Read my reflection on this weeks reading, titled as Breaking Green Ceilings: Podcasting for Environmental and Social Change.
Explain, entirely in your own words, the main argument of the reading. This should be a high-level synthesis, not a point-by-point summary; try to keep it to four or five sentences.
The reading argues that since the current climate of the podcast network is predominantly white, there is a need for a resource that educates the mainstream environmental movement about the existing DQTBIPOC leaders. And the Breaking Green Ceilings (BGC) podcast has filled that vacant niche, providing a platform to amplify the unheard voices of diverse environmental leaders and break the implicit bias within the environmental field. The BGC podcast seeks to create solidarity in the environmental movement by increasing understanding and empathy for historically underrepresented communities and to see DQTBIPOC environmentalists as leaders and problem solvers. And that despite podcasting only being in the beginning stages of its journey, the medium can further boost this representation and awareness by providing a space where individuals can freely express themselves and their experiences without judgment.
What is the goal of this reading? What are the authors trying to understand better, and how do they go about trying to understand it?
The goal of this reading is to discuss the value that podcasting brings to amplify voices and contributions of environmentalists from historically underrepresented communities. The environmental podcast Breaking Green Ceilings is used as a case study to demonstrate a way to explain solutions to the persistent challenges that environmentalists from underrepresented communities often face in mainstream environmental organizations and media. The article uses an interdisciplinary and an intersectional lens to demonstrate how environmental issues are interconnected with race, religion, socio-economic status, and politics. It explores four main themes that have emerged on the podcast: environmental justice, structural racism and conservation, traditional ecological knowledge, and access to nature and the outdoors. Finally, they provide strategies that show how the podcast goes beyond the airwaves to build an inclusive community, raising awareness on the issues discussed and moving people to action.
What do you feel like you now understand better, having read it?
As someone who doesn't listen to podcasts often, I now understand the value of podcasts and how they are able to host niche topics that don't often make it onto the mainstream mediums. Through podcasts such as the BGC, we are able to engage with different and diverse environmental topics that are often ignored by the mainstream, thus giving us a wider view and perspective. Podcasts provide such a a great platform for those "othered" from the hegemony. And even the environmental issues talked about today in the mainstream often focus on the people in the West, rather than all other communities around the world (some of which might have the option to live an eco-friendly lifestyle due to poverty or harsh environmental circumstances). And through this article, we can see how the creators of BGC are using their platform to truly advocate for more inclusivity and voice.
I also loved that this article introduced the term DQTBIPOC, which is now a term that I hope other writers and creators will use to be more inclusive.
What are some questions or interests you have that were not answered or adequately addressed by the reading?
The reading was fairly straightforward and it did a really good job on introducing and talking about the BGC podcast. Knowing what I know now from this reading and the lecture, here are some discussion questions and points of clarification that I have:
How do the BGC podcasts digitally distribute the podcasts? What marketing strategy do they use?
Who is their market and specific target audience?
Are the creators behind this podcast all DQTBIPOC?
As podcast listeners, how can we further diversify the collections of content that we listen to in order to make room for other perspectives?
What other podcasts like BGC exist out there? What podcasts do you listen to/want to listen to?
What other topics would you want to see discussed by the BGC as well as other podcasts?
Going forward, how can you use this reading as a theoretical tool to better understand the publishing medium it discusses? Be specific: this is the hardest question, and the most important one, so spend some time thinking about this.
This reading touches on how podcasting serves as an ideal approach to effectively amplify the voices of environmentalists from underrepresented communities. This article helps us understand how podcasts help boost DQTBIPOC representation and awareness by providing a space where individuals can freely express themselves without judgment. Additionally, the reading touches on how podcast comes with low barriers to access. Podcasting is a pretty accessible platform particularly for diverse audiences because it is still a fairly young and decentralized medium. And anyone can create a podcast as long as they have a topic idea and can afford the basic cost of a microphone, headphones, a laptop, and a hosting platform.
Good work -- this reflection is thorough and thoughtful. I particularly liked your discussion questions, which could spark a whole series of deeper conversations about the practical aspects of podcasting!