Know Your Platform: The Power of the Podcast
By Brooke Foster
“Stop the presses!”
“And we’re live on the air in three...two...one...”
Storytelling has greatly evolved over time. From newspaper print, radio, and now the internet, individuals around the world are constantly taking in new information. Instead of paying a nickel for a newspaper, if we want to get the latest stories, we hop onto news websites or check out the Trending page of YouTube. A recent media trend which has begun to make a comeback in 2020 is the podcast, a popular media where creators post episodes as a way to communicate with their listeners. The best part? A podcast can be on just about anything, as long as the host has an understanding of the topic.
NorthStar Academy is certainly no stranger to podcasts. Over the years, NorthStar students have had the opportunity to listen in on the real-life stories of their peers. Some have even been able to start shows of their own. Each podcast has its own unique style and story to share. With such a rich history, we had to spotlight some of these podcasts.
The Northcaster (??? - 2014)
After scouring through the records, one NorthStar podcast which has seemingly passed under the radar is the Northcaster. While some aspects of its origin story still remain quite the mystery, we do know a few things after some detective work. Interested in your own investigation? You can check out the podcast here: https://northcaster.wordpress.com
Originally, the Northcaster was a student project started as a place for all things NorthStar News sometime in the early 2010’s. Past episodes we were able to uncover provided information about the latest high school and middle school happenings. The show lasted about two episodes and was archived deep within FirstClass (the main social platform for student activity at the time), after which the hosts had graduated from NorthStar Academy. Fast forward to 2014, when another group of students decided to reboot the Northcaster in a monthly format. However, this reboot was also short-lived, with only four episodes posted from February to June 2014.
The Late Great Show (2017 - 2019)
Possibly one of the more easily recognizable student podcasts at NorthStar Academy is The Late Great Show (which you can find here: www.thelategreatshow.weebly.com). Instead of focusing on the latest NorthStar happenings, this student-led podcast focused more on the students themselves.
With over twenty unique episodes, The Late Great Show team did their best to deliver a sit-down style interview with NSA-ers around the world. We recently sat down with one member of the production team, Lydia Roseboom. Around 2017, Lydia began serving on the TLGS team as a writer. “I didn't really know what that meant at the time,” she said, “but afterwards I became involved in just helping draw people in to listen by trying to come up with catchy titles and descriptions.”
Fruits of the Spirit - A Discipleship Team Podcast (2020)
After working on TLGS until it shut down in late 2019, Lydia decided to start working on a project of her own. “When the Discipleship Team started up in the 2020 school year, we decided to start a monthly podcast which would focus on the fruit of the spirit of the month and star a student from the general public,” she told us. “I decided that I would really enjoy working on the podcast, and it needed a host of sorts who could organize, record, and edit everything, so I kind of automatically fell into that unofficial position. Another student also helps out a lot and she has been in almost every podcast which has been awesome!”
This month’s Fruit of the Spirit was Kindness. Previous episodes of Fruits of the Spirit (or DT Fruits, as it’s known to most) include Love, Joy, Peace, and Patience. We asked Lydia what her favorite memory has been putting together the podcast so far. Her answer? Creating bloopers and laughing with her guests. “A couple months ago, we were recording at about 10:15 PM my time, and I was SO tired. I go to bed early, so my mind was just not working and I was slurring over all my words and it was hilarious. My guests didn't really know what to do with me and there was definitely a lot of awkwardness and laughing. Another time I swear there were cow sounds coming from one of the people's mics. Not sure why, but it was strange!”
The history of NorthStar Academy’s student podcasts has changed immensely over the years. No matter what the topic, listeners can guarantee they’ll be in for a treat. For those of you out there who are contemplating starting a podcast of your own, Lydia has some advice for you: “Just go for it! Sometimes you just have to take control of a situation and watch how it ends up!”
Brooke Foster is going into her third year with NorthStar Academy. She is currently serving as Student Council President for the 20-21 school year. In her free time, Brooke enjoys reading, writing, singing, and listening to the latest Broadway soundtracks. In the future, Brooke hopes to be able to use her skills to give a voice to those in need.