Continuing Studies: Higher Ed Podcasting

The technology changes. Our instinct to tell stories doesn’t. In this episode of Continuing Studies , Neil and Jen nerd out on podcasting with Dr. David Schwartz of Augustana College about his experiences teaching podcasting. David shares how he structures the course, from the evolution of audio storytelling to hands-on production, interviewing, editing, collaboration, and affordable tech. They al...

Traditional lectures don’t always fit how students learn today. Could a “lecturecast” work better? In this episode of Continuing Studies , Neil and Jen talk with Garret Castleberry about the “lecturecast,” his approach to using podcasting as a teaching tool in higher education. Garrett shares how audio can make learning more flexible, help students engage with course material, and build stronger c...

An academic history podcast becoming a massive hit sounds unlikely. But Dr. Greg Jackson’s success shows that depth, consistency, and craft can find a huge audience. In this episode of Continuing Studies , Neil and Jen talk with Dr. Greg Jackson, creator and host of History That Doesn’t Suck , about taking history beyond the ivory tower without sacrificing rigour. Greg shares how storytelling, con...

Build the studio, and they’ll come… right? Not necessarily. A successful podcast studio starts with solving a real need and giving people the support to actually use the space. In this episode of Continuing Studies , Neil and Jen talk with Emily Sikora from Penn State about how she built the Podcast Lounge by starting with the user experience, not the technology. Emily shares how simple onboarding...

How does podcasting fit into MIT’s goal of reaching one billion learners? In this episode of Continuing Studies , Neil and Jen talk with Mary Ellen Wiltrout from MIT about MIT Learn, open learning, and how podcasts can make world-class expertise feel more accessible and human. Mary Ellen shares how MIT is experimenting with podcasts, short videos, and other formats to reach learners beyond traditi...

How do you build a podcasting culture in higher ed? Don’t start with the equipment. In this episode of Continuing Studies , Neil records live from Helix at the University of Leeds with Abigail Harrison Moore, Krissie Glover, and Kerr Hunter for the final conversation in our three-part series on research podcasting. After exploring participatory research with Abigail and production support with Kri...

Can podcasting make teaching more human, more connected, and more effective? In the second live episode from Higher Ed PodCon, Neil and Jen sit down with Rudy Salo, a lawyer, law professor, public transportation geek, and co-host of Good Is in the Details . Rudy explains how a philosophy podcast about everyday life, dialogue, and critical thinking found its way into the syllabus and how it's helpi...

How do great hosts create conversations that feel purposeful, natural, and worth staying with? In this episode of Continuing Studies , Neil and Jen sit down with Sophie White from EDUCAUSE live at Higher Ed PodCon to talk about the art of hosting. Drawing from her work on EDUCAUSE Shop Talk , Sophie shares how purpose can shape everything from guest selection to audience focus, and how hosts can c...

How do you turn a research idea into a podcast that is clear, credible, and actually doable? In part two of our three-part series on how collaborative research podcasts get made, Neil and Jen talk with Krissie Brighty-Glover from Research Podcasts about the process they use to bring academic audio to life. Part one explored a real research podcast from the academic’s perspective; this episode look...

How can academics make their ideas easier to find, more engaging, and harder to misrepresent? In this episode of Continuing Studies , Neil and Jen dig into the podcast, Archaeology Books for Fun with hosts Tristan Harrenstein and Barbara Clark. Barbara and Tristan excavate the ways they've used their podcast to reach an audience segment they were missing in their other public education programs, u...

After 300+ interviews with Stanford experts, Russ Altman knows how to turn complex ideas into conversations people actually want to follow. In this episode of Continuing Studies , Neil and Jen talk with Russ, host of The Future of Everything , about the craft behind engaging expert interviews. Russ shares how he keeps highly technical conversations clear and fun, why he sees himself as the “jargon...

How can podcasting become more than a way to share research—and actually become part of the research itself? In this episode of Continuing Studies , Neil and Jen talk with Abigail Harrison Moore from the University of Leeds about Whose Power , a podcast project created with the Preservative Party, a group of young curators at Leeds City Museum. Abigail shares how the project uses podcasting as a p...

How can a podcast use academic research to help us make sense of today’s news? Neil and Jen talk with Gemma Ware , head of audio at The Conversation UK and host/co-producer of The Conversation Weekly , about how the show brings academic expertise into the news cycle through narrative-produced audio. Gemma shares how The Conversation pairs academic rigour with journalistic flair, helping researcher...

25 years ago, MIT made a bold choice: share our knowledge with the world, free of charge. Eventually, out of this, Chalk Radio was born as one tool of MIT's OpenCourseWare to deliver that knowledge.  In this episode, Neil and Jen talk with Brett Paci, producer of the Chalk Radio podcast and Assistant Director of Media Production at MIT OpenCourseWare, about how that mission has evolved over 20+ ye...

What are the core skills that make a great podcast host? Before podcasting, there was broadcasting, and there’s still a lot to learn from it. This week, Neil and Jen go back to school, well, Jen's school that is. They head to BCIT’s broadcasting studios to host Jen’s former instructors, Kathryn Stewart and Kevin Ribble, now co-hosts of Ignite My Voice . Kat and Kevin share what podcast hosts can l...

What does it take to turn rigorous scientific research into stories millions of people actually want to listen to? This week, Neil and Jen sit down with Blythe Terrell, executive editor of Science Vs. , to learn how one of the world’s most popular science podcasts blends deep research, narrative storytelling, and a bit of humour to reach millions of listeners. Science Vs. certainly doesn't opt for...

How can podcasting bring diverse voices and forms of academic work to a larger audience? Neil and Jen sit down with Will Brehm, creator of FreshEd , to talk about how a decade of academic podcasting has evolved from a simple interview show into a broader platform for research, storytelling, and new voices. Will shares how FreshEd grew into a multi-show network, why moving beyond English-language c...

Can you actually study podcasting at university—and does it lead to a career? Neil and Jen talk with Chloe Sackur and Max’ed Aadan, recent graduates of the MA in Podcasting program at City St. George’s, University of London, about what it’s really like to learn podcasting in a university setting. They share how the program blends technical training, storytelling, pitching, and industry placements—...

What happens when a classroom podcast turns into peer-reviewed scholarship, an AI teaching tool, and its own academic platform? When Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh Farhadian first launched Innovation Fuel , the goal was simple: bring real entrepreneurial stories into the business classroom. Five years later, that idea has grown into something much bigger. In this episode, Neil and Jen catch up with...

As universities face pressure to evolve, podcasting is emerging as an unexpected catalyst and channel for change. Carola Boehm first caught Neil’s attention with her EPOD abstract suggesting the ivory tower might be starting to crack — a bold (and maybe slightly controversial) take that kicked off this conversation about how podcasting is reshaping the way knowledge gets created and shared in high...

A thoughtful look at how podcasting is expanding the ways academic work is created and shared. Jim Ambuske , historian and producer, is back to share his thoughts on where audio is going in the academic world and what it’s going to take to have it recognized as a scholarly medium. Jim gets into his new work on the In Pursuit project, what he’s seeing in the world of digital archives and oral histo...

Start your 2026 inspired and ready for what’s next in higher ed podcasting—straight from the people building it. What’s ahead for higher ed podcasting in 2026? This episode rounds up predictions from creators and educators around the world, spotlighting the trends shaping the year ahead. Hear why podcasting may gain more academic credibility, how universities could lean on audio as a PR and outrea...

The evolution of Think Fast, Talk Smart and what it teaches higher ed about communication and connection. To close out the year, Continuing Studies revisits one of its most popular episodes — the first-ever live recording from the inaugural Higher Ed PodCon in Chicago. In this special conversation, Matt Abrahams , Stanford GSB lecturer and host of the globally acclaimed podcast Think Fast, Talk Sm...

How podcasting fits into modern scholarship and the evolving goals of higher education. Barry Lam —philosopher, professor, and creator of the acclaimed narrative podcast Hi-Phi Nation — joins the show to explore how audio storytelling can bridge the worlds of scholarly research and public engagement. This wide-ranging conversation traces the evolution of narrative academic podcasts, the craft behi...

How a podcast amplifies Black voices and their journeys of excellence at UIC. Dr. Aisha El-Amin , Executive Associate Vice Provost of Student Success and Belonging at the University of Illinois Chicago, reflects on the power of storytelling to create belonging, visibility, and momentum for students. She shares how the Black Excellence Podcast began as a 28-day project and grew into an award-winnin...