My friend Surya Midha and I worked together in multiple extracurricular activities throughout middle school. A lot of the time when we were hanging out, we realized that we would talk about random topics in far more depth than they really ever needed to be discussed. One day during a field trip, we were having another one of these conversations, and one of us joked that we could probably make a podcast out of it considering how long we managed to ramble. The idea actually stuck, and we decided that some time soon, we would meet up and think of topics to dig into while recording. Little did we know, it would be what held us together when our paths began to diverge.  

 We called our podcast “The Overthinkers” because it described exactly what we were doing: over-analyzing things just for the fun of doing so. We thought it would be funny to make the logo the word “the” above an image of the famous The Thinker statue by Auguste Rodin so it would literally be “The” over The Thinker. Generally, we bring a few topics to the table before we record, but also come up with talking points as we go. Our conversations range from cheese to seasons of the year, and we try to keep these discussions very relatable to our listeners but interesting enough to dig into deeply. 

Sometimes we agree in our stances regarding these topics, but other times we find ourselves debating against one another. Neither of us consistently “wins” these debates, but I can definitely say that my perspective has changed at least a few times from our arguments. A good example is my shift from disliking to appreciating The Catcher in the Rye, which we debated during a segment discussing the books that high schools often have students read. Our audience isn’t that large, so our goal is for listeners to have fun with our dubiously effective attempts at humor and possibly encourage others to think about the ordinary things in their lives a little more deeply than before.

Sadly, Surya and I ended up at different high schools: he went to Bellarmine, and I came here. It would have been easy for us to drift apart, but our podcast wasn’t going to let that happen. After all, Surya is the only one with a quality mic, so we had to get together! But our podcast didn’t just keep us in contact, it also helped us grow closer. I’ve always admired the way Surya is willing to look at things beyond their face value and see what they represent, but doing this project has given me a whole new level of appreciation for how he thinks. This might involve dissecting why record players have a certain innate appeal that iPods do not, or the social benefits of wearing face masks all the time. This kind of “overthinking” is a fair amount of what we do on the podcast. He also has a great sense of humor, which is part of why we have a running gag where a bell rings whenever anyone makes a bad pun or cringey joke.

Through “The Overthinkers,” I am also more in touch with his preferences––from his liking of simple user interfaces to his thoughts on the ideal way two strangers acknowledge each other. Hopefully one preference we both share is for the podcast to continue to be something that keeps us in touch in the future. But no matter how long “The Overthinkers” lasts, I know we can count on our friendship to last longer.