"Profoundly Pointless" Podcast: Blasting Through Your Comfort Zone

You know that you've succeeded in podcasting when you can record and then release an 85-minute episode when the subject matter is boredom. That's right. Profoundly Pointless founder and host Nick VinZant introduced boredom expert James Danckert to discuss all aspects of boredom.

Was the episode boring, you want to know?

Absolutely not.

VinZant, who's been doing this gig since 2018, is adept at turning water into wine. The episode fascinated me and other listeners, and I came away with a different perspective of boredom.

Danckert, the expert, explains in the episode: "...when you suggest that boredom serves a functional sort of purpose in our lives, you're also sort of hinting at the fact that it might indeed have an evolutionary history. If boredom is functional, then presumably it was selected for and if it was selected for evolution, then presumably, we can see it in other animals. And you can, so anyone that's owned a dog knows that dogs get bored, right? You come home, and you've got one of your shoes torn up while the dog was bored. And so we tore up your shoe, we didn't have any malice in it. But scientifically, we've also sort of demonstrated this"

That's why Profoundly Pointless is all about. Delivering answers to listeners about the dumbest questions possible. Want to know what a cigar blender does? VinZant has an episode for that. Cosmetic chemist? Swordsmith? Pizza acrobat? Intimacy coach? 

Profoundly Pointless has answers for its growing roster of listeners. We were able to catch up to Nick and ask him a few questions about himself and the podcast. 

  Q. First, you describe yourself this way on the podcast's website: "Want to get to know Nick? Go to the grocery store. Find plain bread. There, you've met him. Dude's had the same haircut since 2nd grade." Can you elaborate?

A. “I don’t think I’m a very interesting person. I think that’s why I’ve always been fascinated by the guests we have on Profoundly Pointless. They have these outrageous lives that are so much different from my own experiences.”

 Q. You and your podcast have gotten positive exposure and rave reviews from Discoverpods and Podcast Review. How has that helped?

A. “More than anything it’s helped me keep going. The only thing I’ve ever really wanted out of the show is for other people to enjoy it too. As an indie podcaster, I know I’m up against the big machine, so finding an audience that likes the show makes me feel like I’m not alone.”

Q. Why start a podcast? Your website has this quote, "Too often I realize I'm stuck in my bubble, but this podcast enabled me to, albeit briefly, exit my comfort zone and truly learn something new." What does that mean?

A. “That quote is from one of the first reviews of the show and I put it up on our website because I thought it really summed up both the show and what I wanted to accomplish. The algorithm traps us in our bubble. But there’s so much out there. And it’s amazing what you can learn from someone totally different from yourself. I hate the cold and heights but the best life advice I ever got was from an Ice Climber we interviewed and the best financial advice I ever got was from an Erotic Hypnotist.”

Q. Your first episode was in July 2018, called "Let’s See Where This Goes.” How difficult was it to get that first episode up and running?

A. “That was terrifying for me. In private, I’m almost pathologically shy. So putting that episode out there was hard….and on top of that it was terrible. Just terrible. I’m too scared to listen to it now and I cringe at the mere thought of someone listening to it. But….I really like podcasting so I kept going. And now I couldn’t even imagine stopping.”

Q. You’ve had guests on your show with unusual and fascinating jobs. Like the sex dominatrix, a Google Maps player, a cigar blender, and others. How do you find these people?

A. “Holidays at the airport. That’s all I’m gonna say:)”

Q. One of my favorite episodes was the woman who taught actors how to use accents. You did pretty good with the British accent she taught you? What do you take away from your guests?

A. “She was a great teacher! I think the biggest takeaway is always how much I didn’t know. I love it when we have a guest on and then the next day I get messages from listeners saying “I never knew about/tried this thing, and now I love it.” That’s the main thing I’ve learned. That you never know what you might learn or like if you just open yourself up to it. “

Q. How do you prepare for your guests? How would you define your interviewing style?

A. “I purposely don’t do any preparation. The goal of the show is to introduce people to something new, so I want to come into interviews with nothing but curiosity. It really opens up the conversation and showcases who the guest really is.”

Q. How did you come up with the “Five Top” sequence on your podcast? Why?

A. I’m fascinated by the things we all share and the little differences we all have. The Top 5s really bring both of those out. I know this might sound dumb but everyone has a word that no matter how hard they try they just can’t remember how to spell…..finding out what that is, or what kind of car says the most about someone, or their favorite fictional dogs, really tells you who someone is.”

Q. After four years of podcasting, what have you learned? About yourself? About podcasting?

A. “That I still have so much to learn. Even after 200+ episodes I still feel like I’m just now figuring things out. Both in podcasting and in life. I feel like both the show and myself are just now hitting our strides, just now learning who we are, what we like and who we want to be.”

Q. What’s the future for Profoundly Pointless? Join an extensive network? Write a book?

A. “We’ve got some fascinating guests coming up but other than that I have no idea. I want to keep growing the show but I don’t really know what that means. I grew up a lonely, out-of-place kid, so just having people who are interested in the things I’m interested in is enough to keep me going forever.”

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In this world today, we hide in our echo chambers, safe and secure under our weighted blankets with our earbuds in, so we don't hear a discordant tone that ruptures our carefully sculpted worldview.

Profoundly Pointless isn't political at all, but it does sonically draw its listeners into a universe where what people do in life is different. It's exciting. Exhilarating. 

Did you know that there is a latex model? A sex toy designer? A cannabis photographer?  A fetish wrestler? A robot psychiatrist?

Now you do. Check out their stories on Profoundly Pointless.

 

Host Nick VinZant