PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Two Pinellas County teachers found themselves feeling frustrated and defeated with issues impacting Florida’s schools.

Rather than dwell in those feelings, they wanted to do something to give teachers a voice, so they started the “PCTA Fyre Podcast.”

Brennen Pickett is the man behind the mic of the PCTA Fyre Podcast.

“We’re 11 episodes in, we’re about to record our 12th episode,” he said, as he explained this week’s episode tackling the teacher shortage and its impact on students.

“Why is the teacher shortage failing our children and yes, I do want to use that language today,” Pickett said.

On this day, a high school ESE teacher and math teacher are joined to weigh in.

Pickett is also a teacher.  He taught English in Pinellas County for six years and says new legislation drove him to start the podcast, specifically the school voucher bill, which passed recently.

“I put my hands up and I was like, 'I don’t know what else we could be doing better to make sure we have a livable environment here in Pinellas County,' and believe it or not, my wife Emily said, 'You’re always complaining the word isn’t getting out, why don’t you start a podcast?'” he said.

And so, he did, along with his friend and fellow teacher, Philip Belcastro. The podcast is recorded at the Pinellas Classroom Teacher’s Association office and each week, they bring on different guests to talk about issues affecting teachers and students.

While change doesn’t happen overnight, Pickett says by giving teachers a platform to share their opinions, it could happen in time, but at the very least, they’re voices are heard.

The PCTA Fyre Podcast is available on Spotify and iTunes, as well as several other apps.