NANA launches a podcast for association staff

NANA released the first episode of its podcast on September 10, opening a 14-episode first season built for association staff who want sector conversation on a commute or a lunch break.

Episodes post every other Tuesday, running through the following April. Amara Obiledu, NANA's senior editor, hosts the show in addition to her work editing news and the resource library.

"We didn't want another panel-discussion podcast," Obiledu said. "Every episode is one guest, one topic, thirty minutes. No filler segments, no five minutes of small talk before we get to the point. Association staff don't have time for that."

Each episode is recorded in a small booth at NANA's Washington headquarters, with editing and production handled entirely in-house by Obiledu's team.

Season one's opening episode features CEO Walter Abernathy, who has led NANA since 2017 and previously ran a regional trade association for a decade before joining NANA's staff. The conversation covers what Abernathy has learned since taking the role and where he thinks associations are underinvesting.

Later episodes bring on board members and staff to talk through topics including advocacy on Capitol Hill, chapter growth strategies, and preparation for the CAE exam. Obiledu said she built the season's guest list around a mix of NANA's own staff and outside voices from member organizations, to keep the show from sounding like an internal newsletter with a microphone.

Obiledu said the idea for a podcast had circulated among NANA staff for over a year before this launch, but the team held off until they had a clear format in mind rather than launching a general interview show. "We wanted something a listener could describe in one sentence," she said. "One guest, one topic, thirty minutes. If we couldn't say that, we weren't ready."

Season one runs through early April, with all 14 episodes available in the podcast section of NANA's site as they release. Members can also find each episode's show notes and a set of chaptered timestamps alongside the audio, making it easier to jump to a specific segment.

Obiledu said she is treating season one as a test of the format before committing to an ongoing schedule. If listenership holds up through the full 14 episodes, she plans to bring the show back with a second season built around a different theme — an early candidate is association finance and dues, a topic she said came up unprompted in nearly every guest conversation during season one's planning. No decision on a second season has been made, and Obiledu said she'd rather end the show after one strong season than stretch a second one out of an idea that wasn't fully formed. A decision is expected once the season one listenership numbers are in.