WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.900 Heather Bigley: It's important to show our students that they're not alone out there. 00:00:03.930 --> 00:00:07.680 They can get together with other people of other faiths and of 00:00:07.770 --> 00:00:09.660 no faith and solve problems. 00:00:10.065 --> 00:00:13.035 If we can teach them that through this podcast and they can teach 00:00:13.035 --> 00:00:16.274 other people that through this podcast, then I think we've done 00:00:16.274 --> 00:00:17.744 something that's really important. 00:00:20.744 --> 00:00:23.744 Neil McPhedran: Welcome to Continuing Studies, a podcast for higher education 00:00:23.985 --> 00:00:25.755 podcasters to learn and get inspired. 00:00:26.235 --> 00:00:31.370 I'm Neil McPhedran, founder of Podium Podcast Company and Higher Ed Pods. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.280 Jennifer-Lee: And I'm Jennifer-Lee, founder of JPod Creations, 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:36.050 podcasting is broadcasting. 00:00:36.050 --> 00:00:37.700 We want you to know you're not alone. 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:40.790 In fact, there are many of you Higher Ed podcasters out there and 00:00:40.790 --> 00:00:42.170 we can all learn from each other. 00:00:43.730 --> 00:00:49.340 Neil McPhedran: You're right, Jen, and just, I know that we, I think in 00:00:49.340 --> 00:00:52.830 our pre, one of our previous episodes we mentioned, we brought up PodCon 00:00:52.850 --> 00:01:00.750 again being in Cleveland this upcoming July, so we're committed to that. 00:01:00.900 --> 00:01:09.900 We are gonna be opening up the website for early registration in the next week or so. 00:01:09.900 --> 00:01:16.289 So we'll be, we'll be putting out a notification about that and we're 00:01:16.289 --> 00:01:20.610 already starting to look for keynote speakers and things like that. 00:01:20.610 --> 00:01:25.095 So if anyone out there is listening, if you have ideas, we'd love to hear 00:01:25.125 --> 00:01:29.385 and we'll let you know when that, uh, when the, uh, website opens 00:01:29.385 --> 00:01:32.595 up for, uh, early registration. 00:01:32.655 --> 00:01:39.855 Uh, we're really excited for year two, expanding to two days, um, and just 00:01:39.975 --> 00:01:45.315 a lot of, uh, we're gonna build upon all the amazing stuff that we, all the 00:01:45.315 --> 00:01:50.355 amazing community that we built in year one, and build upon all that knowledge 00:01:50.355 --> 00:01:51.895 that we all garnered coming out of it. 00:01:52.710 --> 00:01:56.460 Jennifer-Lee: And great guests like who we have on the podcast today. 00:01:56.820 --> 00:01:57.450 Neil McPhedran: Yes. 00:01:57.539 --> 00:02:01.590 Just so happened to have another one of our friends from the 00:02:01.590 --> 00:02:04.320 first PodCon, which is amazing. 00:02:04.590 --> 00:02:09.240 So in this episode, we are chatting with Heather Bigley. 00:02:09.630 --> 00:02:14.460 She is a senior producer at BYU Radio. 00:02:14.700 --> 00:02:21.270 BYU Radio is part of the larger BYU broadcasting team, and that's obviously 00:02:21.270 --> 00:02:24.780 Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:32.370 So we had a really cool conversation here with Heather about, uh, uh, about 00:02:32.370 --> 00:02:35.040 BYU Radio and how podcasting fits in. 00:02:35.730 --> 00:02:39.239 Jennifer-Lee: Yeah, and they have fancy studios and, and we discuss 00:02:39.239 --> 00:02:43.980 it more, but they really do have resources for faculty or students 00:02:43.980 --> 00:02:45.990 that are looking to build a podcast. 00:02:45.990 --> 00:02:47.490 So very exciting. 00:02:47.490 --> 00:02:48.570 So let's get into it. 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:49.320 Neil McPhedran: Let's do it. 00:02:50.579 --> 00:02:51.240 Welcome, Heather. 00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:54.150 Great to have you here on the Continuing Studies podcast. 00:02:54.690 --> 00:02:55.200 Heather Bigley: Thank you. 00:02:55.200 --> 00:02:58.140 I'm excited and a little nervous and excited. 00:02:58.290 --> 00:03:00.600 Neil McPhedran: No need, no need to be nervous. 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:02.340 Jennifer-Lee: Where are you broadcasting out today? 00:03:02.640 --> 00:03:07.020 Heather Bigley: So I am at BYU Radio, which is part of BYU in 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:09.300 Provo, Utah, the lovely Provo, Utah. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:12.870 We, in fact, tried to convince Higher Ed PodCon to come 00:03:12.870 --> 00:03:15.110 here next year and, um, lost. 00:03:15.465 --> 00:03:16.394 And that's fine. 00:03:16.394 --> 00:03:19.274 Jennifer-Lee: That's too bad because Utah, I've been to Utah, it's 00:03:19.334 --> 00:03:22.454 actually very beautiful and there's a lot of great things in Utah. 00:03:22.635 --> 00:03:22.965 Heather Bigley: Yes. 00:03:22.965 --> 00:03:26.385 I was like, I know it's a 40 minute ride from the airport, but once 00:03:26.385 --> 00:03:30.584 you're here, there are like canyons every 10 minutes that you can just 00:03:30.855 --> 00:03:32.804 disappear into and it'll be beautiful. 00:03:32.804 --> 00:03:34.665 But maybe another time. 00:03:35.505 --> 00:03:41.295 So Provo, Utah, home to the Cougars, and also neighbors to UVU, which was 00:03:41.295 --> 00:03:42.709 recently in the news, sadly enough. 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:47.400 So yeah, they're kind of our local competition, if you will. 00:03:47.850 --> 00:03:50.550 And yeah, what should I say about BYU Radio? 00:03:50.970 --> 00:03:56.160 It's an interesting place because I think most colleges have a college 00:03:56.160 --> 00:04:01.740 radio station and that's aimed at students, and students run it and 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:03.120 students learn all kinds of skills. 00:04:03.180 --> 00:04:08.160 And this has always been sort of, we're community radio, but it's run 00:04:08.160 --> 00:04:10.590 by full-timers who develop shows. 00:04:10.875 --> 00:04:14.535 We have a ton of students who come in and, you know, for instance, I have 00:04:14.535 --> 00:04:18.914 five students currently on my team, and they do all kinds of video editing and 00:04:18.914 --> 00:04:24.825 audio editing and producing for us, but it's not necessarily that student led 00:04:24.825 --> 00:04:28.815 organization that people might be more familiar with at other universities. 00:04:28.815 --> 00:04:29.385 Neil McPhedran: Interesting. 00:04:29.775 --> 00:04:34.724 I just have to say that spending some time digging into BYU Radio, 00:04:34.755 --> 00:04:36.375 I think it's an amazing resource. 00:04:36.615 --> 00:04:39.705 We'll absolutely put a link to it in our show notes. 00:04:40.110 --> 00:04:43.680 I would encourage all higher education podcasters to check it out. 00:04:43.710 --> 00:04:51.120 I think it's really amazing how you've put together radio and podcasting. 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:57.330 So maybe you can explain to us how does podcasting fit into the BYU Radio entity? 00:04:58.110 --> 00:05:02.130 Heather Bigley: Yeah, so I was hired three years ago when they were making a 00:05:02.130 --> 00:05:05.325 pivot away from radio into podcasting. 00:05:05.955 --> 00:05:07.994 So they had always had a radio show. 00:05:07.994 --> 00:05:12.585 In fact, we have two radio stations, um, that broadcast stuff out 00:05:12.585 --> 00:05:16.515 of here, and they decided three years ago to pivot to podcasting. 00:05:16.635 --> 00:05:20.715 We still have the radio stuff and most of our stuff goes out locally on what we call 00:05:20.715 --> 00:05:23.835 linear stations to our local audience. 00:05:23.925 --> 00:05:30.255 But our new idea is because we are basically from the church of Jesus Christ 00:05:30.255 --> 00:05:34.545 of Latter Day Saints, our core audience originally has been members of the church. 00:05:34.965 --> 00:05:39.855 And we have so many members of the church who are all over America and even all over 00:05:39.855 --> 00:05:46.995 the world, it made sense to make content that would be available to them, to the 00:05:46.995 --> 00:05:49.365 folks living in, I wanna say Michigan. 00:05:49.395 --> 00:05:56.805 We have folks living in Boston and DC and North Carolina and LA and all over 00:05:57.135 --> 00:05:59.835 who might want access to our content. 00:06:00.135 --> 00:06:05.985 So that was the original impetus and now it's more that we're not actually 00:06:06.015 --> 00:06:08.025 aimed at that core audience anymore. 00:06:08.055 --> 00:06:14.235 We're trying to aim at fellow people who are interested in faith forward content. 00:06:14.325 --> 00:06:18.135 We're trying not to be specifically quote unquote Mormon, but more like, you might 00:06:18.135 --> 00:06:19.905 be interested in interfaith content. 00:06:19.995 --> 00:06:24.585 Let's invite you into the conversation that we're having and how we're 00:06:24.585 --> 00:06:28.770 talking about faith and living life here in the United States. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:30.210 Lots of different shows, right? 00:06:30.210 --> 00:06:33.870 So we've got top of mind, which is contemporary issues. 00:06:33.870 --> 00:06:37.920 And then I also produce In Good Faith, which is an interfaith show. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:41.790 We interview people from all faiths about their relationship with the Divine. 00:06:42.180 --> 00:06:47.910 We have The Lisa Show, which is a lifestyle show for basically Gen Xers. 00:06:47.910 --> 00:06:53.130 We have Constant Wonder, which is a show about awe in science and 00:06:53.130 --> 00:06:55.200 history and all kinds of places. 00:06:55.320 --> 00:06:57.930 And then we have Take a Leap, which I think is what I was sort 00:06:57.930 --> 00:07:01.560 of invited on here to talk about, which is aimed at a youth audience. 00:07:01.850 --> 00:07:02.290 Jennifer-Lee: Yes. 00:07:02.310 --> 00:07:07.050 Before we get into that, I just wanna know more about what is your actual role. 00:07:07.140 --> 00:07:12.060 Heather Bigley: So I am a senior producer and originally was hired to 00:07:12.060 --> 00:07:16.590 work on In Good Faith and just start producing that on consistent level. 00:07:16.710 --> 00:07:19.830 Now I am executive producer of Take a Leap. 00:07:20.310 --> 00:07:23.159 And I also have my own show called Voiceover. 00:07:23.159 --> 00:07:28.169 We talk to people about the movies that move them because I have a PhD in film. 00:07:28.229 --> 00:07:28.500 Neil McPhedran: Right. 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:29.070 There you go. 00:07:29.070 --> 00:07:31.260 So, okay, so back to Take a Leap. 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:36.960 How does Take a Leap fit into BYU Radio then? 00:07:37.590 --> 00:07:40.979 Heather Bigley: So Take a Leap evolved out of the fact that In 00:07:40.979 --> 00:07:44.010 Good Faith we were having all of our student producers on mic. 00:07:44.400 --> 00:07:48.090 Basically, as you create your own intro and outro, we were doing that with our 00:07:48.090 --> 00:07:51.990 interviews and because our students were also helping to edit the interviews 00:07:52.440 --> 00:07:55.979 and produce the interviews, we would bring them in and say, okay, so what, 00:07:55.979 --> 00:08:00.510 in this interview with this Muslim leader was really important to you? 00:08:00.510 --> 00:08:04.455 What stuck out to you as something that is gonna leave an impression. 00:08:04.515 --> 00:08:08.745 And so they would get on mic and say these short little things and we had 00:08:08.745 --> 00:08:13.185 trained all of these students and then we were like, we should have a student, 00:08:13.335 --> 00:08:17.955 'cause we're at a college, we should have a show aimed at young people. 00:08:18.285 --> 00:08:21.915 The difficulty with Take a Leap is we're trying to decide do young people 00:08:21.915 --> 00:08:23.865 actually listen to podcasts, right? 00:08:23.865 --> 00:08:25.425 That's been our issue. 00:08:25.935 --> 00:08:32.295 And in fact, some research that, uh, one of my students did was, she dug 00:08:32.295 --> 00:08:36.495 deep and saw that young people actually are more likely to listen to shows 00:08:36.495 --> 00:08:41.415 that are established for adults like Joe Rogan or whatever it is, Smartless 00:08:41.415 --> 00:08:45.615 or whatever, than they are to listen to shows aimed, quote unquote them. 00:08:45.915 --> 00:08:50.415 So that's been a difficulty, but it's a show that my students produce. 00:08:50.565 --> 00:08:54.255 They pick all the guests, they interview all the guests, they edit everything. 00:08:54.675 --> 00:08:59.055 They put it through our distribution networks, and I'm really there just to 00:08:59.055 --> 00:09:03.015 like, especially when we're training new students, is to go through and 00:09:03.015 --> 00:09:07.935 edit and say, maybe we should lead with this question instead of that question. 00:09:07.935 --> 00:09:12.855 So I'm really in a training capacity in a lot of ways, and I also am the person who 00:09:12.855 --> 00:09:14.835 signs the digital release forms, right? 00:09:14.835 --> 00:09:16.425 Like that's my job. 00:09:16.845 --> 00:09:20.715 I guess in a way, you know, because I'm hiring the students and I'm helping 00:09:20.715 --> 00:09:24.930 to train them to some degree, i'm shaping the show, but really it is 00:09:24.930 --> 00:09:26.460 about what are they interested in? 00:09:26.640 --> 00:09:27.780 Who do they wanna interview? 00:09:28.290 --> 00:09:32.160 And the interview, the people they choose are people of faith 00:09:32.160 --> 00:09:34.920 who are out there motivated by their faith to change the world. 00:09:34.949 --> 00:09:39.300 That's our hope, is that we're finding people who wanna solve problems and 00:09:39.300 --> 00:09:43.449 they're solving those problems because they feel, whether they're Baháʼí 00:09:43.470 --> 00:09:48.960 or Hindu or Muslim, like, I feel like this is what I should be doing 00:09:49.140 --> 00:09:50.610 because of my religious upbringing. 00:09:50.670 --> 00:09:53.069 So, that's what we're trying to do. 00:09:53.729 --> 00:09:57.989 Neil McPhedran: And Take a Leap, correct me if I'm wrong, but it, it differs 00:09:57.989 --> 00:10:01.020 from a lot of those other podcasts you mentioned in that this one is 00:10:01.199 --> 00:10:06.980 really more sort of student focused, student led, student produced as well. 00:10:07.020 --> 00:10:07.870 Do I have that right? 00:10:08.400 --> 00:10:08.670 Heather Bigley: Yeah. 00:10:08.670 --> 00:10:10.469 So the students. 00:10:11.130 --> 00:10:13.949 I mean, we kind of said to the students, do you have any ideas for podcasts? 00:10:14.130 --> 00:10:17.340 And they, they were like, yeah, we have some ideas. 00:10:17.340 --> 00:10:21.670 And they went through like a year long pitch process where, you know, 00:10:21.730 --> 00:10:25.140 again, I would look over documents and I would make suggestions, but 00:10:25.140 --> 00:10:28.500 they put the documents together, they pitched to our administration, 00:10:28.829 --> 00:10:34.245 they created the pilots, you know, so it really was them taking the lead. 00:10:34.305 --> 00:10:36.795 I have to say, I have to point out, because I know this is 00:10:36.795 --> 00:10:39.945 different different places, but they're paid for that work, right? 00:10:39.945 --> 00:10:42.345 Like we have hired them to do that thing. 00:10:42.675 --> 00:10:47.445 Now, BYU has tons of students who do podcasts. 00:10:47.505 --> 00:10:52.725 We have tons of faculty who do podcasts that are not under the BYU Radio 00:10:52.905 --> 00:10:57.375 rubric, and sometimes we reach out to them and say, we'd love to have your 00:10:57.375 --> 00:11:02.175 show on our network, or we'd love to have your show on our linear station. 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:07.290 For years, there was this great podcast called The Non-Member Project, and it 00:11:07.290 --> 00:11:13.530 was a woman who was not Mormon, who was doing her undergrad here at BYU, and she 00:11:13.530 --> 00:11:18.540 was interviewing all the other people who were not Mormon at BYU and saying, let's 00:11:18.540 --> 00:11:20.520 be friends because it's weird here, right? 00:11:21.780 --> 00:11:24.840 Like, you know, there's all kinds of cultural things that we have 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:27.780 to get used to and we came here for a reason, but there's this 00:11:27.780 --> 00:11:29.010 culture shock we're going through. 00:11:29.775 --> 00:11:33.165 A great project, but not part of BYU Radio. 00:11:33.225 --> 00:11:37.965 She was just doing that on her own with resources at BYU on campus, main campus. 00:11:38.025 --> 00:11:41.355 So a lot of that exists outside of our net, if you will. 00:11:42.060 --> 00:11:45.150 Jennifer-Lee: I love the fact that you know that though, because a lot 00:11:45.150 --> 00:11:49.319 of the times when Neil and I talk to a lot of universities, they actually 00:11:49.319 --> 00:11:54.569 are shocked how many podcasts that like are actually going on and they 00:11:54.569 --> 00:11:59.609 said, oh, you brought our attention because Neil has HigherEdPods.com. 00:11:59.670 --> 00:12:03.239 Neil McPhedran: We, we've actually introduced, Jen and I through this 00:12:03.239 --> 00:12:08.010 podcast, have introduced multiple on campus podcasts to each other 00:12:08.010 --> 00:12:09.150 who haven't known each other. 00:12:09.150 --> 00:12:11.970 Like, we interviewed two different Yale podcasts and they didn't know 00:12:11.970 --> 00:12:13.199 each other and we introduced them. 00:12:13.710 --> 00:12:14.970 Heather Bigley: That's really crazy. 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:15.660 Yeah. 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:19.410 Well, I mean, granted, universities are massive and 00:12:19.620 --> 00:12:21.459 departments tend to silo, right? 00:12:21.459 --> 00:12:22.900 That happens all the time. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:29.340 But at the same time, I think I, I mean, I remember 10 years ago thinking, 00:12:29.819 --> 00:12:34.470 oh, this is the way we can get our research out and to more people. 00:12:34.875 --> 00:12:38.985 We have to learn how to present it, you know, maybe to the average lay person, but 00:12:39.105 --> 00:12:41.235 this is gonna be exciting for academia. 00:12:41.655 --> 00:12:45.555 So I guess we should just be expecting that there are professors 00:12:45.555 --> 00:12:46.875 everywhere with a microphone. 00:12:46.935 --> 00:12:47.595 Neil McPhedran: Yeah, absolutely. 00:12:47.595 --> 00:12:54.194 So can other podcasters on campus who aren't part of the BYU Radio 00:12:54.194 --> 00:12:56.685 network, can they access the resources? 00:12:56.745 --> 00:12:58.965 Like, for example, the studio you're sitting in and we, we 00:12:58.965 --> 00:13:00.040 sort of talked about off the top. 00:13:00.825 --> 00:13:04.365 Heather Bigley: So when we made this pivot three years ago, we did, I mean, 00:13:04.395 --> 00:13:09.105 the reason we know who these podcasters are is that we started going to these 00:13:09.105 --> 00:13:15.165 other podcasters and saying, I mean, often these other podcasters had huge audiences 00:13:15.225 --> 00:13:19.055 that we didn't necessarily have, or some of our shows didn't necessarily have. 00:13:19.055 --> 00:13:22.860 And we were like, let's see if we can work something out 00:13:22.860 --> 00:13:24.089 where you could come in here. 00:13:24.089 --> 00:13:28.620 And we've actually done projects and kind of collaborations where we bring people in 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:32.969 and they use our studios and, or they use some of our students to accomplish things. 00:13:33.420 --> 00:13:36.240 But I would say for the most part, that's not happening. 00:13:36.300 --> 00:13:42.015 They are either, you know, with a USB mic in their office or they've 00:13:42.045 --> 00:13:45.675 created enough of a presence for themselves that they're getting some 00:13:45.675 --> 00:13:49.005 kind of funding or support from their departments to do what they're doing. 00:13:49.635 --> 00:13:50.775 But you know, that's a tricky thing. 00:13:50.775 --> 00:13:55.035 I was just listening to your, your episode about, I forget her name, 00:13:55.035 --> 00:13:59.265 but the woman who made sure her podcast was her LLC and that like 00:13:59.265 --> 00:14:00.704 could go with her when she changed. 00:14:00.795 --> 00:14:01.574 Jennifer-Lee: Sarah Holton. 00:14:01.640 --> 00:14:01.930 Neil McPhedran: Yeah. 00:14:02.025 --> 00:14:02.415 Heather Bigley: Yeah. 00:14:02.594 --> 00:14:04.724 I was just listening to that and I was like, yeah, I can see why 00:14:04.724 --> 00:14:06.104 that would be really important. 00:14:06.214 --> 00:14:07.795 Like, this is mine. 00:14:07.795 --> 00:14:09.035 It is not yours. 00:14:09.124 --> 00:14:10.895 And I'll be able to travel with it. 00:14:11.094 --> 00:14:12.135 And do with it what I will. 00:14:12.540 --> 00:14:16.240 Neil McPhedran: It doesn't mean it wouldn't preclude someone like 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:20.850 that from still getting access to some of the on-campus resources. 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:27.360 I just think there's such an opportunity for struggling college radio, which I 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:33.240 think we see research, and we know that there's a struggle there, to collab more 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:35.430 with podcasters and to open up that. 00:14:36.075 --> 00:14:37.755 Typically, those are amazing spaces. 00:14:37.755 --> 00:14:41.415 Typically, like there's an investment in studios and equipment 00:14:41.535 --> 00:14:44.475 and walls and all that kind of stuff you have to put in there. 00:14:44.475 --> 00:14:48.165 So I just feel like it's such a great opportunity that I think, we've come 00:14:48.165 --> 00:14:52.155 across some that are doing a really good job at it, and then others it sort of 00:14:52.155 --> 00:14:53.745 seems like it's such a great opportunity. 00:14:53.745 --> 00:14:57.435 But I would encourage anyone listening to go check out what BYU 00:14:57.435 --> 00:15:00.855 Radio is doing 'cause I think it's a great example of what to aim for. 00:15:01.545 --> 00:15:02.415 Heather Bigley: I totally agree. 00:15:02.535 --> 00:15:06.465 For instance, I taught for a while at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. 00:15:06.465 --> 00:15:11.475 I know that their radio is primarily like student led. 00:15:11.505 --> 00:15:14.535 I was like, what would it mean if they just went to the professors on 00:15:14.535 --> 00:15:21.270 campus and said, you know, can you get us a 52, 50 cut of this or can 00:15:21.270 --> 00:15:25.230 you get us a 28 minute cut of this and we'll play it every week for you? 00:15:25.290 --> 00:15:30.330 That might be a really great way to bring in the local community to listen to all 00:15:30.330 --> 00:15:34.510 these professors who are an excellent resource, who are experts in their field. 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:35.380 Like how amazing. 00:15:35.910 --> 00:15:36.210 Neil McPhedran: Yeah. 00:15:36.390 --> 00:15:41.340 Or the academic podcast that's already producing great content about the 00:15:41.340 --> 00:15:43.020 teams and all that kind of stuff. 00:15:43.020 --> 00:15:47.010 Like it just sort of seems like there's such a good opportunity there and whatnot. 00:15:47.520 --> 00:15:51.830 Heather, you were one of the presenters at the Higher Ed PodCon, 00:15:52.410 --> 00:15:59.130 and your presentation really leaned into this student led production. 00:15:59.130 --> 00:16:00.750 So maybe we can get into that a little bit. 00:16:00.900 --> 00:16:06.780 Some of the challenges around student led production and sort of navigating that. 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:07.800 How are you set up? 00:16:07.800 --> 00:16:09.540 I mean, you talked a bit about it already. 00:16:09.540 --> 00:16:12.665 I think that's pretty unique in your oversight, but maybe you can sort 00:16:12.665 --> 00:16:17.910 of tell us a little bit more about how you've structured the process. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:23.400 Heather Bigley: Yeah, so one of the things that's important is that the 00:16:23.400 --> 00:16:28.380 student podcast has access to all the resources of the regular shows here. 00:16:28.380 --> 00:16:33.990 So they have access to like Asana and Slack, and we use Riverside, and 00:16:33.990 --> 00:16:36.480 they can schedule all the studios. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:40.770 In fact, we just went through this massive renovation of our studios. 00:16:40.860 --> 00:16:44.490 My students have been in those new studios more than I have 00:16:44.490 --> 00:16:46.140 been with any of my other shows. 00:16:46.890 --> 00:16:50.160 And I'm always like slightly jealous, like, wow, you guys look amazing. 00:16:51.270 --> 00:16:52.680 You have great lighting now. 00:16:52.710 --> 00:16:54.810 So they have access to all of that stuff. 00:16:54.810 --> 00:16:58.860 And once we've trained them on how to use all of that stuff, for instance, 00:16:58.860 --> 00:17:03.210 that new studio requires a board operator and a camera operator. 00:17:03.270 --> 00:17:06.720 They schedule that just like I would schedule that for any of my other shows. 00:17:07.020 --> 00:17:08.910 So they have access to all of that stuff. 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:10.560 And that has been really important. 00:17:10.560 --> 00:17:14.579 And again, my main thing is to go through and sort of do some 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:18.060 training on, let's lead with this, and then we'll put this in. 00:17:18.060 --> 00:17:21.810 Or, you know, this is interesting, but I think that it might lose, 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:23.550 just like some basic editing. 00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:26.579 Like, we're not gonna keep everything, we're gonna try to keep this under 00:17:26.790 --> 00:17:29.460 25 minutes, making choices like that. 00:17:29.820 --> 00:17:35.580 So once, you know, I'm constantly there, but I'm also pretty much like 00:17:36.165 --> 00:17:40.004 once I feel like people are trained, I'm in a position of let me know 00:17:40.004 --> 00:17:42.165 if there's something I can solve. 00:17:42.225 --> 00:17:46.845 Otherwise I trust that you're doing, doing the job, you know? 00:17:46.965 --> 00:17:50.205 And I do occasionally pop in and say, hey, I don't see this file. 00:17:50.865 --> 00:17:54.075 Like, is this file been uploaded to the distribution network? 00:17:54.105 --> 00:17:55.575 Like, can you let me know about that? 00:17:55.695 --> 00:18:00.105 I do some spot checking, but they're doing all of it, and I 00:18:00.105 --> 00:18:01.455 think that's really important. 00:18:02.010 --> 00:18:05.160 I think there's one thing, like in our culture, in Mormon culture, 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:08.310 we say a lot that our youth are like the best and the brightest. 00:18:08.310 --> 00:18:12.300 Not just like Mormon youth, but like youth today, they're the best and the brightest. 00:18:12.300 --> 00:18:13.260 They're amazing. 00:18:13.320 --> 00:18:16.470 They are so important, and I think if we can get out of their 00:18:16.470 --> 00:18:21.270 way and let them do the things, we'll actually see that happening. 00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:23.885 We'll actually see that they are the best and the brightest, so. 00:18:24.085 --> 00:18:24.485 Neil McPhedran: I like that. 00:18:24.750 --> 00:18:29.100 So more high touch upfront training, but once you feel like they've got 00:18:29.100 --> 00:18:33.615 their training wheels off, it's really get out of the way and spot check. 00:18:33.615 --> 00:18:37.935 But let them really, like back to what I was calling it student led, and you called 00:18:37.935 --> 00:18:39.825 it student led, like truly student led. 00:18:40.455 --> 00:18:44.445 Jennifer-Lee: And I just find it really fascinating that they're excited about 00:18:44.534 --> 00:18:50.355 a studio because I feel like nowadays of TikTokers and a lot of podcasts, like 00:18:50.355 --> 00:18:55.245 we're doing a virtual podcast today, that there is so much content, especially from 00:18:55.245 --> 00:19:00.014 the younger generation that is generated at home in your bathroom, in your bedroom. 00:19:00.014 --> 00:19:02.925 It's a totally different way that they're like, oh, I wanna go into a 00:19:02.925 --> 00:19:07.845 studio, because I feel like they'd be like, oh, that's so old school. 00:19:07.905 --> 00:19:08.294 Heather Bigley: Yeah. 00:19:08.385 --> 00:19:12.030 When we pitched the show, one of the things the students wanted to make 00:19:12.030 --> 00:19:16.575 clear was, yes, of course we're making a podcast, but we are social media forward, 00:19:16.965 --> 00:19:21.825 so we wanna make content that's gonna play on TikTok and Instagram and YouTube 00:19:22.215 --> 00:19:26.415 and that people are gonna see it and maybe they don't come see the podcast. 00:19:26.475 --> 00:19:29.475 Maybe that's too big of a jump, but they're gonna, they're gonna 00:19:29.475 --> 00:19:31.125 come in contact with us there. 00:19:31.515 --> 00:19:36.075 And so, yes, they are very much like, the two students we have 00:19:36.075 --> 00:19:40.260 right now as hosts, they both have like marketing and advertising 00:19:40.260 --> 00:19:44.610 background and they're like, let me at the Reels, I am ready to produce. 00:19:44.699 --> 00:19:47.520 And that's, I would say that's what they're most actually excited about 00:19:47.520 --> 00:19:50.100 is like, let's, we're gonna go down on campus, or we're gonna go over 00:19:50.100 --> 00:19:53.129 to UVU, or we're gonna go up to Salt Lake, or we're gonna do a reel. 00:19:53.129 --> 00:19:54.554 Where we do this, you know, so. 00:19:55.400 --> 00:19:59.990 And it's really funny being in meetings with students because I will sometimes 00:19:59.990 --> 00:20:01.490 say, oh, have you thought about this? 00:20:01.490 --> 00:20:05.120 You know, based on my own old lady scrolling of my Instagram 00:20:05.120 --> 00:20:06.890 feed, like, this is really funny. 00:20:06.890 --> 00:20:08.750 Wouldn't you love to do something like that? 00:20:09.110 --> 00:20:13.520 And they just kind of nod and they're like, that's a great idea. 00:20:13.580 --> 00:20:14.180 Long pause. 00:20:14.270 --> 00:20:14.570 And I'm like, okay. 00:20:16.455 --> 00:20:19.725 Jennifer-Lee: I think that's sometimes too, when we are doing podcasts, 00:20:19.725 --> 00:20:24.165 everyone gets stuck on the listen factor, but there's so much more. 00:20:24.465 --> 00:20:28.725 If you drive an audience to your TikTok or your Instagram or whatever because 00:20:28.725 --> 00:20:32.565 you've got great content and it looks like you have a podcast, it doesn't really 00:20:32.565 --> 00:20:37.395 matter if you're getting like thousands of views on your TikToks versus not many 00:20:37.395 --> 00:20:41.085 views on your actual podcast because again, it depends what you're wanting it. 00:20:41.175 --> 00:20:42.675 It's a neat way of how they think about it. 00:20:42.675 --> 00:20:46.050 That's why I'm always like, I, I'm not great at social media. 00:20:46.050 --> 00:20:50.010 I really need to just hire someone that's really young that just gets it. 00:20:50.699 --> 00:20:50.969 Heather Bigley: Yeah. 00:20:51.510 --> 00:20:52.679 Neil McPhedran: I think that's the way though. 00:20:52.679 --> 00:20:54.600 You have to think about it though now. 00:20:54.750 --> 00:20:59.340 Like for me, doing this for years and doing both, the social media and then 00:20:59.340 --> 00:21:04.709 the, the podcast, I feel like I've had a reframe in the last six months of thinking 00:21:04.709 --> 00:21:06.510 that the podcast is the whole thing. 00:21:07.050 --> 00:21:11.129 It's not produce a long form piece of content and then spin off a few 00:21:11.129 --> 00:21:15.719 shorter pieces of content to try to get people back to the long form content. 00:21:16.020 --> 00:21:18.449 It's thinking about the whole, the whole thing. 00:21:18.659 --> 00:21:21.750 There's gonna be a chunk of your audience, as you so well said, Heather, 00:21:21.750 --> 00:21:26.159 that is going to just consume the Reels and then there's gonna be a 00:21:26.159 --> 00:21:28.979 chunk of the audience that is just gonna be consuming the long form. 00:21:28.979 --> 00:21:30.989 And then there's gonna be a hybrid of the two. 00:21:30.989 --> 00:21:34.350 And I think we gotta think about that just like we think about the 00:21:34.350 --> 00:21:38.280 podcast is gonna live on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, et cetera, et cetera. 00:21:38.340 --> 00:21:42.929 I've now been thinking about that and it's on Instagram and it's on 00:21:42.929 --> 00:21:47.399 Facebook, and it's on TikTok and you know, so on and so forth, and I think 00:21:48.210 --> 00:21:50.280 that's just native to those students. 00:21:50.280 --> 00:21:53.190 That's, that, to me, that was like ah-ha moment. 00:21:53.490 --> 00:21:54.179 Heather Bigley: Right, right. 00:21:54.585 --> 00:21:58.145 Well, and it changes then of course, what kind of reel we make, because 00:21:58.285 --> 00:22:03.225 now, instead of making Reels, and I think a lot of people know this now, 00:22:03.225 --> 00:22:06.645 but this was an ah-ha moment for me, instead of making a Reel that says, 00:22:06.795 --> 00:22:11.205 and we'll tell you the cool thing, if you go listen to the podcast, they're 00:22:11.205 --> 00:22:13.575 just like, hey, here's the cool thing. 00:22:14.175 --> 00:22:15.015 Isn't that cool? 00:22:15.510 --> 00:22:15.929 Thanks. 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:16.679 See you later. 00:22:16.860 --> 00:22:22.320 And so that kind of thinking about the Reel is really like what you'll see 00:22:22.320 --> 00:22:23.879 on their Instagram and their TikTok. 00:22:23.909 --> 00:22:27.840 They're, you know, what's interesting about the social media is they have, 00:22:27.840 --> 00:22:31.530 like, we wanna do the funny stuff and so they do the funny stuff. 00:22:31.740 --> 00:22:37.169 And then we also have like, well, BYU Radio also is invested in, we have what 00:22:37.169 --> 00:22:43.170 we call like a, a values scale where we say, yes, we want stuff to be like 00:22:43.350 --> 00:22:46.290 clean where, you know, it's clean. 00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:48.810 That's, that's like the bare minimum for us. 00:22:48.990 --> 00:22:52.320 But then somewhere in the middle of that value scale is, we're talking 00:22:52.320 --> 00:22:54.930 to people about important values that make their lives better. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:57.150 So what is the important value? 00:22:57.180 --> 00:23:01.980 Is it, oh, I learned that it's important to work with other community members in 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:04.050 order to get this project off the ground. 00:23:04.110 --> 00:23:08.220 And regardless of what our different, you know, whether you are a secular 00:23:08.220 --> 00:23:11.910 humanist or you are Baháʼí, or you are Jewish, we're all gonna work 00:23:11.910 --> 00:23:13.950 together and we're gonna do this thing. 00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:16.980 Like that should show up in the Reels, right, as well. 00:23:17.010 --> 00:23:22.440 So the Reels, I hope it all comes together and makes sense as a piece. 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:28.230 Like, you know, here we are being funny and this is a funny thing for our hosts, 00:23:28.230 --> 00:23:31.950 but also here's an important thing that our guest taught us that we're 00:23:31.950 --> 00:23:33.900 gonna take forward from this moment. 00:23:34.260 --> 00:23:34.710 Neil McPhedran: Great. 00:23:35.115 --> 00:23:39.505 What else did you, because you did a whole presentation about this at PodCon. 00:23:39.525 --> 00:23:41.655 Not to put you on the spot, it was months ago you did it. 00:23:41.655 --> 00:23:44.655 But anything else that was in there that you could share with the 00:23:44.655 --> 00:23:49.515 audience that they are producing a student led or thinking about 00:23:50.085 --> 00:23:52.215 producing a student led podcast? 00:23:52.215 --> 00:23:54.825 'Cause there's some great nuggets that you had shared back in July. 00:23:55.125 --> 00:23:58.710 Heather Bigley: Um, you know the thing I'm, I want to answer 00:23:58.710 --> 00:23:59.670 that question, but I can't. 00:23:59.700 --> 00:24:03.270 I think what I can answer is the thing that stuck in my brain is the 00:24:03.270 --> 00:24:06.450 stuff I learned from the other people who are doing student podcasting. 00:24:06.810 --> 00:24:10.770 So I can't remember her name, but she was at Stanford and one of the things 00:24:10.770 --> 00:24:15.000 she talked about was like, yeah, my students are coming, doing a podcast. 00:24:15.270 --> 00:24:18.600 How can we interface with all the other students doing podcasts 00:24:18.600 --> 00:24:21.540 and how can we build community there and support each other? 00:24:21.750 --> 00:24:25.139 And maybe that'll lead to networking that gets us more listeners and maybe 00:24:25.139 --> 00:24:29.205 it'll just lead to everyone's feeling supported and solving problems together. 00:24:29.205 --> 00:24:32.835 And that's something that I brought back and was like, yeah, we should be 00:24:32.835 --> 00:24:37.245 reaching out to the student podcast as a Take a Leap team to sort of understand 00:24:37.245 --> 00:24:38.535 where they are and what they're doing. 00:24:38.535 --> 00:24:40.785 And now that I've said that out loud, I'm actually gonna have to do it. 00:24:40.815 --> 00:24:43.515 We had several meetings where I was like, yeah, this is a good idea. 00:24:43.515 --> 00:24:45.705 And then things got lost in the shuffle. 00:24:45.705 --> 00:24:47.865 But, so that to me was really great. 00:24:47.865 --> 00:24:51.280 And this idea of just making sure everyone's trained. 00:24:52.020 --> 00:24:55.140 That everyone knows how to do everyone else's job. 00:24:55.410 --> 00:25:00.210 When you get into the middle of the semester, right, and midterms come up 00:25:00.630 --> 00:25:04.950 and someone says, I have this Japanese exam and I'm not gonna be able to 00:25:04.950 --> 00:25:09.120 make it today, I need the other people on the team to go, that's great. 00:25:09.270 --> 00:25:12.210 I will do that thing that you were supposed to do because 00:25:12.210 --> 00:25:13.950 I have your skills as well. 00:25:14.250 --> 00:25:18.630 So they all come in with different skills, but we're hoping that over the course of 00:25:18.630 --> 00:25:23.370 working together, they end up all knowing how to do all the things, whether that's 00:25:23.370 --> 00:25:28.560 editing in Premier, or whether that's reaching out to guests or whatever it is. 00:25:29.275 --> 00:25:29.595 Jennifer-Lee: I love it. 00:25:29.595 --> 00:25:30.035 Neil McPhedran: That's great. 00:25:30.150 --> 00:25:32.880 Jennifer-Lee: I feel like you answered it all for us. 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:35.430 Neil McPhedran: I think that was Stacy Peña from Stanford, 00:25:35.430 --> 00:25:37.350 from the Knight-Hennessy group. 00:25:37.410 --> 00:25:39.420 Uh, that's a great student led podcast as well. 00:25:39.600 --> 00:25:40.860 Any sort of last, uh. 00:25:41.310 --> 00:25:44.040 Heather Bigley: I would say the one question that stuck out to me in your 00:25:44.040 --> 00:25:48.030 list was like, why is it important to have a youth interfaith podcast? 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:53.655 And I would just say, religious freedom is really important to us here at BYU. 00:25:53.804 --> 00:25:56.185 Religious freedom is a scary word for a lot of people. 00:25:56.254 --> 00:26:00.584 I understand why that is, and how that term has been used in the past. 00:26:00.824 --> 00:26:04.395 But I would say, you know, it's important to show our students 00:26:04.395 --> 00:26:06.764 that they're not alone out there. 00:26:07.155 --> 00:26:11.054 They can get together with other people of other faiths and of 00:26:11.175 --> 00:26:13.125 no faith and solve problems. 00:26:13.514 --> 00:26:16.665 If we can teach them that through this podcast and they can teach other 00:26:16.665 --> 00:26:20.250 people that through this podcast, then I think we've done something 00:26:20.340 --> 00:26:21.870 that's really important for America. 00:26:21.990 --> 00:26:22.580 Neil McPhedran: That's wonderful. 00:26:22.580 --> 00:26:23.270 Jennifer-Lee: Very well put. 00:26:23.410 --> 00:26:24.070 Neil McPhedran: This is great. 00:26:24.070 --> 00:26:26.370 Thank you so much for joining us today, Heather. 00:26:26.370 --> 00:26:30.030 I think we covered a lot here and I'm really impressed by what you 00:26:30.030 --> 00:26:31.860 guys have created at BYU Radio. 00:26:31.860 --> 00:26:34.050 I think there's a lot that we can learn from that. 00:26:34.055 --> 00:26:36.810 Jennifer-Lee: And we hope to see you, we know it's not in Utah, but 00:26:36.810 --> 00:26:39.629 we hope to see you in Cleveland. 00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:40.950 Heather Bigley: Thank you so much. 00:26:40.950 --> 00:26:42.810 I really appreciate you guys having me on. 00:26:42.810 --> 00:26:44.399 I was really flattered that you reached out. 00:26:44.689 --> 00:26:45.865 Jennifer-Lee: Thank you so much for coming on. 00:26:47.300 --> 00:26:49.130 Neil McPhedran: Well, Jen, another great conversation. 00:26:49.220 --> 00:26:51.020 I really enjoyed our chat with Heather. 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:58.250 They are just doing some really cool stuff at BYU with the BYU Radio and I really 00:26:58.250 --> 00:27:09.410 enjoyed digging into how the radio side of it and they're using the studios has 00:27:09.410 --> 00:27:12.650 really helped to springboard podcasting. 00:27:12.650 --> 00:27:18.675 But also how when you go to that resource, BYU Radio, yes, there's 00:27:18.675 --> 00:27:23.565 the quote unquote radio shows, but then podcasting is all a part of it 00:27:23.565 --> 00:27:26.775 and it's one big entity of content. 00:27:26.895 --> 00:27:27.315 Jennifer-Lee: Yeah. 00:27:27.315 --> 00:27:29.445 And it's a great studio that they have. 00:27:29.445 --> 00:27:34.245 And of course they have many different types of podcasts, and I really like 00:27:34.245 --> 00:27:40.275 that it gives everybody a chance to say what they wanna say or talk about 00:27:40.275 --> 00:27:41.865 a topic that they wanna talk about. 00:27:41.895 --> 00:27:42.135 Neil McPhedran: Right. 00:27:42.135 --> 00:27:42.375 Yeah. 00:27:42.375 --> 00:27:49.395 It's a voice for the campus, whether it's faculty, students, whatnot, and 00:27:49.395 --> 00:27:55.064 then how she explained, a voice for the larger community that the BYU campus 00:27:55.064 --> 00:28:02.175 is in, but then this larger voice for outside, whether it's faith-based or not. 00:28:02.175 --> 00:28:05.820 But it, I just really like how they're using podcasting as such a 00:28:05.820 --> 00:28:10.530 key component to, you know, localize it, but then as well reach out to the 00:28:10.530 --> 00:28:14.280 world with all these amazing things that they're doing there and with 00:28:14.280 --> 00:28:15.870 all their different, uh, podcasts. 00:28:15.930 --> 00:28:17.010 Jennifer-Lee: And she's a great speaker. 00:28:17.010 --> 00:28:20.310 Of course she spoke at the Higher Ed PodCon. 00:28:20.330 --> 00:28:23.330 And so we were lucky to have her back. 00:28:23.630 --> 00:28:27.770 Well, actually first time on our podcast it felt like she was on our podcast 00:28:27.770 --> 00:28:28.970 'cause we met her at the conference. 00:28:28.970 --> 00:28:29.510 That's a wrap. 00:28:29.510 --> 00:28:32.330 Thank you for tuning in the Continuing Studies podcast, a podcast 00:28:32.330 --> 00:28:34.100 for higher education podcasters. 00:28:34.100 --> 00:28:37.400 We hope you found the episode informative and inspiring. 00:28:37.400 --> 00:28:40.250 If you enjoyed the show, we encourage you to follow and subscribe to our 00:28:40.250 --> 00:28:43.970 podcast on your preferred platform so you never miss an episode. 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:47.660 But if you found this episode particularly valuable, please consider 00:28:47.660 --> 00:28:50.790 sharing it with your friends and colleagues who also might be interested 00:28:50.790 --> 00:28:52.420 in a higher education podcasts. 00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:57.750 We also invite you to join your peers on HigherEdPods.com, where you can 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