ELGL has been recording and producing the GovLove Podcast for almost a full calendar year and with 85 episodes one of the most common questions we get is, where should I start? GovLove is recorded by three alternating hosts: Kent Wyatt, Kirsten Wyatt and Ben Kittelson and we all have our own opinions on what episodes are the best. Each of us send people in different directions from Ben’s interview with NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver to Kent’s interview on the Start-Up City with Gabe Klein & Leah Treat.
But then we realized there’s a data-driven answer! Each episode has a listen count and we came up with the Top 5 most listened to episodes of GovLove. This is that list, so if you want to know where to start with GovLove or maybe you missed one of these episodes take a listen.
If your favorite episode didn’t make the list you can help it out! Share the episode with your colleagues, on social media or leave a review about that episode on iTunes. Also, tweet at @GovLovePodcast and tell us what episode should have made the Top 5.
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#72 Civic Tech with Chris Maddox, CEO of Seneca Systems
Technology, local government, philosophy – Chris Maddox can talk about it all. On the number five most listened to episode, GovLove explored the civic tech industry and Chris’s own path to building technology for cities across the country. Chris even discussed what it takes to build a vibrant technology and start-up scene in your own community.
Quotable:
“The difference between the importance of local government, and how it impacts people’s lives versus the tools that public servants are given to execute that vision – there’s just a tremendous gap there. And there’s no reason that needs to be the case. So we just said, ‘Hey we’re going to try and solve this.'”
4
#73 Smart Cities with Soofa Benches’ Ed Krafcik
What if a sign could be a wifi hotspot? Or if you could charge your phone at a park bench? Soofa, or smart urban furniture appliances, is aiming to do exactly that. GovLove chatted with Ed Krafcik, the director of strategic partnerships and business development, about the work of Soofa, smart cities and getting President Obama to sit on a smart bench in the Rose Garden.
Quotable:
“In the 21st Century there’s no reason infrastructure should be singular or one dimensional. If our phone doesn’t just make phone calls then why should our benches just be seats.”
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#80 The Importance of Organizational Culture with Ron Holifield
One of the wisest voices in local government came on GovLove to talk about everything from servant leadership, to culture and succession planning. Ron Holifield, the CEO of Strategic Government Resources (SGR) told the story of his path in local government and the history of SGR. But especially the need for an organization’s values and cultures to be integrated into everything the organization does.
Quotable:
“If you really are doing a good job developing aligned systems to create and sustain your culture, succession planning is virtually irrelevant because you’re not reacting to a particular vacancy – it’s just simply baked into the cake. You’re developing your people, not to fill a vacancy, but because it’s the smart way to run an organization long term.”
2
#65 Standing Up to Gender Discrimination with Kirsten Wyatt
For the second most listened to episode the three rotating hosts of GovLove teamed up to discuss a very important issue, gender discrimination. The team walked through the experience Kirsten Wyatt, Co-Founder and now Executive Director of ELGL, had in leaving her position at the City of West Linn, OR. From the choice to pursue legal action, to the ins and outs of the process Kirsten gave a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to go through this.
Quotable:
“It was just really important to me, at the end of the day, to stand up for myself and to stand up for what I believe in.”
“There are a million reasons someone might not be right for a job and gender is never one of them.”
And finally… Drum roll please… The most listened to episode of GovLove (so far)…
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#66 Innovation Officers: Who are they, what do they do?
Three interviews, one episode! Talking innovation across the country GovLove got three great local government administrators to talk about what innovation offices really do. Kate Green from Peoria, IL discussed how their innovation team started thanks to a Bloomberg grant. Josh Edwards from Durham, NC talked about how innovation was part of the city’s strategic plan. Sam Timko from Fort Lauderdale, FL discussed how innovation was part of the city’s 100 year anniversary.
Quotable:
“Innovation is a buzzword, so we wanted to define what innovation, and being a high-performing organization, looks like. And we don’t make the claim that we’re there yet. So we’ve got a whole goal focused on developing that culture, because where we want to get to is really creating innovation as a system.”