Every friend group has had that moment where they realize that their conversations are just the funniest to exist and need to be accessible to the public. I have experienced this multiple times but have never truly learned how to move forward with a podcast and what that implies for science and society. When I found out that I would have the opportunity to make a podcast of my own and execute it I was very excited.

Throughout this training experience, I gained knowledge of a program called Audition that I would be able to use to edit the podcast and ensure that it is the best quality possible. I learned tips and tricks in order to improve sound quality and what environment to record in to have the clearest audio. We talked about how to change the style and cadence of our speech depending on the type of person that could be interviewed. A host has to think on their feet and interact with their guest a certain way depending on if their guest is a science researcher who may not be able to explain things well to the public or just another fellow colleague.

Most importantly, I learned the true value of a podcast and what knowledge and comfort it can bring to people. Podcasts are not only for advice and relatability but a great way to gain knowledge of the world and the science and innovation that is currently happening. Podcasts are an opportunity to make science more accessible for the general public and a great way to start breaking down the walls of distrust between science and the people.

With the research I am doing with my lab, it is heavily involved with people of color. The Identity and Diversity Lab focuses on investigating the effects that identity has on learning, personality, and more. However, an issue within the lab is the recruitment which slows the progression of important studies that are in the process of being done. The slow pace of recruitment can be attributed partly due to systematic distrust between the science world, research and people of color. Podcasts about science innovation can contribute to furthering the trust between people of color and research in an accessible way.

Noelia Piedra, Huang Fellow ’26

Noelia is a first-year from Miami, Florida intending on being a Psychology major and global health minor