"How has podcasting changed things?"...
A lot of people ask me if I feel I should be more famous." Paul F. Tompkins
I live by the common idea that one should go big or go home, and I have to say, nothing applies more than the adventures in podcasting my cohorts and I have had! So far, the outcomes are amazing for most of us having varying levels of experience. I'm sure almost everyone has written about their experiences on their own blogs, but I at least wanted to highlight mine.
Beginning the process of podcasting was interesting. I knew I didn't want to do something that was just "routine history" ; something that is mainstream or I have put a lot of previous research into. I wanted to start from scratch because I wanted to learn along with my audience.
I was torn between two topics: milkweed and cross-stitching (a hobby of mine). As I debated, I found that either would back me into a slight corner: I (A) didn't think there was enough information on milkweed to warrant a 15 minute podcast and (B) couldn't even comprehend a direction to go with a podcast on cross-stitching.
So I decided to doom myself to less information...or so I thought.
I know milkweed and history sounds like a crazy idea. What even makes sense about a goofy weed somehow having an impact on WWII? This whole thing sprang from one sentence in my senior seminar paper:
I remember reading that tidbit of info and thinking, "what the heck, who knew."
Fast forward several months to when I had finished giving an interpretive lesson in milling and the church group who was there had sat down for lunch. They had asked my coworkers and I to join them. I got to talking with an older couple about my paper and the husband chuckled and said something among the lines of, "I remember when I was growing up, after school my classmates and I would collect milkweed pods from the sides of the road."
My mind was blown.
Enter present day and I manage to collect a folder of 24 articles, photographs, and websites (the major of which I will link below) that all told the story, somehow, of milkweed.
In as few words as possible, milkweed has been considered fairly useful in the past, but because of its "weedy" nature, got on the bad side of farmers everywhere. Then, along comes a Russian born physician named Dr. Boris Berkman who obsesses over the plant and uncovers its potential as a life-jacket filler.
It's all bizarre because just like any good story, there's twists and turns, redemption and defeat, and success and failure; in it's own right. So that one sentence of 40 words managed to become an almost 16 minute podcast.
After I made a script, edited it, rewrote it, then edited it again, I cleared out my closet. I hung clothes strategically on the shelf to cover the wall, I covered the floor in a blanket, and moved a comforter to block off the upper portion of my closet. This was all to make it less "echo-y" I had bought a microphone from Amazon that was surprisingly sturdy for $20.00 and I made a nice little setup for a recording station.
With all noise to a minimum, I got comfortable, closed to door and prepared to hit record. Then I realized I had a problem - I could slowly feel my throat getting sore.
If I was going to record this, I was going to have to do it now. There was no stopping for the day because by tomorrow, I was doubtful I would be able to talk comfortably.
Long story short, I managed. I had to delete multiple clips because I started coughing, but by the end it was done. I just had to edit it up and we would be good to go.
Thank goodness.
The end result is below. Personally, I think it's pretty darn good for having no experience in Audacity or podcast making.
Before this post gets too long, I will be adding a page with some fun things that happened during recording as well how I thought I did.
So have a listen, I promise, you won't be bored. Nor will you be bored with any of the other History Bytes podcasts on SoundCloud!
And as always,
Festina Lente my friends,
--Jess--
I live by the common idea that one should go big or go home, and I have to say, nothing applies more than the adventures in podcasting my cohorts and I have had! So far, the outcomes are amazing for most of us having varying levels of experience. I'm sure almost everyone has written about their experiences on their own blogs, but I at least wanted to highlight mine.
 |
| (Left) endless possibilities lie behind that door (Center) my closet turned recording booth (Right) my workstation |
Beginning the process of podcasting was interesting. I knew I didn't want to do something that was just "routine history" ; something that is mainstream or I have put a lot of previous research into. I wanted to start from scratch because I wanted to learn along with my audience.
I was torn between two topics: milkweed and cross-stitching (a hobby of mine). As I debated, I found that either would back me into a slight corner: I (A) didn't think there was enough information on milkweed to warrant a 15 minute podcast and (B) couldn't even comprehend a direction to go with a podcast on cross-stitching.
So I decided to doom myself to less information...or so I thought.
I know milkweed and history sounds like a crazy idea. What even makes sense about a goofy weed somehow having an impact on WWII? This whole thing sprang from one sentence in my senior seminar paper:
Similarly, after the Japanese took control over the United States’ supply of kapok tree fibers, (which were used to fill life preservers) Milkweed was gathered by the bushel by children to fill the demand for flotation devices during the war.The information had come from an article outlining what children in the US did to help the war-cause when there was no war to be found in their own back yards.
I remember reading that tidbit of info and thinking, "what the heck, who knew."
 |
| Children collecting pods |
My mind was blown.
Enter present day and I manage to collect a folder of 24 articles, photographs, and websites (the major of which I will link below) that all told the story, somehow, of milkweed.
 |
| A massive haul of pods in Massachusetts Credit to http://nemasket.blogspot.com |
It's all bizarre because just like any good story, there's twists and turns, redemption and defeat, and success and failure; in it's own right. So that one sentence of 40 words managed to become an almost 16 minute podcast.
After I made a script, edited it, rewrote it, then edited it again, I cleared out my closet. I hung clothes strategically on the shelf to cover the wall, I covered the floor in a blanket, and moved a comforter to block off the upper portion of my closet. This was all to make it less "echo-y" I had bought a microphone from Amazon that was surprisingly sturdy for $20.00 and I made a nice little setup for a recording station.
With all noise to a minimum, I got comfortable, closed to door and prepared to hit record. Then I realized I had a problem - I could slowly feel my throat getting sore.
If I was going to record this, I was going to have to do it now. There was no stopping for the day because by tomorrow, I was doubtful I would be able to talk comfortably.
Long story short, I managed. I had to delete multiple clips because I started coughing, but by the end it was done. I just had to edit it up and we would be good to go.
Thank goodness.
The end result is below. Personally, I think it's pretty darn good for having no experience in Audacity or podcast making.
Before this post gets too long, I will be adding a page with some fun things that happened during recording as well how I thought I did.
So have a listen, I promise, you won't be bored. Nor will you be bored with any of the other History Bytes podcasts on SoundCloud!
And as always,
Festina Lente my friends,
--Jess--
Sources:
Gaertner, Erika E. “The History and Use of Milkweed (Asclepias Syriaca L.).” Economic Botany 33, no. 2 (1979): 119–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02858278.
http://www.gwood.us/media/1093/038_wiles.pdf
https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_assy.pdf
https://www.oars.com/blog/the-evolution-of-the-pfd/
http://www.gwood.us/media/1093/038_wiles.pdf
https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_assy.pdf
https://www.oars.com/blog/the-evolution-of-the-pfd/
Photos:
Flowers of Asclepia Syriaca L.
Floss from the Seed Pod
Edison's Letter to Ford
Comic Featuring Milkweed
Dr. Berkman's Patent for the Milkweed Gin
"War Exalts Despised Weed"
The Evening News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) · 17 May 1943
"Russian Physician Says Weed to Produce Kapok"
The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, California) · 26 Mar 1942
"Navy Okays Milkweed"
The Brockway Record (Brockway, Pennsylvania) · 2 Jul 1943
"Ottawa Scientists Find Plant Promising Substitute for Kapok"
The Ottawa Journal (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) · 5 Sep 1942
Milkweed as an Ingredient (Green pods)
Quartz Co.'s Milkweed Filled Jackets
Hey Jess! I really loved your blog post and can't wait to listen to your full podcast, I know you and I talked about it a bit while you were writing your script. I love your little makeshift recording studio! I did the same thing, I also brought a couple pillows so that I could get comfy, because god knows how long I would have to be in there! I also had like three cough drops prior to recording because I also had a sore throat! So I made sure to have hot tea and water, just in case. But tis the season of the sore throat eh? I think a podcast on cross-stitching would be super cool, or potentially doing something with cross-stitching for the final project? I would love to see some of your work some time! I love the documents you attached to the end, super interesting because when I first heard you talking about milkweed I was baffled, because like farmers I have only ever known it as a weed. I never thought about its longer history! From what I have listened of your podcast, it's really well done, especially considering it was your first time! You have a right to be proud! All the best, Kat!
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