Recent episodes of Communication Matters: The NCA Podcast highlighted a variety of timely issues, including communication apprehension, how COVID-19 has impacted the regional associations, and the state of Ph.D. programs generally and within the Communication discipline.
Four Communication professors joined the podcast to discuss communication apprehension on March 11. Karen Kangas Dwyer (University of Nebraska, Omaha), Pat Gehrke (University of South Carolina), Suzy Prentiss (University of Tennessee Knoxville), and Joshua Westwick (South Dakota State University) explained the feelings and behaviors associated with communication apprehension and shared strategies students and teachers can use to address speech anxiety and communication apprehension in the classroom.
On March 18, nearly a year after the first Communication Matters episode about COVID-19, three health communication experts joined the podcast to discuss public communication about the virus. Katharine J. Head (Indiana University, Purdue University-Indianapolis), Christy J. W. Ledford (Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University), and Xiaoli Nan (University of Maryland) addressed the federal government’s public communication strategies related to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination, as well as strategies to combat misinformation.
Representatives from the Central States Communication Association, the Eastern Communication Association, the Southern States Communication Association, and the Western States Communication Association joined the podcast on March 25 to discuss how COVID-19 has affected the regional associations, particularly the planning of regional conferences and events. They shared some of the strategies that they used to plan events and offered insight on the mentorship and professional development opportunities available at regional events.
In April, two episodes of Communication Matters addressed the state of doctoral education. On April 8, Leonard Cassuto (Fordham University) and Robert Weisbuch (formerly Drew University), discussed their book, The New PhD: How to Build a Better Graduate Education, as well as the state of graduate education and the possibilities for reforming Ph.D. programs to prepare students for a broad slate of careers. Picking up on this topic, the April 22 episode specifically addressed the state of the Communication Ph.D., the job outlook for grads, and how programs have fared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communication professors Ellen Gorsevski (Bowling Green State University), Robert Mejia (North Dakota State University), and Wei Sun (Howard University) served as guests.
The spring public program, “The Future of Education: Identifying Challenges and Opportunities in Pandemic Learning,” was re-imagined as an episode of Communication Matters. In the April 29 bonus episode, panelists Vinita Agarwal (Salisbury University), Mindy Fenske (University of South Carolina), Alanna Gillis (St. Lawrence University), Chris Gurrie (University of Tampa), Matthew Hubbs (Westcliff University), and Shannon Borke VanHorn (Valley City State University) addressed the impact of COVID-19 on education and how these changes relate to pedagogical practices.
New episodes of Communication Matters are released every other Thursday. Upcoming episodes include:
- May 6: Zhuo Ban (University of Cincinnati), Richie Hao (Antelope Valley College), and Ali Na (Queen’s University) will join the podcast to discuss anti-Asian hate speech and discrimination, including the rise in violence and xenophobia related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and strategies to address these issues.
- May 20: Denise M. Bostdorff (College of Wooster), Devika Chawla (Ohio University), Rebecca de Souza (University of Minnesota Duluth), and Mary Stuckey (Penn State) will address the review process for academic journal articles, including the mentoring role of the reviewer and issues related to diversity and inclusion in reviewing.
- June 3: The podcast will highlight two award-winning books by Communication scholars. Mia Fischer (University of Colorado) will discuss Terrorizing Gender: Transgender Visibility and the Surveillance Practices of the U.S. Security State, winner of NCA’s 2020 Diamond Anniversary Book Award, and Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz (University of Iowa) will address Homeland Maternity: U.S. Security Culture and the New Reproductive Regime, winner of NCA’s 2020 James A. Winans-Herbert A. Wichelns Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address.
You can find the podcast by entering “Communication Matters” in the search bar of your favorite podcast app. Subscribe and listen today!