast world.”
Through their casual conversations, they aim to uplift POC voices in industries where they may be underrepresented in. As someone who’s navigated “the treacherous waters of NY media,” Joann realized that speaking for the underrepresented was her thing. She explains, “I’m a minority in my industry. Jaeki can say the same and a lot of the guests that we interview can say the same. When you are more of a minority, wherever you are, your identification to that becomes stronger.“
Even the company that she works for aims to tell stories that are overlooked and untold. “I think so many of our stories [on the podcast] are just that — being true and not running away from what makes me what I am but actually using it to lean in and empower those who look like me.”
She adds that while niche tribes are important, conversations between those tribes are important as well. That’s why “We’re so particular about having our guests represent a spectrum, not just Asian Americans. Intersectionality is something that can be explored more.”
For Jaeki, filling the void is pretty much ingrained in his DNA. His M.O. is “If it’s wack, I’ll just f*cking do it myself.” There was no documentary about Asian American rappers, so he went ahead and made one. There was no premium menswear boutique in Flushing, Queens where young creatives like himself could connect, so he made that happen too.
As you listen to them “chop it up,” the hosts feel like your older brother and sister encouraging you to quit putting yourself in a bubble, especially if you’re from a culture that pressured you to stick to mainstream career choices. Ultimately, they want the audience to see themselves in any setting, not just as a doctor or lawyer, by highlighting occupations that aren’t as talked about.
Jaeki points out that if he grew up listening to the podcast as a 16 year old, he probably would’ve gotten where he is now much quicker, “but everything is a process, right?” Joann adds that if they can use their podcast “as a way for even one person to really see themselves in something where they were too scared to dream about — whether it’s an editor or whatever, that would be enough for us.” She also shares what their producer-mixer Marcus said, “I have a daughter now and it’d be amazing if she grows up and thinks of the world differently, of limitless opportunities, instead of being silo-ed into things that society told her to do.” Amen!
Still only five episodes deep, the medium is all very exciting and new to the hosts. Stay tuned and keep refreshing that podcast feed, more wisdom by the pound is headed your way.
Subscribe to $6.99 Per Pound on iTunes or follow them on Soundcloud, and stay on the lookout for upcoming episodes fresh off the mic.
