I didn't consider the possibility of failure enough when I was developing this show. For the last episode of the season, I was supposed to have a conversation with Ronald Young Jr., who had been wanting to spend time learning piano and do a small show for his loved ones. But the week I was supposed to record with Ronald, he emailed me to admit that he hadn't learned the song on piano, he never had the recital we'd agreed he'd do, and he wasn't ready to record with me.
I freaked out for a few hours. I knew I still had to deliver an episode, and I had no idea what to do. I considered spinning up a new episode with myself as the test subject: Could I learn to play football in like three weeks? But after sleeping on it, I decided to ask Ronald if he'd be willing to chat with me anyway—but this time, about failure.
Thankfully, he said yes, and we ended up having a vulnerable, honest conversation about what happened. To be a tryhard is to fail a lot, and the way I've structured this show so far doesn't leave enough room for that. Ronald said something in our conversation that I've been thinking about ever since: "When the premise of a podcast runs out, then you expand on the name." This last episode of Season 1 is a first step toward expansion: a commemoration of failure, a communal shouldering of shame, and an appeal to ask your people for what you need, and to let them give it to you.
A transcript of the episode can be found here.
You can listen to Try Hard wherever you get your podcasts: RSS here, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify (if you must). Send me voice memos of the things you're trying at podcasts@defector.com or message me on Instagram @alexlaughs.
