While my background in digital media has led me down any number of avenues, the one I seem to love the most and always come back to is audio. There’s something about it that strikes at exactly the right amount of shared imagination between the producer and the audience.
I’ve had plenty of opportunities working in this sphere, and one particular corner I enjoy occupying is in the world of edutainment. I firmly believe in this method of teaching and learning, because I consider myself an aural learner.
Well, go on! Take a listen!
Butter No Parsnips
It’s a show all about words! Literally! From abecedary to zemblanity, hosts Emily Moyers and Kyle Imperatore of Butter No Parsnips introduce the world to a new, obscure word every week. And they use that word to journey far and wide through space and time covering the word’s origins, coiners, usages, and users.
I’ve happily produced this show for over two years now, and that’s included the humble privileges of sourcing for all manner of relevant guests from grammarian Ellen Jovin to psycholinguist Jean Berko Gleason, ensuring the hosts are comfortable on the mic and well-prepared, editing each episode, curating the show’s branding, and even hosting and writing a few episodes myself!
SciShow Tangents
Science communication at its friendliest, I’ve been working editing SciShow Tangents for the past two years. With hosts Sam Schultz, Ceri Riley, and Hank Green, the show seeks to embrace the science of everything in a way that’s approachable, easy to digest, and all around fun!
Editing both the audio and video for this show has led to some interesting challenges ranging from the incorporation of video ads to a recording featuring seven people who all obviously needed to be seen, heard, and understood.
Follow the Science with Faye Flam
Another jaunt through science communication (with more coming), Follow the Science was a show which kept audiences up to date and aware throughout the Covid-19 global pandemic. Balancing the sensationalist media coverage against what actual experts were reporting, Bloomberg journalist Faye Flam lended an even-handed and calming narrative to an exploding world.
And I was the audio editor, as well a a few other things which didn’t account for the majority of my time. This was an incredible experience in the world of science journalism as Flam touted herself quite the journalist’s journalist and really gave me a peek at what it takes to handle information both responsibly and with tact.
Depths of Wikipedia
A short-lived ride through the lateral expansion of the Depths of Wikipedia brand, the Depths of Wikipedia podcast basically took the work of the current-day meme account and built upon it.
Though the show would end due to a general lack of shared vision, the time spent and the content created was a terrific learning experience for me, and would shape what I wanted to see in later projects.
Improbable Research Podcast
Science communication with a particularly improbable bent, the Improbable Research Podcast was hosted by the founder of the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony and editor of the Annals of Improbable Research Marc Abrahams. Every week–or more appropriately every now and then, Abrahams would regale a new guest with the details of a very peculiar research paper, and both would have their fun about it.
I played a pivotal role in reviving the show after a many years hiatus, but alas, we’d succumb to the same fate as before as a general lack of time on the host’s end would spell yet another hiatus. This wouldn’t prevent me, however, from gaining a permanent spot in the world of Improbable Research, as my determination found comfort in the editorial design of the flagship magazine.
And here are a few others you can chew on for a while, but be warned, these are for the less sensitive!
Seth Gliksman 