During my time abroad this summer I had a lot of long flights and bus rides where I would get a bit queasy if I was reading, so as an alternative I turned to my other favorite form of "storytelling", podcasts. For me, podcasts (or "on-demand radio" as I like to refer to it) are a great way to casually, or sometimes intently, learn something through auditory storytelling. There are heaps of topics these podcasts cover, and with independent people making them they are essentially endless, but what I'm specifically interested in for my thesis is the realm of history podcasts.
This isn't quite as easily definable as I'd originally hoped; even a quick glance at the iTunes Podcast App categories shows that "history" is not listed. On further investigation, most of the history-minded podcasts are not even located under the "Education" category, but rather in "Society & Culture". This raises the first of many interesting questions I have about history podcasts as a form of public history, and the even bigger question of do they even count as that?
If anyone can produce a podcast then how do we know who we're getting information from? How do we know where they got their information? If the information and sources are strong, then does it even matter who is presenting it?
These were just a few of the questions I started with when looking into this subject and I've only gotten more interested since in the complex identity of the history podcast as education, entertainment, business, leisure, etc.
For my thesis I'd like to examine a sample set of podcasts to compare and contrast their modes of presenting information, what information they present, where can they be found, who is making it, and a variety of other questions to examine if history-minded podcasts can be reliable, and if they may be a new form of oral history to engage us in a more technologically driven world.
As a frequent podcast listener myself, I like the idea of vetting your sources of information. A lot of times I feel that people rely on a long standing/previous reputation of a group, instead of looking critically at what they do now. I look forward to see where you go with this, and how you plan to uncover how podcasts can incorporate 'dry' source material with a pleasurable/entertaining listening experience.
ReplyDeleteI'm not very familiar with podcasts as a medium, but I think the questions you're asking are important ones. I feel like there has been a resurgence of public radio as a trusted news source, and I know many young adults my age who listen to NPR history podcasts religiously. The relationship between public history and this kind of widely-accessible technology would be interesting to explore.
ReplyDeleteHistorical podcasts do contain aspects common to public history (accessible to a wide audience, entertainment, etc.) but much like film their legitimacy is easy to dispute. It would be interesting to see correlations between the ways info is presented and the podcast's legitimacy. This project could raise awareness among those already engaged with the medium and help those who are interested in podcasts as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting thought, especially when you think about the well-established podcasts versus the less established ones. I'm interested in how you'll decide what is or isn't a credible source.
ReplyDeleteAlex, in addition to the great comments above, I would add a question about the reason why podcasts are made. Is it to reach a broader audience? to create something that is longer lasting (than an ephemeral tour)? to contribute to a series/longitudinal study? There are also broader questions related to classification and cataloguing (something that is of interest to the full spread of LAM fields!). Excited to see where your continued exploration leads!
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