The Elliott School of International Affairs is gathering student feedback for a podcast it will launch next semester.
Students in the Elliott School received an online survey last week to gauge interest for a podcast the school hopes to release before the end of the academic year. Students and officials said the new podcast will inform students about topics like the implications of climate change and students’ experiences working in other countries.
Robin Khan, the director of public affairs at the Elliott School, said officials initially reached out to the International Affairs Society, a student organization, in October to assess whether students interested in international affairs would listen to the podcast.
Khan declined to say how many responses the survey has received, how many students have indicated interest and on which sites the podcast will be available. But she said there has been “enough” student interest to go ahead with launching the podcast.
“We are always looking for channels to promote our faculty and the content from events that take place at the Elliott School,” she said.
Khan said the podcast will include interviews with faculty on “topical” events and segments from Elliott School events with speakers and panels.
She said the school is in the process of recording an interview with Dean Reuben Brigety for the podcast, which will recap the school’s progress this year and identify future goals for the school.
She added the podcast will feature an interview with Sean Roberts – an associate professor of the practice of international affairs and the director of the international development studies program – focusing on the Uighurs, a Turkish ethnic group that primarily practices Islam, and an interview with Paul Williams, an associate professor of international affairs, discussing peace in Somalia.
Brigety did not return multiple requests for comment through a University spokesman about what the podcast will cover, why the school is launching a podcast, when it will launch, how many responses the survey has received, what feedback students have given and why Elliott School students are the target audience.
The survey sent to students includes nine questions about the podcast, including how long students would like the podcast to be, what it should be titled, how the podcast should be formatted and what issues students would like the podcast to cover.
Rajan Vasisht, a senior and the president of the International Affairs Society, said officials reached out to the student group in October to set up a focus group for students to provide feedback on the podcast since the group has about 850 student members.
He said the podcast, which officials hope to put out before the end of next semester, will primarily target Elliott students, but the school hopes that anyone who is interested will listen.
“They are hoping it becomes big enough where if you search ‘international affairs podcast,’ it will come up, even if you don’t go to GW,” he said.
He said officials also mentioned potentially allowing students to have roles in production or develop a blog to complement the podcast.
Vasisht added that the podcast will cover topics that are not part of classroom curriculum and that stay away from mainstream international affairs topics, like North Korea or the Syrian civil war.
Michelle Chau, a junior and the vice president of the International Affairs Society, said the podcast will make issues in international affairs more accessible to students who don’t have time to take a course in the Elliott School or for those who are interested in international affairs.
“We are trying to target really anyone who’s interested in any kind of international affairs issues,” she said. “We’re not looking just at Elliott students, even though it’s run through the Elliott School.”
