Oral storytelling has been a part of the human experience for centuries, but in the early 2000s, a new type of audio journalism emerged: podcasting. Today, podcasts are a leading medium and an effective, profitable communication tool for individuals and organizations worldwide. They convert big ideas through sound but have already evolved with visual components rising in popularity.
After observing this movement and noting the growing demand for communication courses, Professor Joshua Potter, a former journalist and member of the English and Communication Department, introduced a syllabus for a new special topics course, Podcasting.
“Media studies is an important meta-discipline for considering how discourse itself is changing and reconfiguring social institutions, including universities,” says Potter. “Podcasting seemed like an important [course] offering, given the medium's growing influence within culture and politics. This generation of students understands that intuitively, so I think they find it refreshing to take courses on subjects that speak to this weird hybrid-reality world in which we now live, for better and worse.”
In Potter’s course, traditional lecture meets modern workshop. The class began by covering podcasts’ roots in radio, listening to shows like Sarah Koenig’s Serial. In the second half, students put their knowledge to the test by producing, publishing, and marketing their own podcasts.
“Really [anyone] can be a podcaster,” says Communication major Mark Boyle ’27, “but it’s about being consistent with your work in order to maintain an audience.” Though Boyle doesn’t see podcasting in his future, he feels Potter’s course has strengthened his awareness of the vast, multifaceted industry.
While students did listen to chart-topping conversational podcasts such as Call Her Daddy and WTF with Marc Maron, Potter’s course is predominantly structured around local news podcasts like NHPR’s Bear Brook and The 13th Step, created by alumna and Pulitzer finalist Lauren Chooljian ’10. Chooljian visited Potter’s class at the semester’s start to discuss the power of podcasts for investigative journalism. Other guest speakers, including Saint Anselm professor Jesse Saywell, host of Re-United States, spoke about their experiences and provided valuable advice.
Throughout the class, Potter encouraged students to consider the journalistic duties and ethics that come with platforming challenging themes, critique the host’s handling of sensitive subjects, and engage in open dialogue to entertain viewpoints not showcased in the episode.
“Before taking Professor Potter’s course, I was not an avid podcast listener, and my consumption mainly consisted of short clips on Instagram or TikTok,” says Politics major Lauren Blois ’26, whose final project examines if the music students listen to mirrors their lives or the state of the world. “Now I listen to podcasts regularly and have a deeper appreciation for the medium of literary journalism and communication.” From conducting interviews to editing audio, Blois feels the course made her a more confident, accurate, and compelling storyteller.
By stepping into the role of podcast producer through interviews, script writing, and audio editing, Potter’s students produced their own three-episode narrative podcast at the end of the semester. Students’ projects focused on the Saint Anselm experience, including reflections from student-athletes, studying abroad, and backstage conversations ahead of the Anselmian Abbey Players’ next production.
“Social media and podcasting have democratized access to the mass media and thereby opened new questions of credibility among the cacophony of voices battling to influence public opinion and cultural narratives,” says Potter. “I hope students complete my course with both the production savvy to tell amazing, original stories and the classical critical thinking skills to navigate this increasingly complex informational environment."
Final Podcast Reflections From Professor Potter
Beyond the Scoreboard by Olivia Baran ’27 and Nicholas Palermo ‘26
Beyond the Scoreboard is hosted by two student-athletes, Communication major Olivia Baran ’27 and Business Administration major Nicholas Palermo ’26, who talk to other student-athletes about the personal meaning and sense of identity that comes through playing a college sport. The duo has great rapport and does a fantastic job scripting, recording, and editing this podcast. This is one that I could imagine them developing into a weekly series.
White Horses by Conor Higginbottom ’27
Communication major Conor Higginbottom ’27 studied abroad in Tuscania last spring and decided to produce his podcast about the experience and what he wished he knew going into the program. He interviewed a number of fellow Tuscania alums as well as a member of the College’s Office of International Programs to create a vivid and helpful portrait of the program. Higginbottom’s sound design on this episode is fantastic and the way he uses music creates an amazing “wait for it” moment toward the end.
Hell Week by Sydney Mazur ’26
Communication major Sydney Mazur ’26 is a member of the Anselmian Abbey Players and served as director of props for the fall production of Dracula. “Hell Week” is what theater professionals call the final stretch off tech rehearsals in the run up to a play’s opening night. Mazur’s podcast draws double-meaning from the title by taking listeners behind the scenes to talk with the director, cast, and stage technicians as they put the final touches on the classic vampire story.