<description>&lt;p&gt;Why Santa matters.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="mailto:hello@nichetomeetyou.show" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Email us&lt;/a&gt; with your favorite part of this episode or what it made you think about!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;TELL A FRIEND ABOUT US! Is there someone who should know about this project? Tell them. Seriously, just text them. Now!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Find us on &lt;a href="http://www.instagram.com/nichetomeetyou.show" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;, or &lt;a href="https://www.nichetomeetyou.show/#email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;join our email list&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Find pictures from Leslieā€™s time with Santas &lt;a href="http://www.nichetomeetyou.show/santa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;EPISODE NOTES:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The final episode in our series about professional Santas ends with relevance ā€“ &lt;em&gt;why &lt;/em&gt;having Santas is crucial to the human experience and aids with flourishing amid suffering. In doing this, we learn why these folks deal with the heaviness of the undertaking and what we can learn from them. Youā€™ll hear from a Santa who spends 200+ days a year in a suit (and has done that for 35 years), and from an educator who uses his Santa portrayal to motivate his students. We also welcome renowned UK Poet &lt;a href="https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Malcolm Guite&lt;/a&gt; to explore what storytelling and imagination have to do with Santa and his role in our society.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;SANTAS FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://jerusalem-santa.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Jerusalem Santa&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://blacksantateam.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Santa Shed&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/george.lamont.718" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Santa George&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://santabenclaus.com/?fbclid=IwY2xjawG9VHpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbyJrZLYCjmDWoHTOamcXNiIxyr2vhOaxb04Z8OZnUFcB-EvXMZty0xENw_aem_l2YK19bshOf12wc7o8Xp-Q" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Santa Ben&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.santaclausoath.org/about-the-author" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Santa Phil&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.santajay.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Santa Jay&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://musiccitysanta.com/home.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Santa Stephen&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.hoptheblacksanta.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Santa Hop&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://santachrisk.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Santa Chris&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://santatrue.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Santa True&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ABOUT NICHE TO MEET YOU:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Niche to Meet You is an investigative storytelling podcast about the little-known niche interests. Our work has been featured on &lt;a href="https://wpln.org/post/episodes/this-is-nicheville/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nashville Public Radio&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, has been seen by millions through a recent&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C8aKPDDv0vZ/.https://www.instagram.com/p/C8aKPDDv0vZ/.https://www.instagram.com/p/C8aKPDDv0vZ/.https://www.instagram.com/p/C8aKPDDv0vZ/.https://www.instagram.com/p/C8aKPDDv0vZ/.https://www.instagram.com/p/C8aKPDDv0vZ/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;viral instagram ree&lt;/strong&gt;l&lt;/a&gt;, and has been featured in the likes of The Guardian and the 1440 newsletters. &lt;strong&gt;It's like if Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and Revisionist History teamed up for a Netflix special. &lt;/strong&gt;We use miniseries and individual interviews to introduce listeners to folks involved with &lt;a href="http://www.nichetomeetyou.show/40k" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Warhammer 40,000&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.nichetomeetyou.show/episodes/ontheroad" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Rubikā€™s cube...</description>

Niche to Meet You

Leslie Thompson

šŸŽ…šŸ½ Professional Santas | Part 3: The Man with All the Joys

DEC 6, 202431 MIN
Niche to Meet You

šŸŽ…šŸ½ Professional Santas | Part 3: The Man with All the Joys

DEC 6, 202431 MIN

Description

Why Santa matters.

  • Email us with your favorite part of this episode or what it made you think about! 
  • TELL A FRIEND ABOUT US! Is there someone who should know about this project? Tell them. Seriously, just text them. Now!
  • Find us on Instagram, or join our email list.
  • Find pictures from Leslieā€™s time with Santas here.

EPISODE NOTES:

The final episode in our series about professional Santas ends with relevance ā€“ why having Santas is crucial to the human experience and aids with flourishing amid suffering. In doing this, we learn why these folks deal with the heaviness of the undertaking and what we can learn from them. Youā€™ll hear from a Santa who spends 200+ days a year in a suit (and has done that for 35 years), and from an educator who uses his Santa portrayal to motivate his students. We also welcome renowned UK Poet Malcolm Guite to explore what storytelling and imagination have to do with Santa and his role in our society. 

SANTAS FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE:


ABOUT NICHE TO MEET YOU:

Niche to Meet You is an investigative storytelling podcast about the little-known niche interests. Our work has been featured on Nashville Public Radio, has been seen by millions through a recent viral instagram reel, and has been featured in the likes of The Guardian and the 1440 newsletters. It's like if Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and Revisionist History teamed up for a Netflix special. We use miniseries and individual interviews to introduce listeners to folks involved with Warhammer 40,000, Rubikā€™s cube enthusiasts and competitors, armored combat champions, wild turkey conservationists, and more. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOW HERE.

SHOW CREDITS: 

Creator/Reporter/host: Leslie Thompson (IG: @leslieeilerthompson)

Associate script producer: Chris Thiessen 

Mastering by Kevin Morris

Show theme composed by Abigail Flowers with this holiday arrangement by Mike Hicks

Show artwork created by Rachel Hardacre

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Jon McLaughlin 

Mentioned in this episode:

DONATE TO THE SHOW

Find more information on donating (tax-deductibly!) at https://wedgwoodcircle.givingfuel.com/niche-to-meet-you