Combining innovative technology with the tradition of oral storytelling, Tufts Podcast Network (TPN), a relatively new student group that creates audio broadcasts, has a simple mission: to bring people together through the sharing of thoughts and stories about the human experience.
TPN provides the tools for students to let their voices be heard, according to sophomore Cooper McKim, the founder, president and executive producer of the group. The podcast medium also allows the audience to absorb information on their own time a feature that sets podcasts apart from other forms of creative expression or journalism.
I think that podcasts are a little more soulful than ... a lot of the ways that people get news, sophomore Alexander Landen, executive editor of TPN, said. Theyre very easy to listen to you can just put them on when youre making dinner or when youre on Facebook.
Landen also discussed how podcasts can connect with listeners in different ways than standard print media.
Really good layering of sound and really good use of ... the human voice ... allows you to absorb this information in a way thats easier than it is when youre reading print, Landen said.
The medium also offers advantages to journalists, according Julie Dobrow, the director of Tufts Communication and Media Studies Program.
[Podcasts] give the journalist a little more leeway in terms of [production] time, Dobrow told the Daily an email. And for us as audience members, podcasting ostensibly opens up a lot more possibilities of things we could listen to, new ideas we could expose ourselves to, new perspectives.
The inspiration for Tufts Podcast Network came to McKim while he was on the metro in Washington, D.C. What began as the pursuit of a political career resulted in the discovery of an unexpected passion.
I did an internship over the summer ... and the only part I really enjoyed was my commute because I would listen to different interviews and a ... podcast series every day on my [way] to and from the Capitol, McKim said. I just kept finding new series that I really liked.
McKim decided that this was something he could do and that anyone could do. Moreover, he thought that podcasts could be a perfect outlet for the creativity and enthusiasm present in the Tufts community.
After pitching the idea to the Tufts administration, the club was able to obtain funding and held its first official meeting in October of last semester. The club now has an executive board and an e-list of approximately 60 students who are interested in creating and publishing audio material, according to McKim.
When he was in the process of creating the group, McKim initially approached Landen, who, coincidentally, had much experience in the broadcasting field.
I worked at an NPR station called WSHU Public ... in Fairfield, Conn. [where] I did a bunch of reporting [over the summer], he said. I also worked in New York City simultaneously at this radio station [called] WNYC, which is ... an NPR affiliate in NYC.
The TPN team has collaborated to create podcasts on a broad range of topics, but has primarily focused on submissions of fictional narratives. Now, members of the club are working on a diverse set of recordings, from a humorous social commentary show to an Amnesty International series that discusses human rights issues.
The podcast Im doing now with my friend [junior] Michael Maskin is a fictional podcast where we basically just write a script ... sort of Calvin and Hobbes-esque, McKim said.
Other podcasts that have either already been produced or are currently in the works include sports updates, opinion pieces, and even a production that tells a story through a series of voicemails, according to Landen.
TPN also hopes to broadcast more report-style podcasts that focus on campus news.
Id be interested, as well, into getting more reporting kind of [broadcasts], Landen said. [Id like] more ... campus stuff or roundtable discussions where you get professors and students who are interested in a certain topic. You get them together and theres a moderator and you record that conversation and edit it up so its listenable ... I think thats more the direction.12
