Vandyvox

Runner-up in the Undergraduate Category of the Excellence in Podcasting CompetitionThe industrial revolution defined the 1800s and the green revolution defined the 1900s. Some experts believe that the genetic revolution will be the defining feature of the 2000s. So what does that mean for us? In this episode, Maya Reddy explores the technical possibilities and ethical dilemmas of human bioenhancement.What was your process for structuring this episode? Did you plan out the entire episode first or did you just experiment with audio until you found something that you liked?“I tend to plan out the entire episode, at least the gist of it, before I start recording. Sometimes interviewees say things that are unexpected that change my plans, but for the most part, I have a direction before I go about gathering audio”How much research did you do and how did you decide what information to include?“I did a LOT of research. I typically do about 5-6 hours of research prior to conducting interviews and then more if needed

Created for the Exploring Disinformation in Media and Society Buchanan FellowshipIf you’ve ever used WhatsApp you’ve probably been added to a group chat with dozens of distant relatives and what seemed like a great way to reconnect with the family often becomes a tool to spread misinformation. In this episode, Sophia Yan and Shaun Karakkattu address this global phenomenon and what you can do about it.What was your process for structuring this episode? Did you plan out the entire episode first or did you just experiment with audio until you found something that you liked?“During the Buchanan Fellowship, the cohort had discussions about misinformation in different historical and cultural contexts, including the AIDs epidemic, Japanese incarceration camp during WWII, and anti-blackness media. At some point, the group brought up the fact that non-English-speaking immigrants in America tend to be more vulnerable to misinformation on social media due to the limited content monitoring and lack of credible news sourc

Created for CSET 2100: Scientific Communication Tools and TechniquesDid you know that whale feces are an important part of the marine iron cycle? No? Neither did we until we listened to this incredibly well-researched episode about exactly that by Karan Mirpuri. This piece is a great example of how you can use audio to explain a scientific concept!What was your process for structuring this episode? Did you plan out the entire episode first or did you just experiment with audio until you found something that you liked?“I created this podcast for CSET 2100: Scientific Communication Tools and Techniques with Prof. Stephen Ornes (highly recommend)! While we did not have a specific structure we had to follow, he required that we conduct three interviews with individuals related to the topic we were pursuing. For this reason, I conducted my interviews first, looked through the audio for anecdotes and comments that I liked, and created a narrative structure around these segments that felt cohesive and was able to co

Co-Winner in the Graduate Category of the Excellence in Podcasting CompetitionAt the outset of the COVID pandemic, we all became acutely aware of the vulnerability of our own ability to breathe. In this episode of the Ministry of Arts podcast, Sebastian Spivey and their team produce a vivid story of a nurse’s relationship with the relentless rhythm of the breath. This is an episode you don’t want to miss.What was your process for structuring this episode?  “All of our episodes followed a format of host intro → produced story/interview → host outro. We chose this because of its familiarity to most audiences. The structure of the stories themselves was organic in response to what developed from the interview.”Did you plan out the entire episode first or did you just experiment with audio until you found something that you liked? “Our production team kicked around ideas for stories based on the theme of 'breathe'. There are two segments in this episode, the first of which I produced from start to finish. I knew

Runner Up in the Undergraduate Category of the 2022 Excellence in Podcasting CompetitionMiami, Florida is at the epicenter of many discussions about rising sea levels caused by climate change, but we rarely get to hear from the individuals displaced by it. In this short episode, Emily Irigoyen paints a vivid picture of a city inundated by floods and the state’s continued denial of the grim reality faced by thousands of citizens.“Using very short pull quotes is very much a thing that could work well in print but in podcasting, which privileges the human voice, it doesn’t work quite as well.” - Jad Abumrad on the limitations of using short interview clips in podcasting“One of the big debates you have in a story meeting is, ‘is this a topic or a story?’ and this particular piece is very much a topic [that] has story-shaped elements…There’s an opportunity here to go a little bit deeper into any one of the chapter-lets to let me see and feel and hear and taste and smell the experiences being described rather than

Winner in the Undergraduate Category of the 2022 Excellence in Podcasting CompetitionOver the last few years, the fossil fuel divestment movement has taken the country by storm, and at Vanderbilt activists made their big debut by interrupting Chancellor Diermeier’s speech at Founders Walk in 2021. In this episode Abhinav (and a special guest) listen to College Voices’ reporting about this movement and discuss how students can create similar audio stories.“The music knows something. I think it’s always interesting to ask, what does the music know that the listener doesn’t know yet? ‘Cause the music is the thing that can exist outside of the time of the story. It knows the past, it knows the present, it knows the future…I would say use it thoughtfully, use it as a knowing entity, use it as a punctuational entity.” - Jad Abumrad about using music in podcastsHow long did it take for you to produce this episode?“This episode took dozens of hours of research, interviews, scripting, and production to complete. A lot

Co-winner in the Graduate Category of the 2022 Excellence in Podcasting CompetitionIn an increasingly digital world, where Zoom meetings are now commonplace, the importance of transcripts–as a written record of audio and for accessibility–cannot be understated. In this episode, Steven Rodriguez, along with his cohosts discusses how transcripts have shaped the humanities and what can often be lost in the process.“Overall with academic-type of communication, I feel like the key is always to anecdotalize; to talk about moments, to talk about cases, to tell stories that you can then build your academic ideas around” - Jad AbumradThis episode features half of the full episode produced by Steven. To listen to the full episode, click here.What was your process for structuring this episode?“The episode came together over the course of a week as part of the National Humanities Center’s “Podcasting the Humanities Workshop.” My co-producers and I brainstormed episode topics together and quickly decided that transcriptio

Created for CSET 2100: Science Communication Tools and TechniquesHave you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered if there is another life in the universe? Lukas Berglund has and in his episode on the Fermi Paradox, he takes the audience on an engaging audio journey that tactfully discusses the existence of extraterrestrial life. He weaves a UN speech, audio from the Voyager probes, and electronic music to set the mood and immerse the audience in a succinct story.Here’s what Jad Abumrad has to say about the Fermi Paradox and other podcasts about abstract academic concepts:“Overall with academic-type communications, I feel like the key is always to anecdotal; to talk about moments, to talk about cases, to tell stories that you can build your academic ideas around”What was your process for structuring this episode? Did you plan out the entire episode first or did you just experiment with audio until you found something that you liked?“I started with the plan to make an episode about the Fermi Paradox. I wa

A special message from VandyVox's founder, Derek Bruff about the future of VandyVox!

In this shocking audio, Rishabh Gharekhan debunks the myths and reinforces the facts surrounding Edward Snowden’s data leak, then draws the fine line the United States government walks between privacy and protection with the National Security Agency’s Planning tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization, and Management, otherwise known as PRISM.  In his undergraduate runner-up audio, follow Rishabh’s chronological tale from the view of a modern bipartisan lens and uncover the secrets stored in your data. Turn off your other devices and focus in on Rishabh Gharekhan’s “PRISM: NSA’s Information Net.”

Our featured audio this episode is titled Cancer Epidemiology, created by graduate student Pranoti Pradhan. This audio is a subset of a larger production called Going Viral, Basics of Epidemiology, produced by Saimrunali Dadigala. Discover how the field of cancer epidemiology sprung to life with three notable observations as Pranoti takes us back to ancient Egypt, walks us through history, and directs our gaze towards the future. Side effects of listening to this audio may include blasts from the past, increased knowledge, and desires to learn more. Here’s a dose of Cancer Epidemiology by Pranoti Pradhan.

Clones, mutations, genetic modifications, and diseases eliminations… while those may sound magically fantastical, the secrets of all those topics and more are revealed in Olivia Pembridge’s undergraduate runner-up audio “Gene Drives.”   Olivia will captivate you as she paints interconnected visuals that ease the listener into complex scientific topics and uses supplementary audio to drive home her main points. She debunks ethical concerns by interviewing experts in the field, namely Kathy Freedman, a Vanderbilt University geneticist, Thomas Clemens, a Vanderbilt University crisper researcher, and Leah Buckman, a Texas A&M entomology PhD Candidate who answers the question, “How bad is the bad?” 

Sometimes small voices make the biggest impact. In VandyVox Season 4, Episode 4, doctoral student Marta Eugenia Zavaleta Lemus demonstrates the anthropologic importance of children’s voices in the face to loss, fear, and hardship related to human mobilities. Discover how two influential books shaped her childhood experience growing up in El Salvador, launching her into an academic career as a cultural anthropologist. Envision yourself sitting down crisscross applesauce, story time has arrived. This is “My Humanities Moment: Children’s experiences and voices in social research and literature” by Marta Eugenia Zavaleta Lemus. 

This featured audio was produced by Abhinav Krishnan, an undergraduate runner-up for the “Excellence in Podcasting” award and it’s a part of a larger podcast titled “College Voices” in collaboration with the Vanderbilt Hustler. Tune your ears to Abhinav’s use of background music and pay attention to how his on-campus interviews reveal the disconnect between intention and impact. Before I burn you out, please anchor down for “Anchor Down, Burn Out,” by Abhinav Krishnan.

When the line between science and fiction becomes blurred, Natalie Wallace and Nicole Kendrick, graduate students in biological science and biochemistry, respectively, are here to sort through the haze.  Their research-based segment, “How Real is Silicon-based Life?” tackles tv show “The X-files,” to filter out the falsehoods and test the truths behind a silicon-based parasitic fungus and volcano traversing robots. The featured audio is a component of their broader podcast, “How Real is that Science?,” where, in an effort to improve science communication and watch movies, the dynamic duo dives deep to debunk more popular science-fiction. Fasten your thinking cap and prepare to get spooked listening to “How Real is Silicon-based Life?” by Natalie Wallace and Nicole Kendrick.

Emma Fagan is bringing the conversation back to science in her research-based,prize-winning audio “Noise Pollution, COVID-19, and Your Health.” Taking home 1st place in the “Excellence in Podcasting” undergraduate audio category, her sounds are anything but noise. Listen for how Emma dexterously links industrialized noise pollution, a silver lining to COVID-19, and how noise pollution affects your mood, sleep, and health. This is Emma Fagan’s “Noise Pollution, COVID-19, and Your Health.”

Season 4 of VandyVox is coming to connect you with the winners of Vanderbilt’s inaugural Excellence in Podcasting competition, sponsored by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and the Office of Immersion Resources.Prize winners include undergraduate, graduate, and professional students who use audio storytelling to communicate ideas, share perspectives, make arguments, and persuade otherswith exemplary care.  

In this episode VandyVox is featuring audio from a podcast titled “Black Tea”, that is produced by two Vanderbilt undergraduate students, JoHannah Valentin and Shay Milner, in collaboration with Vanderbilt Student Communications. In their episode, “Women, Religion, and Enslavement”, the women interview Vanderbilt Professor Alexis Wells-Oghoghomeh from the Department of Religious Studies.While this podcast was not produced in response to a direct classroom assignment, JoHannah and Shay frequently introduce and expand on knowledge they cultivated from Professor Wells-Oghoghomeh’s course teachings. Shay and JoHannah produced this podcast because they wanted to address the discrepancy they saw between the campus demographics and the content produced by Student Media. The pair draws on knowledge from Dr. Wells-Oghoghomeh’s course teachings and her written articles to ask open-ended questions that create an informed dialogue between themselves and the Vanderbilt faculty member. The research and planning involved in

Today, we’re featuring audio from a podcast called Novel Hand that was produced by Vanderbilt Alumna Alexa Bussman. Alexa studied Political Science, Economics, and Spanish while at Vanderbilt and interned at non-profits like International Justice Mission. Alexa is the founder and editor of Novel Hand, a project that aims to explore the best solutions to global humanitarian issues, and the podcast is an extension of this project.She created Novel Hand to address a disconnect she noticed between her generation’s passion for social issues and innovative solutions that exist to solve these problems. We are featuring episode 2 of the Novel Hand podcast titled Ethical Fashion with Connie Tsai. Connie is an executive assistant at Nisolo, a Nashville company that desires to push the fashion industry in a more sustainable direction through intentionally designed, ethically made, fairly priced clothing. Alexa’s podcast is just one aspect of how Novel Hand uses their values to move towards their goal, and this multi-lev

This episode features an independently produced piece of audio by Vanderbilt undergraduate Zoe Rankin. Zoe produces a podcast called Your VU: Beyond the Classroom, where she highlights the passions and experiences of Vanderbilt students outside the classroom and brings light to social justice issues through education and storytelling. In Your VU Episode 6: Vanderbilt Prison Project, Zoe interviews Jenny Pigge, a Vanderbilt undergraduate who is the President of the Vanderbilt Prison Project. Because this is independently produced audio, Zoe told us she had to come up with her own goals, outline, and rubric. As you listen to this episode, take note of the three questions Zoe asks on each of her podcasts, “What is the issue?”, “What is your story or connection to the issue”, and “how can people get involved or take next steps to learn more?”Zoe started podcasting when she was the student host on the Dean of the Commons podcast titled Commons Cast. Through Commons Cast, she got to interview the commons Faculty He