Our colleagues are rigorously analyzing global politics and inequalities. Yet, so much of that valuable knowledge remains trapped behind paywalls and impenetrable jargon, dumbed down for mass consumption, or entirely overlooked due to widespread prejudice. I started my podcast to make fascinating research more accessible and exciting to a wider audience. I purposefully amplify women and people of color so that more people can learn from their work. The interviews are fun, but they also are in-depth discussions: testing and questioning different ideas.
I am a lecturer in the social science of international development. Since 2017, I have run a podcast called “Rocking Our Priors” interviewing academics about their published research on global politics and inequalities. Topics include the drivers of economic growth and poverty reduction, global supply chains, organized crime, authoritarianism, social movements, and trade unions. My goal is to make academic research fun, fascinating, and engaging for a mass audience.
The Status Quo Isn’t Working
Much of our mainstream media is consumed by current events: speeches, summits, spectacles, and speculations. In the chaos of Brexit, Trump’s tweets, and trade wars, we lose sight of the bigger picture. However, many people want to understand what lies beneath the iceberg: the underlying, long-term drivers. Vast campuses of students, academics, and related practitioners are grappling with these questions; they lack the time to read journal articles in full but enjoy listening to podcasts.
Yet, when academics are interviewed by journalists, we are usually stopped after three minutes max, restricted to top-line summaries. There is no time to explain how we arrived at these conclusions, explore alternative hypotheses, debate the model, or question the reliability of the underlying data. I think there is a gap in the market for fun, engaging, and analytically rigorous podcasting!
Showcasing Exciting Research
I think my podcasts are popular because we discuss these big questions in great depth—carefully thinking through the process of data collection and the choice of variables; scrutinizing different interpretations; exploring alternative hypotheses; and reflecting on the wider, practical implications of these findings. The good thing about podcasts (as distinct from academic articles), however, is that they can be fun, lively, upbeat, and humorous. In my opinion, academia does not necessarily need to be somber or sedate. In fact, it is perfectly possible for rigorous analysis to be enthusiastic and engaging. That is certainly what my own students appreciate.
Through podcasting, I also try to showcase and celebrate one of the greatest joys in academia: learning from colleagues and being intrigued by their findings. I know I am not alone in this; we became academics because we are fascinated by research. Even if we write alone, all of us rely on vast support networks. Before submitting, we swap papers, share ideas, and offer advice. Yet, such practices often are hidden from view. The visible tip of the iceberg is a published article. That might foster an image of academia as isolated or self-interested. My podcast is all about intellectual excitement and collaboration.
To improve our understanding, we also need to tear down barriers that blind us to diverse voices and analyses. Across the world, we tend to venerate white, Western men as knowledgeable authorities. These stereotypes are self-perpetuating: by paying more attention to their ideas and analysis and citing their work more frequently, we reinforce widespread assumptions of male expertise. We also blinker ourselves to alternative perspectives. This is self-defeating if we are trying to understand complex problems. To quote Atif Mian (Reference Mian2019): “Science dies in hierarchies.”
To improve our understanding, we also need to tear down barriers that blind us to diverse voices and analyses.
Diversifying academia also is hugely important for our students. If our black, brown, female, first-generation, and/or queer students never see people like them revered as experts, they may doubt their own capacity and give up easily when struggling with assignments—or even opt out of those subjects entirely (Bettinger and Long Reference Bettinger and Long2005). I am grateful that a global breadth of scholars take time to share their insights on my podcasts.
Fascinating Episodes
One of my most popular episodes featured the deeply thoughtful Professor Yuen Yuen Ang. She provided a captivating explanation of “How China Escaped the Poverty Trap” (Ang Reference Ang2016) by highlighting top-down targets and local autonomy within the party–state. Local authorities iteratively experimented with new initiatives, building on local institutions, securing investment and improving governance, and working out the best solution in that context. Curious but skeptical, I inquired how she arrived at this theory. We then talked through her methodology: tracing change over time as well as comparing inland and coastal provinces.
Another popular episode was with the brilliantly astute and hilariously witty Dr. Naomi Hossain. Drawing on her new book, she explained the history and politics behind Bangladesh’s unexpected success in reducing extreme poverty (Hossain Reference Hossain2017). Like Professor Ang, she explained the long-term political drivers of poverty reduction. These ideas do not make the headlines but they are deeply important for understanding our world today.
For years, political scientists have struggled to explain why some African countries (but not others) are democratizing. In a recent podcast, Dr. Ken Opalo answered this question by highlighting a phenomenally important yet widely overlooked dynamic: legislative independence and how this was mediated by decolonization and multi-partyism (Opalo Reference Opalo2019). Many white Western academics have dismissed legislatures as mere rubber stamps on executive power. Dr. Opalo observed their independence and then tested his hypothesis through careful quantitative and qualitative analyses.
Likewise, listeners enjoyed my podcast with one of the United Kingdom’s coolest professors: Anand Menon. Stepping back from current events, he detailed how decades of economic but also political exclusion (particularly in small towns of Northern Britain) led to the Brexit vote (Evans and Menon Reference Evans and Menon2017). That podcast was popular because it tapped into a huge public debate.
Other episodes appeal to specific communities, such as Dr. Dan Honig’s work on bureaucracies (Honig Reference Honig2018). We actually recorded two episodes: one on his academic book (the importance of front-line autonomy rather than top-down management) and another on its practical implications (tailored to civil servants themselves).
Practical Tips
For those interested in creating their own podcast, here is what I do (of course, others may have different priorities and ideas):
• Read authors’ books and papers in advance (to ensure more in-depth discussion—not only listening to the experts but also questioning their ideas and suggesting alternative hypotheses).
• Email questions beforehand (so they can prepare and feel at ease, knowing what is coming).
• Take authors out for tea or coffee (again, to ensure they feel comfortable. My podcasts always work best when they are casual conversations. For this reason, I only record podcasts in person, never remotely).
• Record in a quiet room.
• Relax! Keep it fun, chatty, and conversational.
• Edit with Audacity (this software is free and easy to use; however, many of my episodes do not require any editing).
• Upload to Soundcloud (change the privacy settings to “Creative Commons” and add links to the RSS feed, iTunes, etc.).
• Share links on Twitter, your blog, or your website.
In summary, academic podcasts can fill a gap in the market by providing fun, in-depth discussions of complex issues and by showcasing the brilliant diversity of our field. Going forward, I plan to incorporate a new section—asking how other methodologies and disciplines have been used to approach the same question. I hope this fosters broader recognition of the strengths and synergies of interdisciplinary scholarship. If readers want to hear more, try “Rocking Our Priors.”
