Meet our 2023 student podcast fellows

The Democracy Group's podcast fellowship program is in full swing and our 2024 application is live! Here’s a glimpse at what our 2023 Podcast Fellows were working on during their fellowship.

Joey Picarillo is a Penn State student double-majoring in political science and history who believes in the importance of democratic institutions. His podcast will take the form of a narrative-style explainer focusing on American history and its relation to democratic theory. Picarillo envisions his podcast would start with the Enlightenment Era, followed by the Voting Rights and Reconstruction eras.

“Coming in I was afraid that my ideas were too broad,” Picarillo said. “These last two workshops have really helped me hone in on an idea and storytelling mechanism and understand what my potential audience would look like.”

Sean Schrader is an MBA candidate at the University of South Florida who is passionate about civility. His podcast strives to hone in on some of the significant challenges we face today and ultimately convert the passion for instituting change into common sense activities that one can take in their community.

“For my podcast idea, I’m thinking about actionable steps that listeners can take to create solutions and engage in solution-building on some of the issues that are happening in the real world today,” Schrader said.

Emma Schulman is a journalist and a political student at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her podcast will follow the Colorado Board of Education’s debate last year around inclusion and LGBTQ+ history. Schulman said her inspiration stemmed from how the issues affected people in the queer community and the podcast would centralize LGBTQ rights and education.

“Everybody knows someone who’s affected by this issue, so that’s why I think it’s relevant to an average podcast listener,” Schulman said.

KJ Mauwong is a political science major at Swarthmore College studying political theory, comparative politics, and American foreign policy. A proud Samoan American, Mauwong believes in giving a platform to voices that are often disregarded. Mauwong said his podcast will center around young voter power in the modern democratic system.

"I hope to be able to tap into the new market of listeners in the podcast industry to make a space for people to discuss and be educated on voting rights, procedures, and current issues that voters like us can take to the ballot or to our representatives," Mauwong said.

What’s wrong with American politics and how can we make it right?: Politics in Question

With many of our fellows’ ideas of tackling the democratic issues at hand today, this podcast dives into the many things that are “wrong” with American politics. From physics concepts to biological ideas, the hosts tie them into transformative actions that are needed to challenge the status quo.

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This is Jessie Nguyen, The Democracy Group's Community Manager. Here are some of my favorite podcasts this week, check them out!

Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other: Special Simulcast: On Israel with Adam Epstein & special guest Dawn Sorokin of Dirty Moderate

Like its description, this episode is a timely conversation on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that explores the historical layers of this complex issue. From the formation of Israel to the false narratives that are present even today, the guests give their insights on why and how these events are unfolding in the Middle East. Give this episode a listen if you’re interested in historical explainers.

How Do We Fix It?: Polarization Series: My Side Is Wrong

As we see a surge in coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we often feel pressured to take sides — at least I do — instead of assessing the rights and wrongs of both parties. The same applies to opposing political parties. This episode explores the major misconceptions about what supporters of the other party believe and encourages listeners to think about the areas that their own political party falls short of.

Let’s Find Common Ground: Why We Misunderstand Independent Voters

Honing in on the one voting force that’s often overlooked by media coverage, this episode takes a look at independent voters — who make up more than 40 percent of the voting public. I found this episode interesting because, after the January 6 insurrection, the number of registered independent voters went up to 50% which experts associate with the lack of belief in the states of American politics. Give this one a listen!

FEATURED EXPERTS

70 Million: Insha Rahman on What’s The Public’s Role in Upholding a Broken Criminal Justice System?

Insha Rahman is the vice president of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit that works with government and civic leaders to improve the justice system. Rahman is an expert on bail reform and pretrial justice and a board member of the American Civil Liberties Union of New York, the Aspen Institute’s Criminal Justice Reform Initiative, and Dignity and Power in Action. Her expertise and insights have been quoted in notable outlets like the New York Times, NPR, and PBS.

The Bully Pulpit: Sujeet Rao on Post Covid: The Unequal State of Health in America

Sujeet Rao is the Former Senior Policy Advisor for the White House COVID-19 Response Team. He received a J.D. from Yale Law School and serves as a director of the USC Dornsife Public Exchange Health and Wellbeing Practice. Before joining the Obama Administration, he was a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Damon Keith in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Detroit. Rao has led a number of projects at the Department of Education on education technology, research and development, and charter school policy.