On February 11, EDSET seniors at AHS have launched new episodes of our podcast which has been rebranded as "Exploring Questions." Exploring Questions is a student made non-fiction storytelling podcast series that explores, well, questions about the environment we live in. The structure of each episode is modeled after the structure of WNYC's Radiolab. This project takes a full quarter for students to pitch, research, interview, script and produce an episode, and at the end of it all, we are proud of our students' work.
Since podcasts are meant for public consumption, below are five episodes we recommend as a starting point. These episodes were chosen because they span the range of questions explored in these episodes this year.
“Sharks Are Friends, Not Food (or Enemies)” is a short podcast that ponders humans’ interactions with sharks, particularly the predator species. What’s your first feeling when someone brings up sharks? It’s likely not positive. Do you feel worried, disgusted, or afraid? So does most of the world. Our podcast aims to explore why sharks render such a negative reaction from the general population.
This episode was created and produced by Jungah Ahn and Jackie Davis, current seniors at Albany High School. Jungah and Jackie share a love for the ocean, and an interest in sharks that grew as the project progressed. Jackie loves a game of beach volleyball, and takes frequent coastal hikes with her dog, Sugar. Jungah enjoys snorkeling and swimming, and recently discovered a passion for surfing.
“Big Rocks and Strong Men” is all about strength, everybody knows someone who’s obsessed with the amount of weight that they can bench press or squat, but where did that all start? If you’ve ever wondered about why these people care about being strong you should give this podcast a listen.
This episode was created and produced by Russell Trutane an Albany High School student who is one of those people that cares about how much he can bench and squat, but then decided to ask why he cares.
“Good Enough to Eat?” is an exploration of the viability of insects as a mainstream food source. We delve into the history of “gross” foods and the science that shows we might need to become a bit open minded.
This episode was created and produced by Serena Ingalls and Jorjie Kiriruangchai, amateur entomophagists who promise that crickets are actually pretty good.
“In the Heat of the Moment” is a riveting podcast exploring the darker--and often violent--consequences of hot weather. In the Heat of the Moment was created and produced by Shreya Tamang and Jessica Shen-Wachter (Albany High c/o 2019). In their free time they lead Albany Stands, a student activism group.
“Becoming An Industrial Byproduct: The Reality” is an exploration into the effects of environmental racism, food justice, and systemic oppression on minority communities. We focused on our own backyard, the Bay Area, to further emphasize just how personally you can be impacted.
This episode was created and produced by Jamaica Kalika and Shavase Shine. They have known each other since elementary school, and throughout their more than ten year friendship have partnered and combined their talents of creativity, activism, and “black girl magic” for projects, classes, clubs, and extracurriculars in and outside of school.