The Authority File

In the third episode of this four-part series, our guests, the coeditors of Podcast Studies: Practice into Theory, discuss academic podcasting in action, talking through pedagogical practices and podcasting’s appeal to general audiences. First, Lori Beckstead, Associate Professor of sound media in the RTA School of Media at Toronto Metropolitan University, highlights Oliver McGarr’s three key ways podcasts can be used in the classroom: substitutional, supplementary, and creative. Next, podcaster and academic Dario Llinares explains why podcasting is so effective at communicating with the public, spotlighting characteristics such as emotionality and open-source distribution. Last, Lori and Dario chat about podcasting’s barriers to entry and how the medium can provide a more inclusive form of scholarship.

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In the second episode of this four-part series, podcaster and academic Dario Llinares and Lori Beckstead, Associate Professor of sound media in the RTA School of Media at Toronto Metropolitan University, explore how scholarly podcasting can challenge the traditional principles of academic research. To start, our guests share the ways podcast studies fits within media studies and outline why academics choose podcasting to discuss their scholarship. Underscoring the conversational and “human” characteristics of the medium, they explain how a podcast works in conversation with the guests, research, and audience, encouraging a concise and accessible approach to scholarly communication. Further, Lori and Dario share that while institutions have begun to understand and appreciate the scholarly potential and rigor of podcasting, the medium’s emphasis on fostering ongoing dialogues opposes traditional research’s focus on citations and output.

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The Authority File is no stranger to discussing podcasts. Despite the Spider-Man meme of it all, podcasting works as an effective tool to talk through the medium’s pedagogical, cultural, and academic applications. Our guests for November’s series—podcast hosts and producers themselves—are familiar with this hall of mirrors, dropping by to discuss their forthcoming edited collection, Podcast Studies: Practice into Theory.

This month, we chat with Dario Llinares, Associate Professor of Film and Media at Ravensbourne University, London, and Lori Beckstead, Associate Professor of sound media in the RTA School of Media at Toronto Metropolitan University, on their goal to define—or, at least, lay some parameters around—Podcast Studies. Explaining the rise of podcasting in the research community, Dario and Lori explore how podcasts can both reject and fall within academia’s traditional guardrails for scholarship. Further, they dig into the personal touch of using one’s voice to discuss research, how faculty use podcasts in the classroom, and the accessibility of the medium.

In the first episode of this four-part series, Dario and Lori trace their paths to editing Podcast Studies and becoming podcasters. In addition, they outline the book’s objectives to characterize the Podcast Studies discipline, highlight podcasts’ academic and non-academic uses, and include diverse, global perspectives and methodologies. Last, our guests reflect on the process of gathering the book chapters and their intent to invert the “Theory into Practice” phrase commonly seen on monographs in the book title.

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In the final episode of this four-part series, our guests look at contemporary issues facing our information environment, media, and news cycles. First, Dan Chibnall, STEM Librarian & Associate Professor of Librarianship at Drake University, and Nick Anstead, Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics, reflect on the threat of AI-generated misinformation in the form of written text and, more recently, images and video. Next, Nick and Dan dig into contemporary trends of real-time analysis and fact-checking. Noting that fact-checking doesn’t always reach the audience receiving the false information, they also point out that these efforts can inadvertently share misinformation more widely, adding attention to outlandish or harmful views. Last, our guests discuss guidance for librarians on how to support students’ navigation through mis/disinformation—namely, slow down, be cautious of social media, and focus on issues with a local impact.

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In the third episode of this four-part series, Dan Chibnall, STEM Librarian & Associate Professor of Librarianship at Drake University, and Nick Anstead, Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics, talk instruction and regulation in the current information landscape. Touching on the importance of media literacy, they stress that contemporary issues of misinformation and untrustworthy news sources require large-scale solutions that go beyond building individual literacy skills. In fact, Nick highlights the need for political campaign guardrails and regulations against technology companies, while Dan posits that a healthy democratic environment requires abandoning bygone legislation and pushing forward policies that better reflect the challenges of today. In addition, Dan compares his instruction tactics since the last time he was on The Authority File in 2020, sharing new strategies such as building reaction habits, finding and becoming a “nerd node,” and calling out epistemic trespassing.

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In the second episode of this four-part series, our guests explore the transformation of the information landscape. First, Dan Chibnall, STEM Librarian & Associate Professor of Librarianship at Drake University, reviews how fake news has impacted the presentation of news and information—anyone else notice the live fact-checking at the recent presidential debate? Then, Nick Anstead, Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics, examines the expanded range of today’s news sources, which leads to increased competition and pressures on traditional news media. Compounded by our data-driven environment, these pressures contribute to the prioritization of stories that garner the most public interest (and clicks) and subscriber-based content that restricts access to trusted sources.

Next, Nick highlights the history and recent developments in public opinion polling, underscoring that the interpretation of polling data is a skill that journalists may lack. Last, Dan dives into the role of scientists to educate the public on current research. Stressing the value of building trust in science, Dan explains the need for science communicators, or “SciCommers,” who can translate ingroup language into digestible, actionable information for the public, most effective at the local level.

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Ah, “fake news”—for Americans, doesn’t that take you right back to 2016? However, fake news and mis/disinformation have existed long before then, even if the social, political, and technological environments have drastically shifted in the last 50 (or 20, or 10) years.

In this four-part series, our guests dig into applying critical thinking skills in today’s political and scientific climate. Nick Anstead, Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics, and returning guest Dan Chibnall, STEM Librarian & Associate Professor of Librarianship at Drake University, walk through the dilution of the information landscape, underscoring the impact of social media and the Internet on mainstream media’s authority in the news cycle. Touching on the role of scholarly communication in educating the public, key areas of information literacy and critical thinking instruction, and the threat of AI-generated misinformation, Nick and Dan provide a fascinating look at the current information landscape as the 2024 US presidential election fast approaches.

In the first episode of this series, our guests chat about fake news. They offer definitions and popular uses of the term, highlighting the importance of positioning fake news within current contexts. Speaking with a political and scientific lens, Nick and Dan chat about the spectrum of fake news—everything from satire to propaganda—and how opposing applications of fake news can inform one another.

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In the final episode of this four-part series, our guests discuss navigating the adoption of open research policies at the library and how publishers can assist with this implementation. Jamie Hutchins, Director of Open Research, Americas at Taylor & Francis, Natya Hans, Informatics and Reproducibility Librarian in the Academic Research and Consulting Services Department at University of Florida, and Emily McElroy, Vice President of Academic Relations at Taylor & Francis, surface strategies like campus outreach, data training programs, and collaboration across departments. Further, Jamie, Natya, and Emily explain how open research initiatives can improve research integrity by building transparency and trust in research, potentially shifting the current competitive research culture to a more collaborative one. Closing with thoughts on “post-collections” librarianship, Jamie and Emily highlight the philosophical goals of library work and the importance of demonstrating its value to the institution.

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In the third episode of this four-part series, our guests dig into action steps libraries and publishers can take to implement open research practices. First, Natya Hans, Informatics and Reproducibility Librarian in the Academic Research and Consulting Services Department at University of Florida, and Emily McElroy, Vice President of Academic Relations at Taylor & Francis, highlight open research library measures, such as developing best practices for author rights and offering data management support. Underscoring the challenges smaller libraries face when adopting open research policies, Emily chats about potential solutions and admirable work at R2 and R3 level institutions. In addition, Natya describes how her unique, nontraditional background as a researcher has buttressed the work in her current role, while Emily underscores the advantages of blending research and library cultures. To close, Jamie Hutchins, Director of Open Research, Americas at Taylor & Francis, shares how T&F has adjusted its editorial approach to accommodate and champion open research.

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In the second episode of this four-part series, our guests examine the impacts of open research on scholarly communication. First, Jamie Hutchins, Director of Open Research, Americas at Taylor & Francis, shares the potential of open research to advance scholarship’s societal impact and build back trust in academia. Next, Jamie surfaces the idea of redefining what constitutes as “data,” especially in a humanities context. Natya Hans, Informatics and Reproducibility Librarian in the Academic Research and Consulting Services Department at University of Florida, and Emily McElroy, Vice President of Academic Relations at Taylor & Francis, discuss further how humanities data can support interdisciplinary research and the challenges presented by the lack of standardized data formatting guidelines. Last, our guests reflect on how the OSTP Nelson Memo has influenced the awareness of open research and the importance of and current roadblocks to research reproducibility.

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