The Names of Everything - Namely Podcast

Our first episode was about the name of Lincoln, Nebraska. Of course that seems obvious, but there is so much more to the story. How did we discover this and why did we choose Lincoln, NE for our first episode? Why am I asking you? It began when I (Erich) moved to Reno. My wife and I had a van completely full of our belongings which we were driving across the country from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Reno, Nevada. We'd left our children with my parents so we could make longer hours, and more importantly, fit everything in the van. Leaving Lancaster, PA heading west, you pass from Lancaster County in York County. And in the middle of York County is York, PA. We'd lived in Lancaster long enough to know about the relation to the War of the Roses. Lots of things in Lancaster are named Red Rose: credit unions, festivals, the city's nickname itself. And York has a similar predilection for White Rose. One of the radio stations that serves the two communities calls itself The Rose. (...

If you've listened to our podcast, Namely , and if you have the patience to get through the end credits (which you should!) you have heard this sentence: "On behalf of everyone at Pinkypants Productions, thanks for listening. And name on!" (Okay, that was two sentences.) Perhaps you've wondered, maybe even to the point of distraction and the tearing of hair, why is the production company called Pinkypants Productions? The simplest answer is that Ryan suggested it. That only leads to the preceding question: Why did Ryan think of that name? As you might have guessed, there is a story behind it. Ryan and I (Erich) met in the Reno theater community. We both love theater as writers, actors, singers, crew members, and (in Ryan's case) as a director. The first show we worked on together was called Death by Design by Rob Urbinati. Ryan directed that show and I worked as Assistant Stage Manager. And yet that show has nothing to do with the name Pinkypants. It was the seco...

Many of you probably remember there was this big pandemic. Ryan and Erich, both artists who love performance and writing, found the pandemic a bit, shall we say, disappointing. Theaters were shut down. Art existed on the internet, but it was impossible to gather and make art together. As Erich and Ryan met (over a videoconferencing app) they discussed ways to keep collaboration and art that is made as a community together. Erich had previously had an idea for a podcast, one about the origins of names. The names didn’t have to be unusual, but the stories behind them would be. He suggested his idea to Ryan, and the podcast began. Ryan and Erich chose the name Namely for very mysterious reasons. (Don’t just assume it is because this is a podcast about names. I mean, you’d be right, but don’t just assume it.) They discussed the format of the show and the Host as a character. Then the writing began. We are publishing our first season of six episodes now. Our podcast began out of cu...