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2021 Spring | Education & Outreach, Sustainability

Sustainability Focused Podcasts: Maximizing Reach and Impact

Student(s):

Emily Talbot

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Alexa Russo

Partner(s):

  • UW Bothell Sustainability Office

Faculty advisor(s):

Alexa Schreier, Program on the Environment, University of Washington

Podcasts can be used as a tool to inform audiences about sustainability issues and augment environmental organizations’ communication efforts, but they are only as impactful as their audience reach. The aim of this study was to characterize the target audience of a sustainability focused podcast and to distill best practices for engaging the audience and maximizing impact. To accomplish this task, I interned at the UW Bothell Sustainability Office where I took part in producing the Common Caws for Sustainability podcast. To address my research question, I administered an online survey to the listeners of the podcast. I also conducted a literature review on educational podcasts, environmental communication, and behavior theory related to sustainability. The findings revealed two barriers to growing a podcast audience: the topical barrier and the technology barrier. The target audience for a sustainability focused podcast was identified as individuals who are active podcast listeners and are interested in sustainability. As podcasts continue to grow in popularity and use, there is an increasing opportunity to reach audiences who are interested in sustainability through this medium. Overcoming barriers to reaching audiences is necessary in order to maximize the positive impact that sustainability focused podcasts have on people’s awareness about sustainability and engagement with environmental organizations.