Here’s a look at a few podcasts being produced 91±¬ÁĎ departments or people — and an appearance by a faculty member on the podcast “.”

“”

This podcast launched in January 2019 and is produced and hosted by with .

Connors is a lecturer, and Næsby a visiting lecturer of Danish, both in the . With 13 completed episodes, “Crossing North” is about Nordic and Baltic society and culture, and features interviews with authors, performers and leaders from Scandinavia and the Baltic, plus faculty from Scandinavian Studies and the Baltic Studies Program.

include “,” “” and “,” which asks: What does it mean to be a folk musician in a country with no folk instruments?

91±¬ÁĎ Notebook asked a few questions to catch up with this podcast’s journey so far.

What got this podcast started?

Colin G. Connors: There are so many incredible stories coming out of the Nordic and Baltic countries that can help us to better understand the world abroad and here at home. We have some amazing faculty in the Department of Scandinavian Studies, and we wanted to be able to share their research and what inspires them directly with the public.

The department serves a lot of different communities: Our focus is of course on the students in our classrooms, but we also serve the public interest as well. The department sees a lot of artists, ambassadors, and business leaders visiting from Scandinavia, so we wanted to share that direct connection with the public, and especially those in the Pacific Northwest with an interest in Scandinavia.

The world is looking to the Scandinavian countries right now for inspiration on how to approach all sorts of issues, including climate change, affordable health care, effective education systems and gender equality in the workplace. We hope that the podcast is an entry point for a lot of people, and a place where listeners can hear what type of work is being done, right now, here and in Scandinavia.

How long does it take you to record and produce a single episode?Ěý

C.C.: I probably spend between 40 and 50 hours per episode. Many people don’t realize all the skills and expertise required to make a quality podcast, but when you listen you know the difference. That’s why we put so much effort into research, editing, production value, and sound design.

We believe “Crossing North” is a reflection of the university, and we want it to reflect the world-class education one can receive in the Department of Scandinavian Studies.

Who is your audience? Is the podcast finding its audience?

C.C.: Honestly, the show is for anyone who enjoys learning. All the episodes touch on relevant issues in our world. There are lessons to be learned, both good and bad, from the Nordic and Baltic countries. Sometimes those lessons come from unexpected directions because of how distant those countries are from Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, but the podcast also digs into some surprisingly deep connections that reveal how close we really are.

Different audiences have found different ways of engaging with individual episodes. A good example a recent episode, #11, which was an interview with assistant professor of Western Kentucky University about sustainability, green colonialism and Indigenous ecologies. For a lot of our listeners, this episode was the first time they were exposed to the idea of treaty rights and Indigenous sovereignty, especially in the Nordic countries, but for the ł§Ăˇłľľ±-American community here in Seattle (the are the Indigenous people of Scandinavia), the episode was an affirmation of their identities and experiences.

That piece also spoke to larger conversations happening around the world and here in Washington about the rights of Indigenous peoples, so I know the episode was shared by different Indigenous advocacy groups as well. I think that’s the mark of a successful piece of work, that people are able to bring something to it and also take something new and meaningful away.

What is your favorite episode so far? Which might be the best for a newcomer to listen to first?Ěý

C.C.: You can’t go wrong with starting at the beginning. Episode 1, “,” is about the power of music and explores how Latvia’s folk songs helped its people to end the Soviet occupation. The episode has some great music and folk stories.

People might also enjoy episode 10, “.'” I interviewed Marc Smith, Disney Animation’s director of story for “Frozen 2” and we talked about how their research trip to Finland, Norway, and Iceland inspired the film. The answer goes way beyond costume design, and our conversation was a once-in-a-lifetime peek behind the scenes at Disney Animation Studios.

How many downloads have you had so far?

C.C.: We have reached between 200 and 750 listeners with each episode. Listeners these days are more likely to binge a series than to tune in every month, so download numbers are less representative of overall appeal in podcasting than in traditional broadcasting.

With 13 episodes, “” is still in its infant stage right now, so we are less concerned with numbers than with continuing to produce quality content, because we know that the more episodes we publish, the more likely we are to get new listeners.

For more information, contact Connors at colingc@uw.edu.

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Other ongoing 91±¬ÁĎ podcasts:

““

Produced and hosted by , associate professor, Information School

Janes studies the cultural impact of documents and documentation and the future of libraries. The title phrase for his podcast came to him in 2012 and he has been producing occasional episodes ever since. In 2017, Janes published a book based on the series titled “Documents that Changed the Way We Live.” Topics across 54 episodes have included the Declaration of Independence’s deleted passage on slavery, Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his nonexistent “list” of communist conspirators in government, an early map of cholera contamination and more. A recent, all-too-timely episode was about the . Over 500,000 downloads. Read more at 91±¬ÁĎ News. For more information, contact Janes at jwj@uw.edu.

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College of Education podcasts on coronavirus, early learning, climate change and more

Dustin Wunderlich, marketing and communications director for the college, produces podcasts with faculty members and students to discuss their research or publications.

He has produced podcasts about college sports, disability studies, climate science education, culturally sustaining pedagogies and education priorities in the Washington state Legislature, and other topics. . The college also has published a list of its top .

A recent episode, released in mid-March, was an with 91±¬ÁĎ assistant professor of education, about the coronavirus threatening to increase inequalities in early learning.

For more information, contact Wunderlich at dwunder@uw.edu.

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Events and lectures as podcasts: Jackson School’s Ellison Center Ěý

Some 91±¬ÁĎ units are recording events and lectures and making them available in podcast form.

Among these is the in the Jackson School of International Studies. Their most recent recording , is about “Russian Grassroots Activism for the Environment and Beyond.”

For more information, write to reecas@uw.edu.

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‘Don’t disturb the soil’: 91±¬ÁĎ’s David Montgomery discusses ‘regenerative farming’ on ‘Undark’

, 91±¬ÁĎ professor of earth and space sciences, was part of a discussion of soil health and “regenerative farming” on the podcast “.” In each episode, the series explores a topic at the intersection of science and society. This episode was titled “.”

The discussion in January with podcast host Lydia Chain and Seattle-based journalist Eilis O’Neill focused on how regenerative farming practices can improve the health of soil on farms. Scientists, policymakers and manufacturers, they noted, not only disagree on what regenerative farming can accomplish, they even disagree on its exact meaning.

Montgomery defined it with three central rules. First, he said, “Stop tilling, stop plowing. …When you plow a field, it’s highly disruptive. Think, you know, if only of what it does to the worms in the soil to plow them up.”

Second, he suggested farmers should always be growing something, to keep a living root in the soil. Finally, they should plant diverse crops, either in rotation or all at once.

“That combination is the recipe for building up soil organic matter, building up life in the soil,” Montgomery said.

His last book, on the same subject, “,” was published in 2017.

For more information, contact Montgomery at bigdirt@uw.edu.

91±¬ÁĎ Notebook is a section of the 91±¬ÁĎ News site dedicated to telling stories of the good work done by faculty and staff at the 91±¬ÁĎ. Read all posts here.

The 91±¬ÁĎ College of Education’s work to expand access to high-quality early learning opportunities across the country is being strengthened with a $10 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Over the next four years, the grant will support the College in generating tools and methods needed to launch sustainable high-quality practices in pre-kindergarten programs, particularly among low-income communities.

Principal Investigator , associate professor of early childhood and family studies and director of Cultivate Learning (formerly the ), said the work will help more children enter kindergarten ready to learn and prepared to thrive in elementary school and beyond.

“Research demonstrates that pre-K programs can have tremendous positive outcomes for children,” Joseph said. “Yet there’s still too much we don’t know about early learning programs that create long-lasting impact and are cost-effective. Our work will provide much-needed evidence to education leaders and policy makers about how we can create and sustain exemplary early learning programs.”

The 91±¬ÁĎ’s multi-disciplinary team of early learning experts will deliver five principal results:

1) An assessment and protocol to measure progress in three target states (Washington, Oregon and Tennessee) toward implementation of the essential elements that—when present in high-quality, publicly funded and scaled pre-k programs—foster lasting benefits for children.

2) User-centered, state-based learning plans and data support for continuous quality improvement in the three target states.

3) Comprehensive, extended case studies of each targeted state to indicate the key conditions that facilitate or impede progress over time on the 15 essential elements.

4) A responsive, cross-state case study to monitor early learning strategy progress and to inform and refine the strategy over time.

5) Resources for program implementation technical assistance and training.

91±¬ÁĎ researchers will collaborate with anchor partners Ounce of Prevention Fund and the Alliance for Early Success, state policy makers, and local evaluation partners in Washington, Oregon and Tennessee throughout the project, with state implementation teams responsible for co-designing data-driven decision making at the state and local level to build program infrastructure and support continuous quality improvement.

“We are committed to working with partners and the community to give more children high-quality pre-K learning experiences,” said Marquita Davis, deputy director of early learning at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “We are constantly finding out more about how to support our youngest learners and it’s because of the work of leaders like the 91±¬ÁĎ. This investment will lead to better results for children.”

The essential elements of successful early learning programs are grouped into three categories: strong enabling environments, supportive program policies and robust program practices. 91±¬ÁĎ researchers will explore how the presence and reliable implementation of these elements contribute to high-quality teaching practices in the classroom that lead to improved kindergarten readiness and durable outcomes.

“With our partners, we’ll develop a comprehensive state systems toolkit to build and sustain quality pre-K programs at scale that consistently implement the elements of high-quality practice,” Joseph said. “This is a huge opportunity to spread our best knowledge about what works in creating the positive early learning opportunities that set up our children for success.”

Co-Principal Investigator , an assistant professor of learning sciences and human development who will lead the case study data collection process, said the project will build much-needed understanding of the conditions and processes that sustain and strengthen pre-K systems, particularly for children in non-dominant communities.

“We are excited to learn how these focus states are building infrastructure at multiple levels of the early learning system to strengthen program quality,” said Park. “Our goal is to make knowledge relevant—we hope our work can further inform efforts in other states to provide high-quality early learning opportunities for all children.”

The new grant builds on a $6.5 million grant received from the Gates Foundation in November 2016 to expand the 91±¬ÁĎ College of Education’s . Launched in 2015, EarlyEdU was created to strengthen the nation’s early education workforce by extending high-quality coursework for early learning teachers and leaders.

Also this year, the 91±¬ÁĎ received a renewed $7.2 million contract from the Washington State Department of Early Learning to support Cultivate Learning’s continued work implementing the quality rating and improvement system——it developed to assess and support Washington’s early learning and care providers.

, co-principal investigator and director of research to practice at Cultivate Learning, will serve as project director. Other participating College of Education faculty and staff are: , senior lecturer and director of the 91±¬ÁĎ Master’s in Education Policy program; , professor of educational psychology and director of the Robinson Center for Young Scholars; , research assistant professor of P-3 policy and leadership and director of the 91±¬ÁĎ’s National P-3 Center;, director of research and evaluation at Cultivate Learning; , professor of early childhood special education; and , executive director of the EarlyEdU Alliance.

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For more information, contact Joseph at 206-685-7469 or gjoseph@uw.edu, Branson-Thayer at mbthayer@uw.edu or Dustin Wunderlich at 206-543-1035 or dwunder@uw.edu.