Kent State University is full of stories. You read them here every day and on pages across the university. You see them in video on social channels from Kent State and your departments. And some are taking advantage of storytelling with sound.
Did you know, by the end of 2022, it is predicted that there will be 424 million people who listen to podcasts globally? With this storytelling platform growing by the day, storytellers everywhere are turning to podcasts to get their stories out to their audiences. On campus, our own students, faculty and staff have been using podcasts and new ones continue to appear, tapping into this audio medium. Check out these new Kent State-focused podcasts that highlight some important and interesting topics across campus.
Flashes of DEI
Created by Kent State’s Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Flashes of DEI is a monthly podcast that explores topics related to those core concepts. It was created to provide students, staff and faculty the opportunity to learn about various diversity, equity and inclusion topics on their own time and in shorter bursts.
Hosted by the staff of DEI, each month the podcast covers a new topic related to diversity, equity and inclusion, often bringing in faculty, staff, students, alumni or other community members as special guests.
The latest episodes include a crash course on voting, what is bodily autonomy, disability 101 and an episode dedicated to Hispanic Heritage Month.
“We have a long list of topics to explore so we’ve got plenty of ideas for the future,” said Katie Mattise, director of DEI.
The podcast can be streamed on most platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music. Ideas for future episodes can be submitted to diversity@kent.edu or @DEIKentState across social media.
Check out the latest episode here: anchor.fm/kent-state-dei/episodes/Disability-101-e1r3euq.
Around the Sphere
Named after the sculpture that welcomes students to Franklin Hall, the School of Media and Journalism podcast Around the Sphere helps students discover the power of storytelling. This podcast focuses on the news story, the feature story, the multimedia story, the client’s story and the short film. It also aims to help students discover their own brand stories: who they are, what unique skills they offer and what they want to do with their professional lives.
The podcast serves as another form of storytelling, allowing students to test their creativity and work in new mediums. The podcast is completely student run and is overseen by the director of the School of Media and Journalism, Emily Metzgar.
“It’s an additional format that allows us to tell stories in a different way,” Metzgar said. ‘This is the golden age of audio storytelling, and we teach audio storytelling and podcasting in our school. We thought it would be a great way for us as a school of media and journalism to be putting into practice what we preach.”
The podcast aims to represent the four undergraduate majors within the school equally and tell these stories to students, campus members and alumni. Recent episodes include stories from students about their unique summer internships and the topic of free speech and the Banned Book Read-In that was hosted in Franklin Hall during Banned Book Week.
“We certainly welcome story ideas,” Metzgar said. “But we are careful in selecting them to ensure they align with the primary mission of the podcast, which is to tell our school’s stories.”
Listen to the latest episode here: www.kent.edu/mdj/podcast.
If you have a story idea or comment you want Around the Sphere to see, email it to mdj@kent.edu.
The Research Review
Created by public health sophomore Jonathan Evanick, the Research Review began releasing episodes earlier this year. The podcast serves as a platform for undergraduate researchers at Kent State to share their work and inspire listeners. The guests on the podcast often continue on to pursue a Ph.D in the field, with the podcast serving as a place for them to showcase their accomplishments.
“All my guests have fantastic potential and will execute phenomenal feats by continuing in their current direction,” Evanick said. “It is an honor to talk with all of these individuals, and I look forward to witnessing their accomplishments in the future”
The Research Review has released episodes covering a wide range of topics, including biology, Anna Freud, aviation, caregiving and liquid crystal research. Each episode features a student expert in the field.
This platform allows listeners to be involved in research, a field that many may perceive as intimidating. Using a podcast gives listeners a chance to be involved in the conversations and learn more about the passion that the researchers have for their topics.
If students or faculty have a research experience or publication they want to share, they may send it to jevanick@kent.edu.
Find the latest episode here: https://open.spotify.com/show/6sBdQASZNPAfdJYV6MBsWt?si=ad498c21b0874f0d&nd=1.
Have we missed anything? If you know of a Kent State-focused podcast hosted by faculty, staff or students, let us know at kentstatetoday@kent.edu!