Press Play: Christ School Starts Podcasts
Greenie students recording their own shows
Christ School is getting in on the podcast phenomenon.
The now-ubiquitous medium which allows for audio downloads to a computer or mobile device began to take hold in the early 2000's. And podcasts are clearly here to stay. A 2017 survey by Edison Research estimated that 67 million Americans over the age of 12 listen to podcasts on a monthly basis. There are 42 million people who listen weekly.
English Department chair Brent Kaneft sees the potential for education purposes. Students in his AP Language classes began recording this week, basing a podcast series off more than 50 interviews they conducted with Asheville residents. It is not only project-based learning, but a friendly competition to see who gets the most "likes."
Kaneft's A Block class was the first in the studio to record Tuesday. Gordon Brown '19 was the narrator who introduced each piece of poetry or short story in the "People of Altamont Podcast."
"Altamont" is the name that author Thomas Wolfe gave to Asheville in his 1929 novel "Look Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life."
"We were brainstorming and trying to decide what to do with all these interviews," Gordon said. "I really like the idea of podcasts. The Humans of New York (photoblog) is something I'm really interested in, so I wanted to do something like that for Asheville. To tell people's stories through these interviews."
Names of Asheville residents in the "People of Altamont Podcast" have been changed for privacy reasons. Gordon chose to interview "Ruslan," a Russian man who is wheelchair-bound, and frequently seen along the sidewalks of a major road in Asheville.
Where can these podcasts be found?
The Greenies have their own SoundCloud page (https://soundcloud.com/christ-school-asheville) where the podcasts will soon be uploaded. David Wells '18 has shown interest in designing a flier with a QR Code that will allow for direct access to the page.
Kaneft's students are not the only ones from Christ School who are podcasting. Journalists with "The Stump" newspaper have done podcasts based off their work. Those podcasts will also be uploaded to the Christ School SoundCloud page, starting with an editorial on the pros and cons of beards from Hale Caffery '19.
