New local podcast aiming to restore people’s hope in love

Written By MARNI WALSH

On Valentine's Day,  Feb. 14, a new local podcast was launched, focused – appropriately - on the topics of love, marriage and relationships. 

Andrew and Juli-Anne James of Shelburne, now host  the podcast “lovejames” on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, and RadioPublic.

Some years earlier to now, Andrew James hosted on a radio show on Joy 1250, as well as on CHRY 105.5. When asked what the inspiration was for creating the love themed podcast, Juli-Anne James responded that her husband “has been a licensed minister for several years and officiates weddings,” and, she says, “this naturally leads to premarital and marriage counselling which we do together. We'd like to be able to sit down with every couple experiencing challenges, but we can't, so we hope to get help, hope and perspective out more broadly to those who need it, through the podcast.”

The show's target audience is young adults hoping to get married, and adults who are, or have been, married. 

Juli-Anne James says their mandate is to “restore the hope that love and marriage can be every bit as meaningful and beautiful as it used to be, despite the many challenges it can pose.”

Well known in the area as the founders of Streams Community Hub, a non-profit organization that aims to provide creative camps and experiences for local youth, the couple says, their new podcast compliments their work there. 

“Working with youth for as many years as we have, we've learned one very valuable lesson,” says Juli-Anne James, “We can't out-impact their parents and their home life. So, if we can start a conversation that provides care for the caregivers, and helps strengthen the family, we are only furthering our work to create the environment that young people need to reach their full potential.”

In their second episode, last week for example, topics included discussing “the quality of capacity – what it is and why it is important, how you can assess it, and why and how you can work to build it so that your relationships can be stronger.”  

Juli-Anne James says, “If we help even one person gain a healthy perspective that helps them navigate their relationships better, it's worth it to keep talking.” Listen to “lovejames” at anchor.fm/lovejames.