By Victoria Bourne
It was a simple enough question, asked somewhere between Virginia and North Carolina.
“Why don't you guys just do a podcast?”
Friends Mike Langston ’13 and Aaron Zielinski were on a road trip with Langston’s wife, Lauren (a 2013 ODU nursing graduate), and two others to see Old Dominion University play Wake Forest University on Sept. 3, 2021. He and Zielinski were talking ODU football nonstop, Langston recalled, when his wife broached the subject of starting a podcast.
Neither had any podcast experience, but “me and Aaron are two guys that when we get an idea, we follow through,” Langston said.
The first episode of The Monarchists podcast — billed as “for fans, by fans” — debuted five months later on March 25, 2022. “If you haven't listened to that one, don't,” Zielinski said.
(Photos by Nicholas Clark '24 and Chuck Thomas '90)
Their guest, former ODU basketball player AJ Oliver II ’21, was great, but as podcasters, Langston and Zielinski said there was room for improvement.
“That was a rough episode,” Langston said of the awkward pauses and stilted conversation. But they learned a lot.
Since then, they’ve interviewed ODU coaches Ricky Rahne, Mitch Brindley and DeLisha Milton-Jones; student-athletes like baseball designated hitter Jake Ticer and hoops center Leeroy Odiahi; as well as notable alumni including ODU basketball hall of famer Nancy Lieberman ’80 and former ODU offensive linemen and current professional football player, Isaac Weaver ’19 (M.S. ’21).
President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., appeared on their 59th episode in August 2023.
But just who are The Monarchists?
“We're a couple of boring finance guys,” said podcast co-host Zielinski during an early March interview at Bud Metheny Baseball Complex’s Rally Alley while ODU played a doubleheader against Northeastern University.
Zielinski is the chief financial officer of AVMAC LLC, a government contractor based in Chesapeake. Langston, whose degree is in accounting, works in the financial analytics department at Children's Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk.
Both have military connections: Langston's parents were in the U.S. Coast Guard, so he moved around a lot. Zielinski served 10 years as an aviation maintenance duty officer in the Navy.
Both grew up loving — and playing — sports. Football, basketball, baseball, track and wrestling for Langston; baseball, track and field and cheerleading for Zielinski.
The two became friends in 2019 through Twitter, now X.
That year was a particularly tough season for ODU football, Langston said. He posted supportive messages for his Twitter followers, but also created a DM group as a “safe space” to vent frustrations.
"It was really just a support group,” he said of the 10 or so ODU fans, including Zielinski, who took part. “And quickly it became much more; we talked every day.”
As a group, The Monarchists have leveraged their resources toward philanthropic causes, such as Dollars for Dingers, where a dollar is donated for every home run during a baseball season. They raised around $9,000 in the first year through social media alone, benefiting ODU baseball through the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation (ODAF). The effort is now in its fourth year.
"So, we became friends on Twitter. We started these fundraising initiatives, and then we said, ‘Why don't we just tailgate together?’” Langston said.
"Mike likes to say, ‘If you're coming to a game and you don't have a home, you don't have a place to hang your hat, come to ours,” Zielinski said, adding that many of the quality moments he reflects on these days “revolve around this group and the things we’re trying to accomplish.”
Tailgating helped build The Monarchists community. The podcast is an extension of that, said Langston and Zielinski — it’s another way to reach fans of ODU. As a rule, the co-hosts aim to take the high road even in the face of challenging seasons, they said.
They’re not asking “gotcha” questions or trying to break news or share secrets, Zielinski said; they’re just trying to support ODU’s athletic programs.
“We try to be honest and authentic, but through a positive lens,” Zielinski said. “The players know when they're not playing well. Coaches know when things aren't going well. We can talk about that stuff but do it in our way.”
They want to provide space for coaches and athletes to tell their story, Langston said. “Because there's not enough avenues for that right now.”
Interviews are conducted via Zoom for the sake of everyone’s convenience. Langston plugs in from his home in Norfolk, Zielinski from his in Chesapeake, and their guests from wherever they are.
(Photos by Nicholas Clark '24 and Chuck Thomas '90)
Football and basketball season are most intense because they overlap, they said. They may record as many as three shows a week, and it's not unusual for one of them to be up until 1 or 2 a.m. editing a podcast to post at 5 on a Monday morning.
Langston said they’re averaging around 2,500 to 3,000 listens a month, depending on how the season is going, and reaching people in 47 states and 38 countries.
Former basketball coach Jeff Jones inspired The Monarchists Basketball Show. Another sub-podcast called Hudson Homers covers ODU baseball with hosts Gary Williams ’09 and CB Wilkins ’10. It launched last February to help promote Dollars for Dingers. They also launched a website in August 2023 featuring blog posts and merchandise with proceeds supporting The Pride of ODU Collective, ODAF and Toys for Tots.
In addition to podcast interviews, they've done game previews, recaps and attended countless games. Recently, they were granted media credentials by ODU Athletics.
“That was kind of the affirmation of we're doing it the right way, and that they found value in what we were sharing and getting out there,” Zielinski said.
Eric Bohannon, ODU’s senior associate athletic director for broadcasting and communications, called Langston and Zielinski “good partners” and said he appreciates the role The Monarchists fill in the sports coverage ecosystem.
“They're trying to produce Old Dominion content for themselves and for the rest of the Monarch Nation fan base and they've done a great job with it,” Bohannon said. “They've started something out of nothing, and they've taken it and they've run with it.”
Bohannon said the podcast provides content for people who want information about ODU, but also shines a light on the personalities behind the uniforms — the off-the-court, off-the-field kind of questions that reveal more about coaches and student-athletes themselves.
“I mean, the fact that we were able to just get started on Twitter and get this deep inside the athletic program with just a ‘want to’ shows you anyone could have done this,” Langston said. “And anyone can still do this. It just takes the time and the effort.”
The Monarchists podcast success is a credit to ODU and the people who work for the athletics program, according to Zielinski and Langston.
Without that access, Langston said, “We would just be two bozos talking to the mic with no good guests.”
More Monarchists
Want to listen? Go to odumonarchists.com/podcasts or follow The Monarchists on Apple podcasts.
The Dream List The Monarchists say they've already interviewed some of the names on their drea list, but here are ODU notables they hope to wrangle for future podcasts: Kent Bazemore ’12, Justin Verlander ’04 and Taylor Heinicke ’14.
“If we can get those, I might retire,” Langston said.
“Why ODU?”
A common question on The Monarchists podcast is “Why ODU?” We turned the tables on Langston and Zielinski to see how they’d answer:
Langston: For me, it's kind of Norfolk and ODU together. My wife and I came down here together. We built our community in Norfolk and at ODU. My last two accounting jobs, I think I got the interview because they saw ODU on my resume—my bosses were alums. So, I owe my career to ODU. I owe a lot of my friendships to ODU. I just love Norfolk and ODU.
Zielinski: I grew up as an only child. Most of my close friends from high school moved away. I joined the Navy, I went away. All my closest friends don't live here. My two best friends in the world, one lives in New Jersey, one lives in Texas. Mike got this group started and my closest friends have been built from this group. It's a big school, but it feels like a family.
“No, we won't,” Zielinski countered, “because there are always going to be more.”