Sonoma County launches 'SoCo Chat' podcast, a new platform for county news and interviews with county leaders

SANTA ROSA, CA | January 24, 2024

The County of Sonoma today announced the launch of SoCo Chat, a digital podcast highlighting current county issues, stories and events, and other matters of public interest. The podcast will also feature in-depth discussions with county leaders. The new series will be available in video and audio formats on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, YouTube as well as the county website and will feature at least one new segment every week. Each segment will feature 20- to 30-minute topical discussions with County officials, staff members, and/or agency partners, volunteers and others. Segments also will feature historic anecdotes, stories and trivia questions that will allow listeners to win prizes, including a SoCo Chat coffee mug.

“With the launch of this podcast, we’re hoping to reach people where they are with information they need, presented through conversation,” said Supervisor David Rabbitt, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “The County has needed something like this for a long time.”

The first episode features a conversation between Rabbitt and Communications Manager Paul Gullixson, who serves as host of SoCo Chat. In the segment, Rabbitt shares his views on the year ahead, provides his perspective as the new board chair and offers key updates on avian flu, road maintenance and other items of public importance.

“There are a thousand ways for people to get information nowadays, but we believe there’s still value to be found in simple one-on-one conversations over a cup of coffee,” said Paul Gullixson, Sonoma County communications manager. “Our goal for SoCo Chat is to provide a forum where people can get the information they need, unfiltered and direct from the source.”

SoCo Chat also premieres this week with a discussion with Deva Marie Proto, Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters, who addresses election integrity and the upcoming 2024 election; Sonoma County Human Resources Director Janell Crane, who talks about the high number of staff vacancies the county is facing; and a discussion with Dr. Tanya Phares, Sonoma County’s new public health officer.

SoCo Chat recording session The SoCo Chat podcast joins a collection of existing county communication channels designed to promote public awareness of critical community issues, public policy initiatives, county news and upcoming community events. (Photo at right: Sonoma County Communications Manager and Host of SoCo Chat, Paul Gullixson, with Supervisor David Rabbitt, chair of the Board of Supervisors.)

Listen, watch and subscribe to the SoCo Chat podcast series at:

Additional Sonoma County communication outlets available to the public include:

To submit a service request related to county roadways or code enforcement, please visit SoCo Connect.

For more information about the new SoCo Chat podcast series, including recommendations for upcoming guests, please contact the Sonoma County communications office at (707) 565-3040 or email publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org.

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Media Contacts:
Dan Virkstis, communications specialist
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org
(707) 565-3040

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