Richard W. Rodriguez
Over the last few years, we assume you’ve either heard this question or have personally asked it aloud: Why does everyone have a podcast?
With over 6 million audio shows on Spotify, it’s easy to feel like the podcast space is oversaturated with surface-level chats and monologues from not-subject-matter experts acting like subject-matter experts. But when one expertly navigates these airwaves and takes the time to separate the wheat from the chaff, one will discover that some people are flat-out worth listening to. And Andrew Turner is one of these people.
Turner’s “Fort Worth Roots Podcast,” which delivers thoughtful interviews with local personalities — be it with artists, musicians, civic leaders, or entrepreneurs — has been around for over five years and just notched Episode No. 440. Yeah, this wasn’t some flash-in-the-pan, flavor-of-the-week podcast situation; Turner’s clearly in it for the long haul.
An Army veteran and an avid listener of podcasts — “I was probably eating up about 50 or 60 hours-worth of podcast content per week” — Turner saw the potential to replicate and put a Fort Worth twist on shows he was regularly tuning into. Things like “The Joe Rogan Experience” and “WTF with Marc Maron,” shows that featured laid-back conversations that led to insightful and revealing information on a wide range of topics.
“I saw some real value in podcasting long-form,” Turner says. “I thought it would be very impactful. There are so many amazing people [in Fort Worth], and I just thought there was a space for it.”
Born and raised in Abilene, Turner joined the U.S. Army in 2005 and served two overseas combat deployments. He’d end up in Fort Worth in 2010 when he was stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth and, like many who arrive expecting a short-term stint, he’d make it his long-term home.
While the transition from Abilene to Fort Worth wouldn’t exactly result in culture shock, Turner, like many of us, is technically one of those transplants who’s at the heart of Fort Worth’s population boom.
“It is cool if you’re born in Fort Worth and never left,” Turner says. “But there’s something even more special about it whenever you show up to Fort Worth and you go, ‘Oh, this is it. This is home.’”
His genuine love for the city is undoubtedly what’s at the heart of his “Fort Worth Roots Podcast.” No matter who Turner interviews or what he promotes, there’s a sense of altruism in everything the podcast does. And while this charity expands to the community at large, there is one local space where he aims to make the most difference: the local music scene.
“At the end of the day, when I think about what I can affect, I’m wondering if I can get more bands on stages,” he says. “The music scene isn’t thriving the way it used to, but there are still so many incredible, talented artists around our city. And I’m going to do my part to get the city back to where it used to be — we almost became the music capital of Texas. I’ll be on this mic, cheerleading as hard as I can.”
BY THE WAY...
Richard W. Rodriguez
Who’s been your favorite interview on “Fort Worth Roots”?
“Rather than focusing on one episode, I’d say the category that’s been my favorite is the work we’ve done with the child advocacy groups — child placement services like Gladney Center for Adoption and excellent Tarrant County organizations that are taking care of the most important people in our community: our children. Those are my favorite because, to me, ‘Fort Worth Roots’ is meeting its max potential whenever we’re part of something so big and so important.”
FROM THE FEED
1. Keeping Fort Worth funky.
2. Interviewing Mayor Mattie Parker.
3. Outside Ridglea Theatre following Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards.
4. Our Taphouse.
5. Turner with his wife in Terlingua.
6. With local musician Bencjones.
7. With District 3 City Council Member Michael Crain.
