The Valley Indy launched our “Navel Gazing” podcast way back in 2011, when we decided to talk about the media feeding frenzy that was happening during the Shelton prom “controversy.”
The first episodes were recorded with a laptop using the built-in mic. The opening music came with the machine. Nothing fancy.
But we managed to win an award for the broadcast in 2012, and things really kicked up in 2014, when we were invited to host a show on WNHH, the new community radio station in New Haven.
The station and our show launched in September. It airs every Monday live on WNHH in New Haven, and is simulcast live on ValleyIndy.org. Each episode is then posted as a podcast on the Valley Indy — and that’s where the majority of the listeners hear it.
And while we haven’t mastered the art of the interview like Marc Maron or kept you on the edge of the seat like the masters of “Serial,” we’d like to think a few hundred of you enjoy hearing directly from your neighbors about what’s happening in the Valley.
Here are the five most popular “Navel Gazing” episodes of 2015, and thank you for listening.
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5. The Cassetti-Adamowski Debate
693 replays
When David Cassetti debated incumbent Mayor James Della Volpe in a Valley Indy-organized debate in 2013, he relied heavily on prepared statements. It was smart politically — Cassetti and his advisors anticipated just about every question he was asked.
Cassetti went on to unseat Della Volpe in a major upset. Fast forward two years, and Cassetti once again debated — but the notes and prepared statements were gone.
Cassetti’s debate with challenger Edward Adamowski was the fifth most popular “Valley Navel Gazing” of 2015.
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4. Rick Dunne Interview
721 replays
If you use Route 34 in Derby during the rush hours, you know transportation is a thing in the lower Valley. That helps to explain why Rick Dunne’s appearance on our third episode attracted so much attention. Dunne is the executive director of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, and he talked about the upcoming Route 34 widening in Derby. He also talked about environmental testing underway at O’Sullivan’s Island.
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3. Kurt Miller Interview
749 replays
Miller appeared on “Valley Navel Gazing” in the run up to the Nov. 3 election. We peppered him with questions. He smacked us with the fund balance.
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2. Dugatto-Dziekan Debate
814 replays
For the first time in a decade, the two people running for mayor actually sat down to debate the issues in the City of Derby. And, wouldn’t ya know it, people tuned in.
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1. Zani Imetovski Interview
981 replays
At 37.4 percent, the Seymour municipal election in November had the lowest percentage voter turnout in the towns covered by the Valley Indy. Yet the Democrat running against two-term incumbent First Selectman Kurt Miller was the most popular show of the year. The episode was unusual in that the phone line was open, and that listeners actually called in — albeit Imetovski’s political opponents.
