‘Who Cares? Casual Conversations with Southern Scholars’ podcast makes debut

October 6, 2020

Georgia Southern University’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (CBSS) and College of Education (COE) have partnered to host a nontraditional research podcast, “Who Cares? Casual Conversations with Southern Scholars.” The first episode of the podcast series was released on September 24 featuring an introduction to the podcast’s hosts and mission.

Ryan Schroeder, Ph.D., dean of CBSS, and Kania Greer, Ed.D., director of the COE’s Institute for Interdisciplinary STEM Education (i2STEMe) are co-hosts and creators of the podcast.

“The point behind ‘Who Cares’ is to showcase the research that is being done across our colleges with a specific focus on the impact the research is making on our communities,” said Schroeder. “What we really want to do is highlight that research is important, not just in the academy but across our communities as a whole.”

While research is an important part of Georgia Southern and universities across the world, Schroeder and Greer want to humanize the research and allow listeners to connect with the impact the research is making. In short, they want to make research relatable to the average person, answering the question, who cares about research?

“No one is taking on crux research just for the sake of doing research,” said Greer. “They really are trying to solve global problems. We have amazing faculty doing amazing things, and I don’t feel like we toot our own horn enough. I want the public to know what Georgia Southern has to offer.”

“I think in this podcast what you are going to get is a true sense of personality of the people who work in this industry,” said Schroeder. “The public image of a professor is often that of a boring, monotone person. The reality is that we are all real people, and we are all really passionate about what we do and about making a difference.”

Within the behavior and social sciences, podcast topics will range from political science, psychology, criminal justice, interior design, fashion merchandising, child and family development, as well as public and nonprofit administration. COE research will dive into informal versus formal education, emotional wellness, evolution education in the south, children’s literature, classroom management, trauma-informed practices, use of technology and game design in educational practices, and innovative teaching practices.

“These topics will be very relevant to the lives of listeners,” said Schroeder.

Podcast episodes will be released on the first and third Thursday of each month on the podcast hosting application Anchor and distributed to listening platforms including Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Overcast, Pocket Casts and RadioPublic.

Visit https://anchor.fm/cbss to hear the first episode of “Who Cares?,” and subscribe for future episodes. 

Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/R2 institution founded in 1906, offers 141 degree programs serving more than 26,000 students through nine colleges on three campuses in Statesboro, Savannah, Hinesville and online instruction. A leader in higher education in southeast Georgia, the University provides a diverse student population with expert faculty, world-class scholarship and hands-on learning opportunities. Georgia Southern creates lifelong learners who serve as responsible scholars, leaders and stewards in their communities. Visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu.