Tag: interview

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Episode 29 – “Gene Drives” by Olivia Pembridge

Runner-Up; Undergraduate: “Excellence in Podcasting” Competition

Sponsored by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and the Office of Immersion Resources.

If it were possible to eliminate malaria worldwide with a simple snip of the scissors, should we? Dive deeper and discover that fantastical-sounding science involving mutations, clones, and genetic modifications is no mere fiction. In this episode of VandyVox, Olivia Pembridge investigates the science, policy, and ethical aspects of biological technology Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) gene drives. Awarded runner-up in the undergraduate category for the Excellence in Podcasting competition, Olivia highlights the need to proceed with care when addressing research revolving around disease eliminations, beginning from a place of shared knowledge and responsibility.

Olivia tackles this sensitive science by starting with a simple scenario, discussing the limitations of gene drive through the personification of mosquitos. Peppering in a handful of human examples and colloquial pop culture language, she proceeds with dexterity as she lays out a basic understanding of CRISPR’s underlying mechanism. A strong component of Olivia’s scientific communication is her ability to scaffold information in a way that creates anticipation for the next level of learning. Additionally, she outlined the fundamental questions that comprised her scaffolding ladder:

    • “What is gene drive?” (Level 1)
    • “How does it work?” (Level 2)
    • “Is it dangerous?” (Level 3)

Relaying these questions to her audience allowed follow her pathway and provided her a framework within which she could navigation the delicate subject of genome editing technology, where adoption of this research could be polarized by the public. As she dives deeper into the scientific, political, and ethical intricacies surrounding CRISPER, Olivia interviews experts in genetic science.

Geneticist Kathy Friedman, Associate Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University, provides a succinct description of the CRISPER process, expanding on the understanding Olivia provided in the introduction. Utilizing an interview-style of learning, Olivia extends a direct line from top university researchers to her audience. While Dr. Friedman, a member of the Genome Maintenance group in the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, provides listeners with an understanding of how CRISPR works, Olivia’s second interview samples what the future of CRISPER could hold.

Thomas Clements, a CRISPR researcher and Senior Lecturer of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University, unlocks the potential stored in CRISPR technology. Dr. Clements asserts that, if used correctly, gene drives could create a world without Malaria, Zika, or even COVID, extending that the possibilities are endless for disease prevention, theoretically. This new layer of knowledge allows Olivia to launch into a discussion weighing whether future potential leans towards good or bad, moving from Level 2 of her scaffolding framework “How does it work?” to Level 3 “Is it dangerous?”

Leah Buchman is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University “currently working on a team of interdisciplinary scientists looking at the public perception of gene drives as an emerging technology in ag(riculture) in Texas.” Leah brings a holistic view to managing ecological harms vs benefits when implementing gene drives, considering unintended side effects within the food chain, and accounting for concerns with reversibility. The knowledge gleaned in this third interview demonstrates the complexity of the topic, a torch Olivia handles with care.

Olivia goes on to build further scientific trust between herself and the audience by referencing the work of Claudia Emerson, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at McMaster University and director of McMaster’s Institute on Ethics & Policy for Innovation. Dr. Emerson has shaped guiding principles for gene editing ethics and contributed to vaccine testing guidelines for COVID-19 set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Olivia builds on Dr. Emerson’s rationale that we all have shared responsibilities for the implementation of CRISPR gene drives, affirming that ethical codes at the localized scale have guided the cautious progression of research in controlled environments.

In addition to scaffolded learning and accessing expert information via interview format, Olivia deftly applies supplementary audio to create an excellent podcast. Transition tones set the mood while overlayed sound effects capture the listener’s attention, such as scissor snipping when referencing molecular scissors. At other times, Olivia transported the audience to a new setting entirely, like when she subtly included serene nature sounds when depicting the release of genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild.

 

The expertise offered in interviews can take your podcast to the next level. Learn more about the featured guests in Olivia’s Podcast.

“’We were doing all that hard work of helping students practice how to apply their knowledge together.’: Thomas Clements and Kathy Friedman talk about their synchronous sessions in their Fall 2020 online course.” By Carly Byer

    • https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/2021/03/we-were-doing-all-that-hard-work-of-helping-students-practice-how-to-apply-their-knowledge-together-thomas-clements-and-kathy-friedman-talk-about-their-synchronous-sessions-in-thei/

Learn more about Dr. Kathy Friedman on her lab website “The Friedman Lab” where you can access the group’s publications.

    • https://my.vanderbilt.edu/thefriedmanlab/

Learn more about Dr. Thomas Clements on his personal blog about science “Science_Baller”.

    • https://scienceballer.wordpress.com/

Discover the influence of Dr. Claudia Emerson in conversations on scientific ethics.

    • https://experts.mcmaster.ca/display/emersoc

Find more about Ph.D. Candidate Leah Buchman at Texas A&M University.

    • https://entomology.tamu.edu/current-students/current-graduate-students/graduate-student-profiles/leah-buchman/

 

Interviews like Olivia’s offer rare, unfettered access to experts by the public. Here are a few guides to ensure your future interviews are in great shape:

NPR’s Special Series, Student Podcast Challenge: “Starting Your Podcast: A Guide For Students” (What Makes a Good Interview?)

    • https://www.npr.org/2018/10/30/662070097/starting-your-podcast-a-guide-for-students#interviews

Mark Schaefer’s 5 Steps to Conduct a Superior Podcast Interview

    • https://businessesgrow.com/2017/05/25/podcast-interview/

 

Intentional informational scaffolding like Olivia’s creates smooth science communication on a sensitive subject. Convey your content with precision:

The IRIS Center at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College offers free, online resources related to implementing instructional scaffolding:

    • https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/sca/cresource/q1/p01/

 

Olivia’s supplementary audio transports the listeners to new settings. Add and edit sounds for free using Audacity, then publish for free on Anchor:

Audacity, a “free, open source, cross-platform audio software”

    • https://www.audacityteam.org/

Anchor, a “free, beginner-friendly platform for podcast creation,”

    • https://anchor.fm/

 

To learn more about CRISPR gene editing, which won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, please visit the articles below:

Martin, J., Krzysztof, C., Ines, F., Michael, H., A., D. J., & Emmanuelle, C. (2012). A Programmable Dual-RNA–Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity. Science, 337(6096), 816–821. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1225829

Ledford, H., Callaway, E. (2020). Pioneers of revolutionary CRISPR gene editing win chemistry Nobel. Nature News https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02765-9

Ran, F. (2014). CRISPR-Cas: Development and applications for mammalian genome editing. Harvard University, Doctoral Dissertation. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:12274628

 

Written by Kaelyn Warne, Teaching Affiliate at the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching

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Episode 27 – “Anchor Down, Burn Out” by Abhinav Krishnan

Runner-Up; Undergraduate: “Excellence in Podcasting” Competition

Sponsored by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and the Office of Immersion Resources.

Burnout, a special type of stress related to work, is frequently discussed within academic environments. This physical or emotional exhaustion swelled on Vanderbilt’s campus in a whole new way during the 2020-2021 calendar year. In this episode of VandyVox, Abhinav Krishnan explores the impact COVID-19 policies had on undergraduate morale related to burnout. He was awarded runner-up in the undergraduate category for the Excellence in Podcasting competition.

This superb audio is a part of a larger podcast, “College Voices” in collaboration with the Vanderbilt Hustler, a “news source for Vanderbilt University’s campus and forum for students’ perspectives.” Abhinav is the Executive Producer of “College Voices,” described by the Hustler as a composition of columns highlighting undergraduate perspectives on campus by those with a variety of experiences, passions, and expertise.

In his audio, interviewees described burnout in their own experience, relating reduced breaks, rigorous course loads, and marathon mindsets to the “loss of the love of learning” as early as freshman year and feelings of guilt for engaging in self-care or having fun. Abhinav’s interviews provided a platform for students, whose voices made it clear that as a body, undergraduates felt left out of crucial conversations. Despite the drag students felt, he made sure to highlight a variety of campus resources they found helpful in fighting off burnout, such as conversations with faculty and the University Counseling Center. A key component of his interview style that conveyed their messages came down to effective editing.

Abhinav splices interviews together, rotating between the various students he interviewed and selecting the dialogue that had the most impact for the topic. Rather than feature one interview at a time, he passed the baton between participants and intermixed his own contextual blurbs to provide anchor points for their feedback. He spruced up his sound by adding royalty-free audio for non-commercial productions and chimed in with chipper bloopers at the end related to pandemic mask policies. These flourishes created an uplifting atmosphere around the critical conversation.

 

Find more episodes of College Voices, many of which were written or co-written by Abhinav:

Vanderbilt Hustler: “College Voices” 

    • https://vanderbilthustler.com/category/college-voices/

 

\ Interviews are a great tool for providing authentic audio like Abhinav’s. Here are a few guides to ensure your future interviews are in great shape:

NPR’s Special Series, Student Podcast Challenge: “Starting Your Podcast: A Guide For Students” (What Makes a Good Interview?)

    • https://www.npr.org/2018/10/30/662070097/starting-your-podcast-a-guide-for-students#interviews

Mark Schaefer’s 5 Steps to Conduct a Superior Podcast Interview

    • https://businessesgrow.com/2017/05/25/podcast-interview/

 

Abhinav’s use of music and bloopers uplifts his audio. Find free music like his, usable under a non-commercial creative commons license:

Free Music Archive, Artist “Bio Unit”:

    • https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Bio_Unit

 

Abhinav added audio to anchor his podcast. Add sounds and edit audio for free using Audacity, then publish for free on Anchor:

Audacity, a “free, open source, cross-platform audio software”

    • https://www.audacityteam.org/

Anchor, a “free, beginner-friendly

    • https://anchor.fm/

 

Written by Kaelyn Warne, Teaching Affiliate at the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching

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Episode 25 – “Noise Pollution, COVID-19, and Your Health” by Emma Fagan

Winner; Undergraduate: “Excellence in Podcasting” Competition

Sponsored by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and the Office of Immersion Resources.

Since early 2020, dialogues have begun swirling around the effects of coronavirus and the implications of global pandemics. In this episode of VandyVox, Emma Fagan is bringing the conversation back to science to discuss its unexpected correlation to pollution, taking home first place in the undergraduate category for the Excellence in Podcasting competition.

While this audio was not produced for a class, it stands strong because it’s still rooted in research. Emma employed interviews of her roommates to take research into her own hands, grounding the conversation to tangible ways we experience noise pollution on a local level. Broadening the scope to the global perspective, she references international publications and cites scientific conclusions regarding the effects of noise pollution on human health.

Supplementary sounds of noise pollution plop listeners into a shared experience as Emma reveals that noise pollution can be unrecognized as a form of pollution by many. Emma’s tactic for revealing noise pollution to the listener is simple yet effective: pause the audio. When listeners return to the podcast, she offers them examples of both indoor and outdoor noise pollution to calibrate their senses.

Scaffolding our learning, once we’re oriented to the existence of noise pollution, she goes on to describe how the resultant stress and annoyance can negatively affect human health and cognition. Onto the final step of the framework, Emma relates noise pollution and human health to COVID-19, citing studies that compared pre-pandemic noise levels and exposure to those in various places after lockdown or stay-at-home orders were mandated. As she references research both domestic and international, Emma builds scientific trust between herself, as the host, and the listeners.

 

Interviews are a great tool for creating stellar podcasts like Emma’s. Here are a few guides to ensure your future interviews are in great shape:

NPR’s Special Series, Student Podcast Challenge: “Starting Your Podcast: A Guide For Students” (What Makes a Good Interview?)

    • https://www.npr.org/2018/10/30/662070097/starting-your-podcast-a-guide-for-students#interviews

Mark Schaefer’s 5 Steps to Conduct a Superior Podcast Interview

    • https://businessesgrow.com/2017/05/25/podcast-interview/

 

Educational podcasts shine when evidence-based teaching methods are employed, the way Emma implemented informational scaffolding. Convey your content with precision:

The IRIS Center at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College offers free, online resources related to implementing instructional scaffolding:

    • https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/sca/cresource/q1/p01/

 

Emma’s supplementary sounds made her podcast pop. Add sounds and edit audio for free using Audacity, then publish for free on Anchor:

Audacity, a “free, open source, cross-platform audio software”

    • https://www.audacityteam.org/

Anchor, a “free, beginner-friendly platform for podcast creation,”

    • https://anchor.fm/

 

To learn more about specific noise pollution topics Emma discussed, please visit the articles below:

Basu, B., Murphy, E., Molter, A., Sarkar Basu, A., Sannigrahi, S., Belmonte, M., & Pilla, F. (2021). Investigating changes in noise pollution due to the COVID-19 lockdown: The case of Dublin, Ireland. Sustainable Cities and Society, 65, 102597. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102597

Münzel, T., Sørensen, M., & Daiber, A. (2021). Transportation noise pollution and cardiovascular disease. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 18(9), 619–636. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-021-00532-5

Nicole, W. (2013). Road traffic noise and diabetes: long-term exposure may increase disease risk. Environmental Health Perspectives, 121(2), a60–a60. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.121-a60

Bickel, N. (2020). Stay-at-home orders cut noise exposure nearly in half. Michigan News, University of Michigan. https://news.umich.edu/stay-at-home-orders-cut-noise-exposure-nearly-in-half/

Local Learning: Noise pollution and Nashville’s education:

Sutton, C. (2021). ‘We deserve to learn in peace” Hume Fogg students call for party bus regulation in Metro Nashville. Nashville News Channel 5. https://www.newschannel5.com/news/hume-fogg-students-call-for-party-bus-regulation-in-metro-nashville

 

Written by Kaelyn Warne, Teaching Affiliate at the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching

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Episode 24 -“Black Tea” by JoHannah Valentin & Shay Milner

In this episode VandyVox is featuring audio from a podcast titled “Black Tea”, that is produced by two Vanderbilt undergraduate students, JoHannah Valentin and Shay Milner, in collaboration with Vanderbilt Student Communications. In their episode, “Women, Religion, and Enslavement”, the women interview Vanderbilt Professor Alexis Wells-Oghoghomeh from the Department of Religious Studies.

While this podcast was not produced in response to a direct classroom assignment, JoHannah and Shay frequently introduce and expand on knowledge they cultivated from Professor Wells-Oghoghomeh’s course teachings. Shay and JoHannah produced this podcast because they wanted to address the discrepancy that exists between the campus demographics and the content produced by Student Media.

The pair draws on knowledge from Dr. Wells-Oghoghomeh’s course teachings and her written articles to ask open-ended questions that create an informed dialogue between themselves and the Vanderbilt faculty member. Specifically, the women reference her article, “the Gendered Ethics of Female Enslavement: Searching for Southern Slave Women’s Religions in the African Atlantic”, which was published in The Journal of Southern Religion, Volume 18. The citation of and the link to a free, online-published version of this article can be found at the end of these show notes. The research and planning involved in the creation of this podcast is evident and is a beautiful representation of how learning can be extended through podcasting, and, in particular, the podcast-interview format.

When asked about their process for creating a podcast, the women said that the first thing they do is create a list of the different components they want to include, for example a self-care section or a quote of the day. Once this list is completed, they divide it into an introduction, main section, and a conclusion; this results in the core structure of the podcast. However, the women go above and beyond this and give their podcast personality and soul by choosing a communication style, integrating relevant music, and creating smooth segment transitions. JoHannah and Shay revealed that they center their sound around “an almost ‘gossip-like’ conversation” that gives the podcast its relatable feel. In addition to the conversation feel, enticing music and soundscapes, like the tea preparation sounds and the African American spirituals, were used create seamless transitions that support the overall messages of the content.

The research, planning, and creativity, of Black Tea truly makes it a masterful piece of student produced audio, and once again shows how interview-style podcasting is an underutilized learning tool. JoHannah and Shay use the software Audacity to edit their podcasts and upload them through the Anchor.fm platform. Links to these tools, and more episodes of Black Tea, can also be found below.

Alexis S. Wells, “The Gendered Ethics of Female Enslavement: Searching for Southern Slave Women’s Religions in the African Atlantic,” Journal of Southern Religion (18) (2016): jsreligion.org/vol18/wells [http://jsreligion.org/vol18/wells/]

Black Tea: https://anchor.fm/johannah-chanteria/episodes/Black-Tea-Politics-of-Black-Gender-eadlaq

Anchor.fm, the platform Shay and JoHannah use to distribute their podcast: https://anchor.fm/

Audacity, the free software JoHannah and Shay use to edit their podcast: http://www.audacityteam.org/

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Episode 22-“Your VU: Beyond the Classroom” by Zoe Rankin

This episode features an independently produced piece of audio by Vanderbilt undergraduate Zoe Rankin. Zoe produces a podcast called Your VU: Beyond the Classroom, where she highlights the passions and experiences of Vanderbilt students outside the classroom and brings light to social justice issues through education and storytelling. In Your VU Episode 6: Vanderbilt Prison Project, Zoe interviews Jenny Pigge, a Vanderbilt undergraduate who is the President of the Vanderbilt Prison Project.

Because this is independently produced audio, Zoe told us she had to come up with her own goals, outline, and rubric. As you listen to this episode, take note of the three questions Zoe asks on each of her podcasts, “What is the issue?”, “What is your story or connection to the issue”, and “how can people get involved or take the next steps to learn more?”. Now Rolling, Your VU: Beyond the Classroom, Episode 6: Vanderbilt Prison Project by Zoe Rankin, featuring Jenny Pigge.

Zoe started podcasting when she was the student host on the Dean of the Commons podcast titled Commons Cast. Through Commons Cast, she got to interview the commons Faculty Heads of House and RAs, amongst others. This opportunity ignited a spark to learn more about Vanderbilt students outside the classroom and the desire to use podcasting as a medium to educate. Then, with the help of Vanderbilt Student Media, Zoe created Your VU: Beyond the Classroom.

This audio is a great example of the interview-style podcasting that has surfaced on previous episodes of VandyVox. Zoe told us at VandyVox that she outlines all of her podcast episodes in the three-question format because it’s important to learn about the issue before bringing in the individual student’s context. Finally, she likes to end with ideas for listeners to educate themselves or become involved with ideas from the guest star. Zoe chooses her topics and guest stars based on gaps in her own knowledge she wants to fill and does her own research prior to recording each episode.

She said that doing your due diligence and creating thoughtful questions prior to recording is vital to maintaining a cohesive structure throughout the episode. When asked about any insights, tips, or tricks she’s learned while podcasting, she stressed the importance of active listening, and while it’s crucial to have research-based questions prepared, being able to listen and respond can lead to conversations that you couldn’t anticipate. Balancing that prepared structure with active listening and the flexibility to go off-course, is what makes Zoe’s audio connected and flowing.

Zoe tackles some important social issues throughout her podcast, and I urge to you go listen to more of her audio. A link to Zoe’s podcast, Your VU: Beyond the Classroom, can be found below. Additionally, if you’d like to learn more about the Vanderbilt Prison Project, the link to the Vanderbilt Prison Project website is also below.

Vanderbilt Student Media:

https://www.vandymedia.org/

 

Zoe Rankin’s podcast, Your VU: Beyond the Classroom:

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/yourvu

 

Vanderbilt Prison Project:

https://studentorg.vanderbilt.edu/prisonproject/about-us/

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Episode 21-“The Peril of the Sonoran Desert” by Rebecca Dubin

In “The Peril of the Sonoran Desert” undergraduate Rebecca Dubin talks us through the changes happening in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. This audio was produced for the Anthropology first-year writing seminar on Culture and Climate Change, taught by Professor Sophie Bjork-James. Rebecca incorporates the interview-style podcasting we’ve seen featured in previous episodes this season. In this format, she artificially conducts interviews with experts on this topic using real-life interviews she found online. The responses of her interviewees are the actual answers of each respective expert; however, these responses are voice acted by some of Rebecca’s friends.

Rebecca’s use of soundscapes to accentuate the issues faced in the Sonoran Desert results in superior quality audio that grips and engages the audience. Growing up in Tucson, this issue is something Rebecca is passionate about and expressed that even if the Sonoran Desert does not draw interest or concern from our listeners, this sentiment can be applied to any natural ecosystem we hold dear. Throughout the audio, she draws wonderful connections and uses this interview format to personalize the issue and relay the words of experts in the field.

This interview-style of podcasting is something that’s been heard before in season 3 of VandyVox and could be a useful tool for audio assignments. If given the proper notice and time allotment, it could be beneficial and unique for students to interview experts in a chosen topic.

The assignment criteria had students focus on a specific region and Professor Sophie Bjork-James encouraged them to look for multiple sources from their chosen area to encourage further learning. Professor Bjork-James said she chose to assign a podcast instead of a regular essay so that the students could experiment with both form and voice in a productive way. She indicated that, in particular, first-year students often stick to the five-paragraph essay format when tasked with a writing assignment. Shifting away from a general essay and into a new medium of expression encourages the student to think outside the box, experimenting with new ways of presenting information and discovering their own voice along the way.

Here it’s demonstrated that podcasting can be used as a means of creative break out from the steeped structure of a five-paragraph essay. Rebecca even said herself that at first, she was a little nervous to work on this project because it was unlike anything she’d ever done, but as she dove deeper she truly enjoyed the research and the creative nature of this project, finding her voice along the way.

The interview-style podcast is a type of assignment that could be used to elevate the quality of a research paper, where the interview itself can develop interpersonal connections and foster academic discussions, while the podcasting format can be tinkered with to be an authentic performance task. Below are some quick links that can help students set up their podcast and provides some specific considerations for preparing for a podcasting interview:

NPR: Starting Your Podcast: A Guide for Students (there is a specific section about conducting a podcast interview on this page too!)

https://www.npr.org/2018/11/15/662070097/starting-your-podcast-a-guide-for-students

Mark Schaefer’s 5 Steps to Conduct a Superior Podcast Interview

https://businessesgrow.com/2017/05/25/podcast-interview/

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Episode 15 – “Language Learning through Digital Games” by Meghan McGinley

How can games help someone learn a second language? Vanderbilt graduate student Meghan McGinley was interested in exploring that question this past spring. Meghan, who is pursuing a PhD in French with a certificate in Second Language Studies, was a student in a course on second language acquisition taught by my Center for Teaching colleague Stacey Margarita Johnson. Stacey regularly asks the students in her graduate courses to conduct interviews with language teachers or language learning experts. Meghan was planning to do her semester project on that question – How can games help someone learn a second language? – so for her interview, she reached out to University of Arizona linguistics professor Jonathan Reinhardt, who had recently published a scholarly book on games and language learning.

Meghan’s interview with Professor Reinhardt covers a lot of ground, from his path into game studies, to the problems when we think of work and play as two separate things, to the connection between Harry Potter and a 1961 book on games by a French sociologist. Stacey Johnson found the interview so interesting that she featured it on her podcast, We Teach Languages, and we’re excited to feature it here on VandyVox, too.

Stacey Johnson launched We Teach Languages, a podcast about language teaching featuring the diverse voices of language teachers, in 2017 as an offshoot of her courses. For a few years now, Stacey has been asking her students to conduct interviews with language educators. The interview assignment comes fairly early in the course, around the third week, so that Stacey can then use her students’ interviews throughout the course in conversation with the course readings. The interviews were so useful to her students that she was inspired to share the best of the interviews with the wider language teaching community. That led her to create We Teach Languages, which has now posted 115 episodes.

Stacey does a lot of the interviews for We Teach Languages, but she also accepts contributions from colleagues and regularly features the best of her students’ interviews. For instance, Meghan McGinley’s interview on language learning through games was featured in Episode 96. Stacey has written a really thoughtful blog post on her interview assignment, how it led to the creation of her podcast, and how her podcast continues to inform and enhance her teaching. If you’re interested in audio assignments in your teaching, or if you’re a language teacher, it’s recommended reading.

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Episode 14 – IEPM African Education by Lach, Nagasawa, Oniyangi, and Poudel

José Cossa taught in Vanderbilt’s leadership, policy, and organization department the last few years. José regularly gives his students the option to produce a podcast in lieu of a traditional research paper, and his students often take him up on the opportunity. This past spring, José was teaching in Vanderbilt’s international education policy and management program, or IEPM, and four of the students in his graduate-level course on Africa and education put together a seven-episode podcast as their final project. The four students—Kelley Lach, Kenta Nagasawa, Sabirah Oniyangi, and Shashank Poudel— drew on course readings and class discussions to plan their podcast and identify guests to interview. They spoke with several African students on campus, as well as Vanderbilt faculty with relevant expertise, to explore such topics as the history of education in Africa, early childhood education, technical and vocational training, and more.

The students’ podcast, which they called IEPM African Education, stuck to an interview format for most episodes. Choosing the right interview subjects is critical to this format, and the IEPM students selected some really lively subjects for Episode 6 of their podcast, which we’re sharing here on VandyVox. This episode features three African students currently studying at Vanderbilt, including one of the podcast hosts, reflecting on their educational experiences in Africa and elsewhere. Their stories connect with many of the themes explored on earlier podcast episodes and in José Cossa’s course.

Why does José Cossa encourage his students to create podcasts as class projects? “I believe in the power of the spoken word,” Cossa writes, ” and in making complex information simple” through creative storytelling. Cossa believes in “pushing students outside of their comfort zones and guiding them into zones of exploration of (new) forms of communication” that aren’t part of traditional academic settings. He sees value in having students use new media, like podcasts, in academic settings to deepen their learning.

For the podcast assignment, Cossa asked his students to submit a producer’s statement of sort, a group reflection on the process of creating the podcast. This is a common feature of audio assignments, since these reflective statements can reveal aspects of student learning that aren’t obvious in the final audio product. The group reflections on IEPM African Education made clear how well the students functioned as a team. They shared the work of the podcast—deciding on topics, scheduling guests, learning to use recording equipment, editing the episodes—and filled in for each other when necessary to get the job done. The result wasn’t just a patchwork of individual contributions, it was a podcast that was more cohesive and more compelling than what the students could have done on their own. That’s the sign of a good group project, a task that really benefits from having team members work together.

For more from these students, visit the IEPM African Education page on SoundCloud. For more about José Cossa, visit his website or follow him on Twitter @zeca72.

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Episode 13 – Blackademics by Robert Lee

Robert Lee is a recent graduate of Vanderbilt with a degree in human and organizational development. During his junior year, he realized he was constantly having fascinating conversations with a diverse set of friends on campus. He had a vision for sharing some of those stories with people outside the Vanderbilt bubble. The result was Blackademics, a podcast Robert launched in the spring of 2019. Robert is black, and that has certainly shaped his experience as a student here. He’s brought that lens to his podcast, which features relaxed and engaging interviews with friends as they navigate their last semester of college. They talk about relationships, finding their passions, figuring out life after college, and more.

Here on VandyVox, we’re happy to share a recent episode of Blackademics. In this episode, Robert interviews Lucy DK, a Vanderbilt student from the UK who has launched a music career while living here in Nashville. Lucy DK’s music is somewhere between pop and hip-hop, and her story about finding and growing her passion for music in this town on this campus is compelling.

Blackademics is available wherever you find podcasts. For more from Robert Lee, follow him on LinkedIn or Instagram. For more from Lucy DK, find her on Instagram or Spotify, or watch her Tiny Dorm Concert.

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Episode 10 – Out Loud by Greg Thompson

On this episode of VandyVox, we’re excited to share another podcast produced by a Vanderbilt student. Out Loud: LGBT Stories of Faith features interviews with Vanderbilt students about their experiences coming out to their church communities. The podcast, now in its second season, is the creation of Greg Thompson, a recent graduate of the Master of Theological Studies program at the Vanderbilt Divinity School. Out Loud started in a course Greg took on creativity and theology, but the podcast became an integral part of his Master’s thesis about honoring LGBT spirituality through digital storytelling.

When we asked Greg to select an episode of Out Loud to feature here on VandyVox, he said he really loved the interview he did with Vanderbilt Divinity School alumnus Kelsey Davis. Her approach to spirituality is centered on the statement “Belonging comes before belief.” It’s a statement that has sparked conversations for Kelsey and for Greg in their religious circles, as you’ll hear in our excerpt of Episode 103 of Out Loud: LGBT Stories of Faith.

You can listen to the full conversation on Greg’s website, outloudstories.com, or by searching for “Out Loud LGBT” in your favorite podcast app. Greg recently launched season 2 of Out Loud, featuring more thoughtful interviews exploring the intersection of faith, gender, and sexuality. Thanks to Greg Thompson for sharing his work here on VandyVox.