Team:Alma/Education
Science Communication
In an attempt to share and spread science with our local community and those abroad,
the Scot Science Podcast was created.
It is recorded in a manner that would allow it to be consumable by anyone, and frequently
aims to make complex subjects and
topics more easily understandable for the audience. This allows a broader audience of
educational backgrounds and interests to listen to the podcast.
Why a Podcast?
To make sure that the information we are providing and disseminating is easy to access, the podcast is free to access
for anyone who would like to listen. Understanding the information extremely well is important for both the listener
and those recording the episode. To ensure this happens, all podcast episodes have a lot of research put into them,
and are frequently posed in a format which involves asking questions of experts or of the host that did the most research
into the topic at hand. This allows for commonly asked questions to be answered and to keep the podcast more engaging
to allow for increased listening time and interest with the viewer.
One of the biggest motivating factors that led to the creation of a podcast is the ease of consumption -- people can listen
to and passively learn about different topics each week for 10 to 25 minutes while commuting to and from their job or schooling.
It also allows for learning without having to sit down and devote time in the way that reading or watching a video does.
Episodes are published on a number of platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, making them easy to access through a listener’s preferred platform.
Podcasts are also relatively easy to produce and edit remotely. We recorded podcast episodes almost entirely online using
the audio recording tools of Audacity over virtual interviews,
and a separate editing team edited each episode. Although we only started recording in September and published them in October,
we have already released several episodes.
A Range of Topics
One of the first episodes recorded was an interview with Dr. Amanda Harwood about the state of the local Pine River, which our project
is designed to address. By discussing issues that are near and dear to listeners, it encourages and starts discussion surrounding the issues
at hand. The Scot Science podcast is co-hosted by Abbey Killian and Aryaan Misra, and has interviewed multiple guest speakers ranging from
Alma College professors to other iGEM teams, allowing for a greater range of influence, opinions, and expertise to be heard and distributed
through the podcast. It was acknowledged that environmental science may not interest everyone, so a wide breadth of topics are covered on
the Scot Science Podcast. One of the latest episodes covers the amazing capabilities of animals that are being used to further our understanding
of science in both a research and therapeutic setting.
Scot Science Promo:
Listen to full podcast episodes!