January – March 2021 “Heart to Heart with Anna” Playlist

Welcome to 2021! We are already well into January but I figured I would give a listing of the January through March 2021 episodes of “Heart to Heart with Anna.”

We are so excited with the amazing Guests we’ve already interviewed in 2021! At one point, I wondered if I should be thinking about an exit strategy for the podcast. Does the world still need “Heart to Heart with Anna”? I think the fact that we’re still getting as many downloads as we do speaks to whether or not the world needs us. We actually have two different hosts for our podcast — Buzzsprout and Spreaker. Buzzsprout does an amazing job of collecting statistical data on the podcasts it hosts. In 2020 Buzzsprout ended the year hosting over 84,000 podcasts, yet, episodes of “Heart to Heart with Anna” are almost always in the top 10% of episodes hosted that week on Buzzsprout. I think that means that what we’re doing is still a service to the congenital heart defect community.

One thing we’re really excited about is that in our playlist you’ll see an episode in Italian! Yes! Thanks to Annie Ulchak, we were introduced to Nino Barbalace. Nino helped me when I was asked to give a small speech in Italian at a CHD conference. My Italian is rudimentary to be sure, but with Nino’s help, I was able to make sure my speech was technically accurate. He then helped me with my pronunciation so I wouldn’t embarrass myself too badly when giving the speech to doctors around the world. After we survived that experience together, I asked Nino if he would be willing to be a Guest Host for “Heart to Heart with Anna.” After some training, Nino did just that! He listened to Dr. Gabriella Ricciardi do an episode with me in English. He then did the same interview with Dr. Ricciardi in Italian. That episode will go live in February. If we are to help people around the world touched by congenital heart defects, we know that we have to offer episodes in languages other than English. We hope to do at least one episode per quarter in a foreign language in 2021. (See this link for our podcasts in foreign languages.)

We love to hear from our Listeners. Please feel free to write to us using the Contact Us tab on our website. If there is a topic we haven’t addressed and you feel we should address it, let us know! Do you want to hear from a particular person in the CHD community? Help us with a connection! Are you interested in being a Guest on our program? Use this link to fill out a form to be a Guest on our program. You’ll also see a 2-minute video that my HH son Joey made to help you make the most out of your “Heart to Heart with Anna” experience.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If you’d like to be a Patron of “Heart to Heart with Anna,” please visit our Patreon site. If you’re interested in using Buzzsprout as the host for your podcast, please use this link and you and I will both get a $20 Amazon gift card! The next post will have to do with Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Month — which of course is in February! Until then, remember my friends, you are NOT alone!