Altering podcast panorama affords students a platform

Not too long ago, I used to be listening to an episode of the Tradition Research podcast titled “Is the Golden Age of Podcasts Over?” On this episode, the host and visitor spoke poignantly and rightly about the concept that podcasting as we all know it—pushed by promoting {dollars} and monetization fashions—could be previous its peak. 1,000,000 podcasts began airing in 2020, however by 2023, that quantity had dropped to lower than 1 / 4 of its peak and continues to say no in the present day. With the podcast bubble supposedly bursting, business specialists like these are more and more arguing that the house is changing into oversaturated and, for a lot of, unsustainable as a long-term enterprise mannequin.

This bought me pondering: Whereas the business podcast mannequin could also be operating out of steam, the state of affairs is vastly completely different for lecturers, scientists and researchers. These teams are enjoying a unique recreation, and their communication methods don’t revolve totally round monetization and even viewers progress—their main objective is to share rigorous findings, typically in a method that may impact change. And to this circle of individuals, podcasts are a extensively underutilized, but fairly highly effective, instrument to amplify vital voices and create influence.

Regardless of debates concerning the sustainability of business podcast manufacturing and distribution, the demand for long-form audio content material continues to thrive. In accordance with Edison Analysis, almost 100 million People hearken to podcasts weekly and this development is rising globally, with listenership anticipated to achieve over 500 million by the top of 2024.

One cause behind this progress is the immersive expertise podcasts supply, assembly listeners’ wants for each studying and leisure whereas additionally permitting them to interact with the content material whereas multitasking. Podcasts additionally enable for sustained engagement; the common listening session is round 40 minutes, which implies they maintain consideration longer than many digital alternate options.

A shift in focus from revenue to goal mirrors the alternatives accessible to students and researchers. For lecturers, podcasts supply a singular medium to increase the attain of their insights, participating with the general public and alluring dialogue past conventional tutorial circles. This format permits students not solely to disseminate analysis findings extra broadly but in addition to bridge the research-practice divide by presenting complicated data in ways in which encourage uptake and real-world functions. By sharing analysis by compelling audio storytelling, lecturers can foster public understanding, stimulate group engagement and in the end contribute to societal influence.

Emily Hanford’s Bought a Story podcast exemplifies how long-form, research-based audio content material can spark widespread influence. As highlighted by Training Subsequent, Hanford used the six-part sequence to delve into how unscientific studying strategies gained traction in American colleges and impacted thousands and thousands of youngsters’s skill to learn. In contrast to business podcasting, Bought a Story was pushed by a dedication to tell and mobilize educators, mother and father and policymakers towards evidence-based literacy practices. The sequence ignited a nationwide dialog round literacy schooling, prompting many colleges to rethink their curricula and even influencing states to replace their literacy requirements.

Equally, the Tutorial Minute podcast, produced by WAMC Northeast Public Radio and introduced by Inside Greater Ed, options each day, two- to three-minute segments by which professors from varied universities share their newest analysis findings. Anthropod, produced by the Society for Cultural Anthropology, helps bridge the hole between tutorial anthropology and public discourse by bringing listeners into the world of anthropological analysis and displaying its relevance to up to date social points. Whereas all three of those podcasts—Bought a Story, the Tutorial Minute and Anthropod—make the most of completely different podcasting codecs, they every display how audio storytelling can amplify scholarly work and make complicated matters accessible and related to broader audiences.

In contrast to business media initiatives, the work of students is usually measured by the development of insights and typically even real-world outcomes—whether or not it’s the adoption of a brand new initiative, the revision of widespread practices or the unfold of analysis insights throughout stakeholder communities. Additionally, the gradual tempo of analysis and scientific discovery permits these organizations to method communications with persistence and depth, specializing in lasting influence reasonably than quick outcomes. Thus, instruments like podcasts and audio storytelling will help students deepen engagement, seed concepts and encourage motion in the long run with out the stress of fixed content material manufacturing or short-term capital.

Which results in my subsequent level: The funding constructions for the work of students are sometimes tied to analysis grants, inside college funding, endowments and different partnerships. These public, non-public and nonprofit funding sources are deeply invested within the success of the initiatives they help, making every profitable final result a shared achievement. Thus, when a podcast or audio sequence successfully disseminates vital data or sparks significant change, it not solely highlights the worth of the undertaking but in addition elevates the visibility of everybody concerned. This mutually helpful relationship positions audio storytelling as a robust instrument for amplifying a collective mission.

On this method, audio storytelling aligns with the mission-driven nature of scholarly work—fostering connection, perception and affect past quick metrics. By amplifying voices and analysis which may in any other case stay inside tutorial circles, podcasts can provoke significant conversations, bridge gaps between analysis and apply, and prolong the influence of scholarly work to a broader group.

Though students are enjoying a unique recreation, they’re nonetheless competing throughout the bigger digital market. Thus, it’s essential to make sure that audio content material is of top of the range and strategically deliberate. Whereas the objective will not be monetization or revenue, researchers and scientists are nonetheless tasked with creating audio that resonates deeply with and successfully persuades listeners.

Merely put: The content material have to be compelling sufficient to chop by the noise in an consideration economic system. The demand for significant, well-produced audio has by no means been larger, particularly as audiences search for substance over mere leisure. And this shift towards spoken-word content material displays a rising urge for food for information-rich, considerate storytelling, notably in podcasts and long-form audio codecs​.

Because the golden age of business podcasts wanes, students have a singular probability to harness the cresting demand for audio to drive significant change. On this context, changemakers and thought leaders can leverage not simply podcasts however audio extra broadly in ways in which business retailers can’t—not less than not sustainably.