The chemistry between Shadrack Manano and Otim Joel should be researched for people intending to marry, to pattern their communication style after. It is as beautiful to watch as two cranes on a courtship dance.
It starts with either one taking the lead to talk, while the other remains quiet and invests in listening completely. Mid-conversation, the person speaking asks the other for clarification about something to which the other responds and the speaker continues. Then from nowhere, one chips in with a lighthearted joke and the other- together with the guest or guests on set laughs. There is no competition, but a fellowship of discourse. As hosts of a fast-growing talk show, this chemistry is very important.
These things, you see them when you watch their YouTube video podcast called Broken Windows 256 which wrapped up their first season and is in process to make recordings for their second season.
The first season of Broken Windows 256 was a great run. The YouTube video podcast severally punched above its weight, carrying upon them the responsibility of commandeering the direction of millennial social discourse- something largely abandoned by mainstream media. The show rose to the occasion and delivered a season worth writing home about. There were 32 episodes shot in total.
From feminism, spirituality and recreational drug use, to the gig economy, relationships, politics and everything in-between, Broken Windows 256 demonstrated that there is no set time to establish oneself as a voice for reputable listening.
The bulk of these weighty topics was dissected in a season where the country was politically charged, bespluttered with blood and rubbed within its wounds the salt of nonsense police reports. Tension was high, yet the show managed to successfully go through it without descending to the lows of regurgitations of old and tired political arguments, government bashing and lack of indepth explorations.
The show’s ingenuity was what did it. This ingenuity was not just the trick but the in-built feature that ensured it did not and would never descend to anything lower than socially relevant and intellectually engaging lighthearted discourse targeted at millennial audiences. That is how everything talk-aboutable was talked about. Then there are other things that simply cannot be explained away- the X-Factor, which is the synergy and chemistry between Manano and Otim. It is something that any show producer can only dream of.
If the hosts were brilliant, then the guests were the other iron that sharpened them, making for such sharp slices as nuanced topics were dissected.
On what’s in store of Season Two, co-host Otim Joel says, “We are now planning for Season two: a different concept, but still in the same line with what are about. We will be releasing the concept soon.”
Shadrack is a rugby player and a tall guy; very tall. He speaks on his own terms and this was not one of them.
In summary, the urgency with which young voices need to be heard and even more to commandeer the direction of public discourse makes Broken Windows 256 antidotal to Uganda’s media landscape. You can check out Broken Windows 256 on their YouTube channel here
Kind regards,
Anna Grace 💕
