PWR 91JS: The Stanford Science Podcast
Scientific information can be shared in a variety of formats, from technical journal articles to popular television shows. One growing medium for science communication is the podcast, episodic programs that can be downloaded onto mobile devices and listened to anywhere—on the bus, at the gym, or while working at the lab bench. This versatile medium is adaptable to many different formats, including the engaging narratives of Radiolab and the expert conversations of This Week in Virology, and has broad appeal to both technical and non-technical audiences.
In this course, students will explore the podcast medium and its use as a tool for science communication. Through a series of workshops and guest speakers, students will learn the necessary journalistic and technical skills to produce podcast episodes including how to: find a compelling topic, develop effective interviewing techniques, record high quality audio, tell an engaging story, communicate complex technical ideas, edit audio files, add music and sound effects, and prepare the final podcasts for online publishing. Podcast episodes will highlight the cutting edge research being done at Stanford, and students will choose specific stories based on their own interests, from earth sciences to public health to big data. The course is open to students from all majors and disciplines, and students taking this course as part of the Notation in Science Communication can include their podcast episodes in their NSC ePortfolio. Final podcast episodes will be published online.
Annotated List of Major Assignments
Podcast Discussions (10%)
In this weekly assignment, students will listen to a selected podcast for homework. We will then discuss the podcast in class, with groups of students chosen in advance to facilitate the discussion. In these discussions, we will look at the rhetorical choices made in the production of the podcast and think about how to incorporate what we learn into our own podcast projects.
Science Minute Episode (15%)
In this short podcast, students will practice their speaking and technical production skills by reporting on a short science news article inspired by the now defunct “60 Second Science” podcast from Scientific American. Past episodes have reported on language acquisition in infants, optical computing, and urban agriculture.
Story Pitch (15%)
Working in teams of 2 or 3, students will pitch story ideas to their classmates. These pitches will include a short written description of the story (~1 page) and an oral presentation to the class.
Podcast Episode (50%)
Building out from their Story Pitch, students will work with their team to research, interview, script, perform, and produce an approximately 20 minute story on Stanford research and the researchers behind the work. Students will practice working in multiple modes, producing not only audio files but also writing copy and choosing appropriate visuals to accompany their podcast on the course website. The final episodes will be published online. Previous topics have included the complexities of water management in California, an exploration of the nature of human altruism, and the origins of the universe. See Soundcloud for published podcasts from the class.
Final Reflection (10%)
In this assignment, students will reflect on their learning in the course, specifically speaking to how they will approach different communication situations they face in future.