Racial Disparities Podcast Reflection

 

The podcast begins with an introductory personal narrative about the speaker’s uncle Ed that draws the listener in and evokes familial nostalgia. In my opinion, this is an effective way to begin. It also allows the listener to feel more connected to the speaker, and evokes a tone of vulnerability that lasts throughout the podcast and I honestly felt very sentimental as a listener, feeling very upset and angry for uncle Ed and his niece. This use of pathos to engage the listener in a serious, devastating issue in our country was effective. 

The hypocrisy within the podcast introduction is heartbreaking. Hannah-Jones says, “So it took, literally, my uncle getting a death sentence before he was able to get health insurance.” If he received appropriate medical attention when he first sought medical help, he would have had a chance to fight against death.

Structurally, breaking up between speakers and offering various storylines regarding the same issue really highlights the severity of the issue and helps the speaker connect the dots. The use of music as a break in between speakers was also engaging and allows a “break” for the listener/reader for reflection. The use of archived recordings of freed slaves was arguably most engaging for me as a listener, and helped me connect the dots myself in regard to content- connecting the story of Uncle Ed to emancipation. 

 

Regarding the use of podcasts with students as an educational tool, this is one of my few experiences using podcasts as a student to engage in content. As a student, this podcast was very effective for me to absorb content. More effective than if I was told to read an article. So often that is what my students are tasked to do in class. Read an article or read a short story and so often students are not engaging with the written words. To hear the voices of the speakers made the content more manageable to absorb, arguably more interesting, and easier for me to now write a blog post on the content. I think podcasts are an amazing tool for students, and I forgot about that, to be honest. My only use of podcasts as a teacher was my first year teaching an 8th grade English class and it was a murder trial about the innocence or guilt of alleged murder. I forgot how engaged the kids were listening to the podcast, and how many debates were sparked regarding the content. The class was definitely more engaged with the material because of the delivery of the content in an auditory podcast. Click here to read about Adnan, the alleged murderer and focus of a popular podcast used in ELA classes.