Podcasts for Professors
Our schedules are already busy and then get even more so when the semester sets in. The question then becomes: how best can we go about continuing our own education, staying up to date on world events, and bettering ourselves for the sake of our students and our professions? One answer may be exploring new podcasts during the summer so you’re into a routine of catching the latest episodes when the fall semester comes around.
Podcasts are an easy way to stay informed (on anything really) while maintaining that busy lifestyle we all come to appreciate. Constant updates, new episodes, and an easily adaptable format. You can listen to podcasts pretty much anytime and anywhere. Many opt into podcasts over the radio or other options while traveling whether it be by car, train, bus, or plane. Others find time to broaden their knowledge using podcasts while at the gym or even grocery shopping, investing in themselves in their own time. Think you could try out this new practice? Explore the following podcasts and see how this newer method works for you!
- Teaching in Higher Ed—Faculty Development for Professors. This podcast is a great space to connect with other educators and share methods, results, and perspectives. Airing weekly, topics fall under the following: excellence in teaching, instructional design, open education, diversity and inclusion, productivity, creativity in teaching, educational technology, and blended learning. Host and Producer, Bonni Stachowiak, is currently a professor of Business & Management and Director of Teaching Excellence and Digital Pedagogy at Vanguard University in Orange County as well as the President of Innovate Learning, a professional training and coaching organization providing ways to help maximize human potential. With over 200 published episodes, sample topics range from anything regarding inquiry-based learning to an assessment of the college classroom, to ethics in teaching to the science of retrieval practice. Each of these podcasts is classified into four categories: Digital Pedagogy, Our Students, Work/Life, and Teaching.
- So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast. Sponsored by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), this podcast, published biweekly, takes an uncensored look at the world of free expression through personal stories and candid conversations with listeners and students across the country. Podcast Host and Director of Communications for FIRE, Nico Perrino, welcomes guests, examines campus rights, and discusses news related to the exercise of free speech. Previous topics have included defamation, campus free speech crisis, hate speech, and the free speech of the US Supreme Court. As FIRE’s mission is to defend and sustain the individual rights of students and faculty members at America’s colleges and universities, this podcast provides insight into the different dimensions of the freedom of speech in the higher education sphere.
- Science Friday—Your trusted source for new and entertaining stories about science. This podcast has been running for over 25 years and has piqued the interest of everyone from the country’s top scientists to public radio listeners. Now, they remain a quality resource for science breakthroughs and news coverage with a fair dose of humor, and are “brain fun, for curious people.” This multidimensional platform features the traditional podcast in addition to articles and videos cover topics like “The Origin of the Word ‘Zero,’” “Chasing Whales Through Time,” “Ask a Sleep Doctor: The questions that keep you up at night,” and “What We Know—and Don’t Know—About Human Heredity” just to name a few. If you’re a crossword puzzle junkie, this is a great stop to snag some random facts. A new show airs every Friday and range anywhere from 6-25 minutes in length.
- The Daily – by The New York Times. The podcast description on streaming apps says, “This is what the news should sound like. The biggest stories of our time, told by the best journalists in the world. Hosted by Michael Barbaro. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, ready by 6:00 AM.” This podcast gives a unique look into the day’s and week’s stories that will keep you informed and entertained.
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