Trojans Talk Research Podcast with Barry McKnight

On this latest release of the Trojans Talk Research Podcast, “The Voice of the Trojans”, Barry McKnight, explores the remotest of regions of Tibet through the research and anecdotes of Dr. Jay Valentine, associate professor of history at Troy who, along with an international team of researchers, spent this past summer in Tibet diving into the sacred geography and history of the ancient “Northern Treasures" traditions of Buddhism. A tale of discovery awaits, on the Trojans Talk Research Podcast.

For this, the very first podcast of the 2026-2027 academic year at Troy, “The Voice of the Trojans”, Barry McKnight, features a Troy researcher for the second time in the series (which is also a first)! Dr. Scott Nokes of the Department of English speaks from overseas (also a podcast first) from Kampala, Uganda, where a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program grant has enabled his work to collect, curate, and research pre-colonial oral histories from native Ugandans.

For the very first time on this podcast series, “The Voice of the Trojans” Barry McKnight goes to Malone Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus and the home of the Department of Art and Design, to talk with Troy professors Will Jacks and Sara Dismukes about research within Art & Design, on the latest Trojans Talk Research Podcast.

Barry McKnight once again heads to McCall Hall on the Troy campus, where this month he talks with Dr. Brian Helms of the Department of Biological and Environmental Science. Dr. Helms is passionate about his active, hands-on research about the removal of the Elba Hydroelectric Dam’s effect upon the Pea River populations of indigenous fish and mussels, and he shares that passion (and another exciting project) on the latest Trojans Talk Research Podcast.

The first podcast subject of 2026 is Dr. Joel Campbell of Troy’s Department of Political Science, who discussed with Barry McKnight the research and recent publication of his book ‘“Television’s Golden Age: Politics and International Relations in the Era of HBO and Streaming TV”on the latest Trojans Talk Research Podcast.

This month Barry travels to Wallace Hall to visit with one of his sports media colleagues, Dr. Hanna Cooper, a lecturer in the Hall School of Journalism and Communication, to listen to her insights into her research project: "The Role of Social Media Criticism in Shaping the Self-Perception and Professional Identity of Female Sports Journalists” on the Trojans Talk Research Podcast.

With Troy University’s advancement as a doctoral institution and heightened profile as a high-quality research institution, Barry McKnight has gone to McCall Hall to discuss the underlying factors behind the upward trajectory of Troy’s research efforts with one of its most positive, energetic academic leaders. His conversation with the Dean of the College of Science and Engineering, Dr. Govind Menon, is presented on the latest edition of the Trojans Talk Research Podcast.

Although Troy is in the middle of its football season, the “Voice of the Trojans”, Barry McKnight, ventures down from his broadcast booth at Veterans Memorial Stadium to the second-floor office at the Vet of Dr. Teresa Johnson,  an award-winning professor in the College of Allied Health (and its Nutrition Program Coordinator), a registered pediatric dietician, and a noted researcher. Dr. Johnson shares insights with Barry into the conclusions and wide-ranging applications of her renowned research into feeding tubes, on the latest Trojans Talk Research Podcast.

Classes are in session at Troy and, on the first podcast of the Fall Term, Barry walks with the students through the Quad and stops at John R. Lewis Hall to interview Dr. Priya Menon, the director of Troy’s University Honors Global Scholars Program, who recently presented research entitled “Reel Journeys: Exploring Liminal Spaces in Kerala’s Migrant Narratives and Cinema”. It’s the latest edition of the Trojans Talk Research Podcast.

Twice a month, host Barry McKnight spotlights exciting and impactful research being conducted on the Troy University campus, including —in this edition— research conducted and presented into several aspects of rural education, focusing on the necessity for preparing and retaining qualified schoolteachers in rural Alabama. Barry travels to Hawkins Hall to visit with Dr. Avie Medeiros of the Department of History and Dr. Eva Marie Kane of the College of Education.