Talking Podcasts

Dan Franks (’08) was a full-time accountant who enjoyed talking to entrepreneurs about their work. He ended up making a podcast where he interviewed small business owners about “nerdy business and tax type stuf.” That led him to interact with other podcasters, and in 2014, he co-founded Podcast Movement, a company that hosts two annual conferences and trade shows, a daily newsletter and a website.

Franks is like thousands of others who’ve enjoyed making podcasts — which can run the gamut from daily news reports to niche interests. Thanks to UNT’s strong programs in the Department of Media Arts and Mayborn School of Journalism, many alumni are producing their own podcasts. It’s easier than ever since people can use simple equipment or record on Zoom. But there are other aspects potential podcasters need to think about.

“The way to stand out above others is not just to have a podcast, but it’s to have a good quality podcast,” Franks says.“So that means quality audio, but it also means quality of content. So not just does the audio sound good, but you’re telling a compelling story or talking to interesting people and crafting a show that’s exciting and interesting.”

Here, three members of the UNT community discuss best practices for creating a podcast.

DAN FRANKS (’08)

Co-founder and president of Podcast Movement

“Because there’s so many podcasts out there, you almost have to budget as much time for growing your show as you do creating it. If nobody knows it exists, maybe you don’t have an existing social media channel or you don’t have some sort of existing newsletter, you’ll need some other way to spread the word about it.”

JESSICA YAÑEZ (’08)

Mayborn School of Journalism graduate and host of “The Wine and Chisme Podcast”

“When it comes to fnding guests for your podcast, the most important thing is to fnd people you fnd genuinely interesting. If you talk to people who you aren’t interested in hearing from, that comes across in your conversation, and if you aren’t engaged, how can your listeners expect to be?”

BRENDA

JASKULSKE (’94 M.A.)

Principal lecturer in the Department of Media Arts, voiceover artist, podcaster, television producer, videographer and editor

“It is important to choose a topic in which you have a passion, with a diferent angle that makes your podcast stand out. You should also understand why you want to podcast. Do you want to monetize your podcast for income, garner a certain amount of subscribers or do you just want to have fun with your friends putting something together?”

If John Quiñones came to campus, what would you do? Hundreds of students chose to fll the University Union Lyceum, giving a rock star welcome to the ABC journalist and host of What Would You Do?, who spoke in September in the frst IDEA Speaker Series presentation. (Photo by Ahna Hubnik)

A packed audience was enthralled when the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performed at the Murchison Performing Arts Center in November. Marsalis received a citation from UNT President Neal Smatresk for his role in shaping jazz music. The orchestra also taught master classes to students in the College of Music, which sponsored the event with the Fine Arts Series.

(Photo by Michael Clements)

When campus shut down this winter due to an ice storm, students took the opportunity to go sledding — using some innovative items such as cardboard and storage bins. (Photo by Andrew Irby)

Creating Pathways To Discovery

Niki Dash’s journey to become dean of UNT’s College of Health and Public Service began when her mother, who did not attend college herself, opened the door to higher education. Now, Dash and her husband, Carlos Armas, have created the Marsha Dash Study Abroad Endowed Scholarship to honor Dash’s mother and ofer life-changing experiences to frst-generation college students.

When Dash thinks about her childhood, she recalls how hard her mother worked as a single parent so her three children would discover they could accomplish anything. Although Marsha, who passed away in 2019, did not have the fnancial resources to pay for Dash and her siblings’ college tuition, she taught them that education was a way to change the trajectory of their lives.

“She told us from very young ages that education was the pathway to a diferent future than she had,” Dash says. “She taught us that we could overcome barriers and accomplish whatever we set our minds to achieve.”

As a college student, Dash worked to support herself, but her mother pushed her to learn how to navigate the waters of fnancial aid and scholarships. Marsha also sent care packages flled with homemade cookies and ramen soup, did her children’s laundry when they visited home and gave them the tools to be successful — like encouraging their drive to do more and be everything they wanted to be.

That support led Dash to pursue graduate school, inspired by a desire to understand the efect of destruction from Hurricane Andrew on fellow residents of Miami. She then put her skills to work through a brief career in emergency management with FEMA, but her passion for research on how disasters impact communities led her to her true calling — earning a Ph.D. so she could translate her enthusiasm to academia.

Later in life, Marsha’s children found ways to thank her for the paths she cleared and doors she opened for them. Notably, Dash’s brother, who works in the cruise industry, few Marsha to Switzerland and took her on an adventure aboard one of his company’s ships.

Leaving the United States for the frst time and experiencing other cultures had a major impact on Marsha.

“It was an experience she talked about often. I was inspired by her excitement and have spent a lot of time thinking about how life-changing experiences like international travel are out of reach for those with fewer fnancial resources,” Dash says.

It’s easy to understand why, when Dash wondered how to honor Marsha’s life, she saw study abroad scholarships as a place where her own life’s work connected with her mother’s commitment to education and excitement for the little travel she was able to experience in her life.

As a dean at UNT, Dash has a unique perspective on the impact that scholarships have on students’ lives. A study abroad scholarship will not only celebrate her mother’s legacy, but it also will let students who might otherwise have limited access see the world in diferent ways.

For Dash, this scholarship is about expanding opportunities for students facing fnancial obstacles and giving them a broader, more global connection through travel.

“My biggest hope is that students get a view of diferent cultures and that being able to take advantage of a study abroad opportunity helps open their perspective to all the variations that are out there in the world,” Dash says.

Dash is excited about the ways in which study abroad programs teach students more about their felds of study. Like other colleges at UNT, the College of Health and Public Service ofers service-oriented study abroad opportunities that allow students to explore their discipline in diferent contexts — like studying social work in England, criminal justice and addiction studies in Portugal or evacuations and emergency communications in South America. These enriched academic experiences enable students to see the world through a wider lens.

“As someone who studies disasters, I know them really well in this Americanized context,” Dash says. “I know how the federal government works with disasters, but I want students to see how that might work in a country that doesn’t have the same resources or governmental structures. I want them to go in, develop that context, tie it to their degree and then take that with them into their future careers.”

Dash knows that sometimes, in the moment, students can’t see how what they’re doing outside of the classroom has a long-term efect on how they see the world, but she hopes giving access to study abroad programs will encourage more students to imagine themselves in places and situations they might not have otherwise.

“I’m glad I ended up where I am, but who knows the other pathways of discovery I would have had if I had been able to take advantage of something like study abroad,” Dash says.

-Amanda Yanowski