InfoNation is a podcasting series produced by students in my information governance seminar (COMM491). While in the seminar we learn about and discuss how communication, information, and the internet are governed, students work in small groups to study in depth a topic of their choice related to the broad theme. Their goal is to learn about an ongoing policy debate, controversy or just a very interesting question on issues ranging from the ecological effects of submarine cables, through the right to be forgotten, to computer use by children, participation in the sharing economy, and concerns about privacy, copyright, and surveillance. Each group produces a podcast where it unpacks its puzzle by questioning assumptions or misconceptions through careful review and synthesis of peer-reviewed research. In the process, they read, talk to experts, talk to their peers, and tackle the challenge of communicating complex policy and science ideas to the public. For most students this is the first time engaging with both policy issues and podcast production, which makes for an exciting journey and refreshing insights.
On this page you can find podcasts created by students in the class. Each link will take you to a post containing the transcript and the audio of the episode. Right now, new episodes are added at the end of the semester.
If you are a student in COMM491, or just curious, down the page you will find useful information about podcasting as well as specific resources you will need for producing your podcast for this class. If you have something to add, please feel free to contact me.
In 2015-2016 this project was funded through a Curriculum and Instructional Grant from UIC Council for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
Spring 2015
#1: Copyright and creativity
#2: Psychology of the sharing economy
#3: The right to be forgotten (there is also a related op-ed)
#4: Unpacking cyber-bullying
Fall 2015
#5: Trust and the sharing economy
#6: The submarine life and the internet
Spring 2016
#7: Kids and screens (there is also a related op-ed)
#8: Being watched
#9: Trust and online surveillance
#10: Municipal wi-fi
Fall 2016 (coming soon)
#11: Piracy paradox
#12: Perceptions of copyright
#13: Your social media on your job application (there is also a related op-ed)
#14: Surveillance and human agency
Spring 2017 (coming soon)
#15: Chambers of selective exposure
#16: Filter bubbles
#17: Privacy on social media
#18: Social media in the classroom
The entire archive is also available here. New episodes are typically added at the end of semester. Please feel free to send me your feedback using the contact form on this site.
The rest of this page is dedicated to student resources.
For students
- Inspiration
- Software and specifications
- Legal issues
- Interviewing
- Royalty free music
- Phone recording apps
- Skype recording programs
- InfoNation intro and outro
- History
This is still a preliminary set of resources. Please feel free to send my way additional suggestions or corrections.
Inspiration
Here are some of the podcasts that students in the class found inspirational for their own work or just good example of storytelling, communicating complex ideas, and overall production quality.
- This American Life – Probably the most popular podcast in the country. This is how podcasting is done.
- Serial – This is a spin off to “This American life.” Another great example for high production value and good storytelling.
- Freaconomics – Great story tellers tackling interesting questions. This site has more than just the podcast.
- Gimlet Media – Has a number of interesting podcasts. “Reply all” deals with the Internet, albeit doesn’t really bring in research. “Science VS” seems like a promising example of how to make research interesting and accessible. “Surprisingly awesome” has the ambition of making boring topics interesting. You judge.
- Music Business Radio – This podcast focuses on an interesting and relevant subject and it also serves as a good example for how to handle studio discussion.
- Invisibilia – Two hosts discussing interesting topics that make you to review how you think about some of the things you take for granted.
- More perfect – An NPR podcast focused on the Supreme Court.
Software and specifications
Recommended software for editing audio is Audacity. It is free and cross-platform. Some resources to help you make sense of it:
Mac users may use Garage Band. It typically comes pre-installed (another option you can purchase is Sound Studio).
- Tutorial on editing podcasts using GarageBand (from Penn State).
- Tutorial on using Garage Band on Lynda (UIC students should have access).
PC users can purchase MixPad if they so desire.
The type of files you need to use for your final, edited, podcasts is m4a.
- On Windows – Audacity allows you to export into an m4a format.
- On Mac – Audacity allows you to export into aiff format, which you then can convert into m4a. All you need to do is right click the saved file and choose the m4a format.
- You can also use a third party website such as Zamzar, which allows you to convert different files into a variety of formats.
Legal issues
It should go without saying that everything you produce for this (or any other assignment) should be your original work. With podcasting, where you may need to use, interpret or re-purpose other people’s materials, you should be particularly thoughtful about issues of copyright and trademark. Please familiarize yourselves with Podcasting Legal Guide. When in doubt, please ask.
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Interviewing
When interviewing someone for you podcast, you have to take care of legal formalities in terms of copyright and right to publicity. There is a template of an interview release form that you should use for all your sit-down interviews and interviews where the speaker is identified.
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Royalty free music
Always remember to give credit! Both in writing (in the notes) and in the podcast itself.
- “Bensound” – Don’t forget to give him credit (see his licensing page)
- “Incompetech” – Use the Creative Commons license and don’t forget to give credit (see the licensing page).
- “Free Sound Project” – They have a rather detailed explanation of their licensing and attribution requirements.
- “Musopen” – Music that is in public domain (read more on what this means).
- Pretty Lights Music – Producer out of Colorado that some students in the class have worked with before. His music is free to download and if you use it for your podcast, please do not forget to give credit.
Phone recording apps
- TapeACall Pro – Students in the class have used it for phone interviews in the past. There is a one time fee of 10 dollars on the apple app store.
Skype recording programs
- Skype has a page with programs they recommend. You should start there.
- iFree-Recorder – Have never used it. Claims to record calls made in skype. Of course your voice wont be recorded because it is an internal recorder. May have to be used in conjunction with an external recorder. — http://www.scamadviser.com/is-ifree-recorder.com-safe.html
InfoNation intro and outro
You should use the music and the copy below to record a version of the intro/outro with your own voices. Make sure that the music does not overshadow your voice.
Copy of the intro
Welcome to InfoNation, University of Illinois at Chicago’s very own podcast created by students, for the students. At InfoNation we discover how media, information, and communication are created, governed, and used. Produced by upper-level communication students in the Department of Communication, InfoNation brings academic research to help make sense of our increasingly mediated society. We go to the library so that you won’t have to.
Copy of the outro
Thanks for listening to InfoNation! Coming to you from the University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Communication. Our theme music was created by Shawn Rizvi, a 2015 graduate. We hope we picked your interest and you learned something new today. Please feel free to engage by rating, commenting or sharing our episodes.
Music
The intro/outro music can be found here. It is the same tune and you should be able to download it as an MP3 from the link.
Other
There are sample intro and outro recorded by Nick Isasi (15). If everything else fails, you can use those.
History
Here we keep some of the historical material in case someone is interested.
Original intro/outro submissions from the Spring 15 semester:
- https://soundcloud.com/nick-isasi/infonation-intro and https://soundcloud.com/nick-isasi/infonation-outro
- ttps://soundcloud.com/emmalockmiller/infonation-intro-net-neutrality-group and https://soundcloud.com/emmalockmiller/infonation-outro-net-neutraity
- https://soundcloud.com/shawnrizvi/infonationintro and https://soundcloud.com/shawnrizvi/infonationoutro
- https://soundcloud.com/ashley-marie-thinnes/podcaster (intro and outro)
- https://soundcloud.com/madeline-miller-12 and
Original logo submissions from Spring 16 semester. The current logo was created by Cristobal Mora (17).