Delaware Humanities Podcasts

Join us in the execution of our A More Perfect Union initiative that explores, reflects on, and tells the stories of our quest for a more just, inclusive, and sustainable society throughout our history in Delaware. Episode one will focus on the overarching identity of Delaware to lay the groundwork for our subsequent four episodes of our four core concepts:

Environment & Health

Culture & Community

Media & Democracy

Stories & Histories

A thank you to Dr. Anne Boylan of University of Delaware for her time and reflection on the Delaware identity and to Delaware Public Media for flawless execution of the interview and podcast production.

Dr. Marcus Funk discusses diversity in podcasts and podcast listeners, some of the differences between podcasts and more traditional news media, and how podcasts can build community.

Dr. Marcus Funk is an Associate Professor of Mass Communication at Sam Houston State University. His research focuses on community and online journalism and he’s written about the role of podcasts in those settings.

Dr. Amanda Sturgill discusses TV news versus other news mediums, local versus national TV news, and the future of TV news.

Dr. Amanda Sturgill is an Associate Professor of Journalism at Elon University and author of the book "Detecting Deception: Fighting Fake News".

Dr. Alexander Halavais discusses the distinction between search engines as tools versus sources of information, how Google algorithms impact search results seen by users, and the potential future of Google.

Dr. Alexander Halavais is an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and author of "Search Engine Society" Volumes 1 and 2.

Dr. Pablo Boczkowski discusses the issues traditional print media are facing today, the importance of "brand" for media outlets, how news is filtered through social media, and the potential implications of sponsored content.

Dr. Pablo Boczkowski is a professor in Northwestern University's Department of Communication, founder and Director of the Center for Latinx Digital Media, and co-founder and co-director of the Center for the Study of Media and Society in Argentina.

Dr. Dannagal Young discusses the history of fact checking in US politics, the unique challenges of fact checking in the age of social and digital media, and the best ways to approach correcting misinformation from friends and family on social media.

Dr. Dannagal Young is an Associate Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Delaware and a Distinguish Research Fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Deb Roy discusses how people use Twitter, how it both reflects and drives public opinion, and the role of social media platforms as well as users in regulating conversations and content.

Dr. Roy is a professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Director of the Lab for Social Machines, and Executive Director of the MIT Media Lab.

Dr. David Wilson discusses the history of polling, how polling has changed, the best practices in gathering data, and how the public should approach information in a poll.

Dr. Wilson is the Senior Associate Dean for Social Studies and a professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware.

Charlie Ornstein discusses the role of local journalism as a source of accountability for local governments, how local newspapers cultivate community and trust, and how these publications are responding to ongoing financial struggles.

Ornstein is a deputy managing editor at ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom focusing on investigative journalism, where he oversees its Local Reporting Network.

Dr. Lindsay Hoffman discusses the growth of Facebook as a source of information, how it differs from other social media platforms, and its responsibility regarding larger trends of political polarization in the U.S.

Dr. Hoffman is an Associate Professor of Communications at the University of Delaware. She is also the Associate Director of UD’s Center for Political Communication and Director of the Center’s National Agenda series.