Pandemic Podcasters

“I hosted a radio show for my high school radio station where we discussed Disney music, so I had a little experience, but I’d never done anything quite like this before,” Marshall said. “I really enjoyed the process of interviewing each guest, unpacking and dissecting what they said, and, overall, I think this project helped me connect with my classmates on a deeper level.”

Abby Pierson ’24 had never produced a podcast before working on this assignment as the group’s editor. As a musician, she found that a lot of the skills she’d taught herself by writing music on her computer translated well to audio storytelling. Pierson also composed and recorded the music that plays during the episode.

“Since none of us could record together, I didn’t know what each person was going to send me until I got the file,” Pierson said. “I listened to everything and grouped clips together to tell a cohesive story. Then Jojo and I coordinated to figure out how to synthesize it.”

While the students ultimately chose not to enter their podcast in NPR’s competition, they’re still proud of the final product. For Pierson, who spent the entire fall semester attending class through Zoom from her home before moving to campus in the spring, working on the podcast helped her connect to Puget Sound and feel like she was a part of the community.

“It was so helpful for me to be in GPS because I was feeling very isolated at home,” Pierson said. “I gained a sense of solidarity with my peers in the class, and it’s nice to feel like I know people on campus now that I’m actually here.”

As for whether they’d be game for recording a follow-up to the podcast, both Marshall and Pierson expressed interest in reuniting for a second episode.

“Definitely,” Marshall said. “Everybody has different COVID stories, and this was ours. We focused on our own experience, but I would like to explore other perspectives. That would make an interesting episode two, if we ever do one. Who knows?”