Plunge Into Podcasts On... gene editing, peace-building, and public policy

I now present you with a genetically modified podcast recommendation (JK, I promise)

Hi Plungers,

Do you know any “persuadables” — AKA people who could be persuaded to listen to podcasts (according to Sounds Profitable’s recently published research study)? I know you’re already a big-time podcast listener, and I love that about you.

But let’s grow the pie. Let’s find your persuadable friend that podcast that makes them say, “Dang, I didn’t realize a podcast could be like this.”

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Did you know: this is a reader-generated podcast recommendation newsletter? You read, you listen, you share your faves, we post your faves. So, read on! Then, leave a comment with a podcast recommendation so that we can feature you.

Shoutout to plungers Aakshi Sinha and Holly Brown for commenting on our last issue.

In today’s issue:

• Holly and Aakshi’s podcast recommendations

• Podcast extras (read all about it)

• How to participate

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Here’s what YOU recommended:

Recommender: Holly Brown, podcast marketer at Tink Media

Podcast: Obscured

Why: Obscured dives into overlooked but critical public policy issues, offering a deeper look than your daily news scroll. Their first series, From Words to Weapons, explores the survivors of law enforcement trauma and the professionals seeking solutions. It covers intimate stories of generational trauma, controversial policing tactics, survivor support, resilience, and hope.

Creators Emily Previti and Stephanie Marudas are covering important hidden issues affecting our communities with top-notch reporting!

Recommender: Holly Brown

Podcast: A CRISPR Bite

Why: CRISPR Gene-editing technology is a scientific breakthrough changing the way we make and eat food, but many have never heard of it. In this five-part series, food anthropologist Dr. Lauren Crossland-Marr takes listeners into the labs where researchers are tinkering with food genes, to help break down the problems they’re hoping to solve – and what’s at stake.

Gene-edited foods are hitting the grocery store shelves as soon as this year! It sounds like science fiction, but A CRISPR Bite helps us understand our reality and what we, as consumers, should do with it.

Recommender: Aakshi Sinha

Podcast: Making Peace Visible

Episode: Inside comms strategy at the world's largest peacebuilding NGO

Why: I loved this episode because it made me think about something I do, marketing, when it's applied to an area I've never thought about before. In this episode, host Jamil Simon talks to Jack Farrell, director of communications for Search for Common Ground, the world's largest peacebuilding organisation.

Jack explains why it's important to amplify peacebuilding efforts and the things he has learned about making the organisations he works with more visible while being sensitive and thoughtful. I heard him say things we tell podcasts we work with all the time at Tink when marketing: the importance of building a community instead of focusing on gaining numbers, his love for email newsletters, using diverse social media channels and messaging, really understanding where a specific audience group spends their time on the internet. And then he talked about his love for Derry Girls and why it's his favourite depiction of what a nuanced, playful, and honest account of what peacebuilding looks like!

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Podcasts extras + links:

• Don’t forget to vote for your favorite podcasts in the Signal Awards. Voting is open to everyone!

• I was interviewed by Luis Diaz about how I landed five sponsors for one of my podcasts before it launched. Listen here.

• I think podcasting is inherently collaborative.

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Participate in this newsletter:

Comment on this post with a recommendation of your own.

Here’s the format:

1. Your Name

2. Podcast Recommendation

3. Episode Link

4. Why You Recommend It

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FAQs:

1. Can I recommend my own podcast?

   1. Within reason. i.e. if it makes sense.

2. Can my recommendations be selected week after week?

   1. Yes. Just keep on commenting.

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Happy listening, y’all!

For more recommendations, subscribe to my weekly podcast recommendation newsletter in which each issue is curated by a different person.

- Arielle Nissenblatt