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Last month I launched three podcasts.
In three different higher ed circles in my life, I had been talking with collaborators about starting a podcast, and last month, we launched all three.
The first, “View From Venus,” is an extension of the University of Venus community. I’ve written about it here at UVenus, and I will probably continue to do so, as it seems like blogging and podcasting and Twitter and Instagram and Facebook come together in nice ways to create a larger conversation: a nice intertextual space for us to create and grow community. On last week’s episode, we spoke with Erica Feldmann, owner and creator of HausWitch in Salem. She talked about several methods for destressing and gave us some ideas on ways for introverts to network and create community. We had a lot of fun talking with her, and the episode is filled with laughter. If you need some fun in your life, give it a listen here. We will release new episodes weekly through mid-December on Thursdays at 4 p.m. EST. And then we’ll be back at the end of January. If you want to join us as a guest, let me know.
The second podcast, “Rocking the Academy,” is a project with my colleague and friend Roopika Risam, whom I first met on Twitter and then had the good fortune to work with at Salem State University. We have been talking about this project for a few months and finally launched last week with an episode with our friend Paula Krebs, executive director of the Modern Language Association. Upcoming episodes include conversations with Lee Skallerup Bessette, Alex Gil, Kelly J. Baker, Bryan Alexander, Schuyler Esprit and Katie Pryal. Stay tuned. This one is going to change the way you think about higher ed. Check out our episode with Paula Krebs here. We will release new episodes weekly through mid-December on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. EST. And then we’ll be back in January. If you have recommendations for folks who are rocking the academy, send them my way.
The third, “ExperiencED,” is a project with my friend Jim Stellar, former provost and interim president of SUNY Albany, and Adrienne Dooley, education practitioner. It focuses on experiential learning, and last week’s episode was a conversation with Paul Harrington, director of the Center for Labor Markets and Policy at Drexel University. I talked with Paul about students who are not adequately prepared for the job market and the resulting mal-employment -- an example of which is when someone with a B.S. in psychology gets a job as a bartender or barista. The majority of the focus of this episode is on the value of structured practical experience during an undergraduate program. In a rather short interview, I learned quite a bit about the gig economy, mal-employment, electronically mediated work and college labor market jobs. Check it out here. Our plan is to release four episodes this fall season and then be back in late January for a spring season with six to eight episodes. If you have recommendations for folks doing interesting work in the experiential education space, let me know.
I love this medium. There was definitely a technological hurdle, but with advice from Katie Linder and help from Simplecast, Descript, Audacity, Free Music Archive, Canva and Garage Band (and my husband), I’ve learned a lot. I also read So You Want to Start a Podcast by Kristen Meinzer, and her advice was fantastic.
Each episode of these podcasts has full transcripts and extensive show notes with links, so if you are more of a reader than a listener, you can read along.
Thanks for reading (and listening) and stay tuned for more.
Mary Churchill is associate dean for strategic initiatives and community engagement at Wheelock College of Education and Human Development at Boston University (est. 2018). Prior to her role at Boston University, she was the vice president for academic affairs at Wheelock College in Boston. She is the co-author of The Good Closure: Authentic Leadership in a Time of Crisis (under contract, Johns Hopkins University Press), which details the merger of Wheelock College and Boston University.
