What does Bill Shakos know?
A lot.
And the Westporter is sharing what he (and others) know, in a deep, insightful new podcast.
Called “What Do I Know,” the Westport Library Verso Studios Community Partnerships project is an outgrowth of Shakos’ personal journey.
Turning 50 — while emerging from the pandemic — caused him to reassess his life. He was looking for “a sense of purpose.”
Shakos set out to explore his community, and the people in it. He was especially interested in those with different life experiences, struggles and aspirations.
He wanted to get to know them. And really listen.
“What Do I Know” is his series of interviews with people in and around Westport, getting to the core of their (and our) humanness.
Shakos hopes his podcasts will “inspire empathy, perspective and inspiration by taking listeners outside their social circles,” Shakos said.
“What Do I Know” debuted Monday, with 3 20-minute episodes.
The first is Shakos’ reflection on turning 50, and navigating life after the pandemic. He and a friend of 30 years, Westonite Jesse Shafer, explore “the new normal.”
One made good choices, Shakos says. The other “went down a rabbit hole of escapism.”
The second episode is a conversation with Richard Anderson, a Westporter whose family experienced racism here. He and Shakos talk about race, privilege and friendship in suburbia.
The third “What Do I Know?” is an interview with David Rosenwaks. A relatively new Westporter, he won a seat on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) after noticing minimal representation of parents. Shakos and he discuss the power and importance of local government.
More episodes will drop every other week.
The show is available on the Verso Studios community partnership podcast page; through podcast distributors like Spotify, Apple and Amazon, and on the What Do I Know? website.
What Do I Know? also has channels on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. A YouTube channel features supplemental content.
Bill Shakos (Photo/John Videler for Videler Photography)
The son of Greek immigrants, Shakos married a woman who grew up in Chile. They spent 10 years in London, before settling in Westport.
“My father taught me the importance of making people feel valued and respecting their perspectives,” Shakos says. “The diversity of my family and living abroad represents, for me, a need to explore the world and people in it.
“The theme of this podcast is self-exploration. What I hope comes through is that I genuinely care about the person I’m talking to. Not their job, not what they have, but instead the experiences that brought them to this point in their life.”
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