Something To Talk About
Interesting Austinites tell short stories about bats and cover bands

Landscape designer Drew Carman posed during the previous volume of Tiny Talks.
What would Austinites present on if they had just 10 minutes to share something with the world? TinyTalks, a quarterly showcase of timed PowerPoint presentations, gives locals the chance to decide. On May 27, eight of them answered the question, including National Geographic TV host Jeff Jenkins, Jason Cairns of Y’all Out Boy, and Austin Bat Rescue founder Dianne Odegard.
For Tiny Talks, a surprise lineup of eight to 10 speakers gathers each quarter to share their short talks with an audience. That means that when Tuesday's event sold out, ticketholders still didn't know who they would see or what they'd talk about.
At least Austinites who missed the show get a list of notable locals to brush up on as a consolation prize — and a reminder to snag tickets for the next event early. Plus, some talks will be immortalized on the website for on-demand watching.
TinyTalks features an eclectic mix of topics, from hobbies and professional journeys to life-changing moments and lighthearted anecdotes. Here's who spoke during the spring 2025 event, volume seven:
- Jeff Jenkins discussed how he got his own TV show, Never Say Never, on National Geographic
- Katie Ornelas talked about making national headlines for finding a vinyl record made at a 1966 wedding while thrift shopping
- Jason Cairns of Y’all Out Boy told the story of how the cover band was formed
- Dianne Odegard, founder of the Austin Bat Refuge, caught the audience up on her work saving Austin's flying friends
- Bill Bunch shared his firsthand experience of the Barton Creek Uprising protest against a golf course development in 1990
- Joe Lindley recounted his bike trip across the continental United States
- Bay Stewart discussed her experience founding ATX Supper Club
- Buzz Moran performed an abbreviated version of Foleyvision, his early 2000s show Alamo Drafthouse in which he overdubbed films
Past talks have included a former contestant on Love Is Blind reflecting on reality TV, a thrift store shopper recounting how she stumbled upon an ancient Roman bust, and Dr. Bruce J. Hunt from the University of Texas at Austin sharing the history of the city’s iconic Moonlight Towers. One speaker even shared her experience attending the infamous Fyre Festival.
The evening begins with an hour and a half of mingling, complete with name tags to spark conversations and connections. Once the show starts, the speakers take the stage, with a 15-minute intermission midway through. After the talks, the night wraps up with a happy hour, giving attendees the chance to meet the speakers and connect with others.
TinyTalks was founded by entrepreneur and speaker Jon Cooper. After moving to Austin, Cooper realized the city was full of people with obscure, strange, and fascinating stories, but there wasn’t a platform for them to share with others. Inspired to build community, TinyTalks was created to connect Austinites and give them a stage to share their voices.
The success of TinyTalks has since inspired the team to launch a second event, Pitch-A-Friend Austin. This singles event lets friends “pitch” their friends to the audience in short PowerPoint presentations. The next event is scheduled for June 25.
Austinites on the lookout for the next Tiny Talks can keep track at tinytalks.com. In the meantime, there are 47 videos of past presentations already available to watch online.