As one of the many new forms of digital media to emerge in this increasingly technological age, podcasts represent another opportunity for the Digital Humanities field to expand and grow. In a broad sense, podcasts fall within the multimodal nature of DH, defined in part as new digital methods of studying and analyzing information, as well as the study of those methods themselves. Whereas other forms of electronic tools from prior modules, such as network analysis, data mapping, and digital transcription have focused more on new ways of visualizing information, podcasts are wholly audio-based methods of conveying information – but that does not limit their capabilities to reshape how information is communicated. Just like how data mapping projects illustrated information through spatial and temporal relationships, or how text mining projects create new ways of looking at patterns embedded in language, podcasts allow for unique ways in presenting humanities content, largely through performance, tone, and engagement. In this regard, it can be compared to how the examples of crowdsourced transcription projects are designed to draw in the wider public in order to engage them with important historical sources and content; with podcasting, it is the job of the hosts and producers to attract listeners by creating engaging discussions that they can connect with, more so than they might have if given just a historical text to read. In the reading, Dan Cohen succinctly explains the core appeal of the podcast medium: “The human voice can thus communicate one’s humanity to the listener in a way that most academic writing has enormous trouble with,” and thus podcasts “provide a fantastic opportunity… to communicate the complex processes involved in acquiring new knowledge” (Cohen, 2018). In essence, podcasts create a unique way of connecting directly to listeners through human elements that cannot be as easily captured in other mediums, which makes it a valuable way of disseminating humanities content amongst wider audiences than those who may go to museums of partake in online research. Of course, podcasting is not incapable of visualization, as effective speakers, such as those in the example from NPR Throughline, can utilize vivid visual descriptions and voice performances to enhance their narratives and keep listeners engaged. Additionally, text transcriptions can often be found to increase accessibility, as in the module’s example of the Kairos Readers podcast introduction, but the audio-focused medium creates just as many opportunities for communication as it does limitations, as with all other multimodal forms of DH scholarship. Furthermore, it is clear that formats like podcasting will continue to become central to DH communication as technology likewise continues to expand into societal roles: the reading from Pew Research Center affirms that podcasts are a growing field of not just entertainment, but the dissemination of all kinds of knowledge, including news and public events, and it is largely the younger generations that do so (Pew). Thus, podcasting will continue to grow and likely develop as an important tool for Digital Humanities in a digital world.
Sources:
https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2023/04/18/podcasts-as-a-source-of-news-and-information/
https://kairos.technorhetoric.net/27.1/topoi/mcgregor-copeland/index.html