A UMD Podcast-Palooza

From innovating in the arts to winning sports titles to tackling society’s biggest issues, Terps have plenty to talk about. Lucky for listeners, the result is a plethora of UMD-based podcasts.

The downloadable audio installments are as popular as ever; a 2022 survey by the Infinite Dial found that 38% of Americans listened to a podcast in the last month. They have a lot to choose from: Spotify last year touted offering more than 4 million podcasts in 2022, up from 500,000 in 2019.

UMD students, faculty, staff and alums are well-represented in the thriving space, producing and hosting shows ranging from in-depth research interviews to lighthearted pop culture chats. Put on your headphones and take a listen to the earful we’ve compiled below:

Cover Story | Stephanie Shonekan, College of Arts and Humanities dean
Which version is better: “I Believe in You and Me” by the Four Tops, or Whitney Houston’s remake? Shonekan, an ethnomusicologist and dean of ARHU, dives into such original-vs.-cover musical debates, with each episode featuring at least one artist of color.

Food Network Obsessed | Debra Puchalla ’04
Puchalla, senior vice president of multiplatform production and digital strategy for Food Network, the Cooking Channel and TLC, produces episodes in which host Jaymee Sire and chefs, influencers and Food Network stars dish on cooking trends, favorites, fails and triumphs.

Future of Humanity | Anand Anandalingam, Ralph J. Tyser Professor of Management Science and former dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business
Can we cultivate lab-grown meat that’s both climate-friendly and humane? Will AI enhance, rather than overshadow, human endeavors? Anandalingam trains his lens on these and other potentially life-changing technologies of the next 20 to 50 years.

Gettin’ Grown | Tykeia Robinson Ph.D. ’16
Robinson and her co-host, Jade—“two happy and hardworking Black women who are just trying to learn how to adult”—chat around what they call the “kitchen table” about topics including race and food, financial wellness, skin care and more.

Hear the Turtle | Assistant Media Relations Directors Ben Kessler ’17 and Taylor Smyth ’14
Kessler and Smyth give a behind-the-scenes look at all things Maryland Athletics through interviews with coaches, student-athletes and other UMD personalities—from Brenda Frese and Kevin Willard to Johnny Holliday and Scott Van Pelt ’88.

I AM Healthy & Fit | Steve Jordan ’98
Personal trainer Jordan, who turned to health and fitness after suffering a traumatic brain injury, explains the podcast title as a key motivation mantra and follows it up with tips from those who have made permanent life changes.

It’s Great Business | Janice Burg-Levi ’79
Burg-Levi, CEO of Intercoastal Marketing and Strategy Group, and co-host Pete McCormick, a digital marketing professional, interview entrepreneurs, marketing experts and other pros to provide listeners with advice and inspiration—no matter where they are in their own careers.

Jobbing Out | A.J. Francis ’11, M.A. ’16 and former Terp Aaron Oster
Oster and Francis, a former Terps defensive lineman, join co-hosts Glenn Clark and Brandon Linton to discuss everything pro wrestling, talking to some of the squared circle’s biggest stars.

Latinx Intelligentsia | Michelle Espino, associate professor, Department of Counseling, Higher Education and Special Education
Espino converses with students, faculty, administrators and activists with the goal of uplifting members of the Latinx community through higher education.

Leave Your Mark, the Podcast | Aliza Licht ’96
Bestselling author and global fashion executive Licht—the former sassy Twitter phenom DKNY PR GIRL—emphasizes building your brand through conversations with successful friends.

Maryland Risk Management Education Podcast | Paul Goeringer, agricultural and resource economics senior faculty specialist and University of Maryland Extension specialist
Goeringer discusses issues in agriculture law, risk management and other sectors, including carbon contracts, right-to-farm laws and state court decisions.

Moving Oolong | Ming Gault ’20, Linda Kuo ’20 and Sally Feng ’20
Three Asian American women and best friends chat about their experiences as recent college grads and how they’re tackling adulthood.

My Block Counts | Sacoby Wilson, professor of applied environmental health
From the Jackson, Miss., water crisis in his home state to pollution problems for African Americans and other people of color in Maryland, environmental justice expert Wilson and guests take on the broad issue of disparate health outcomes in underserved communities.

Not a Quiet Place | Special Collections in Performing Arts
Featuring interviews with composers, musicologists and band directors, episodes examine archival materials from UMD’s holdings and related issues in the performing arts today. Season one lets listeners dive into wind bands from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Offbeat | The Diamondback
Episodes feature discussions about “the nooks and crannies of the University of Maryland” that go beyond typical beat reporting.

On the Record With Ambi | Ambi Narula ’20, public relations specialist in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering
In this show for Philip Merrill College of Journalism students by #MerrillMade alums, Narula is joined by fellow Merrill grads to discuss how their careers have panned out and offer advice to budding journalists.

Perspectives on Justice | The Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. Center for Education, Justice and Ethics
Retired U.S. District Court Judge Williams tackles topics ranging from police brutality to gun violence to the shifting legal environment for cannabis with a range of experts, scrutinizing how the scales of justice are balanced criminally, socially and ethically.

Quantitude | Gregory Hancock, professor and program director, Department of Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation
Hancock and co-host Patrick Curran, professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina, discuss all things quantitative—including methods, stats and data analysis—without taking themselves too seriously.

Radio Rumi | Fatemeh Keshavarz, professor and department head, Roshan Institute for Persian Studies
A published poet, Keshavarz discusses and reflects on the works of Jalal al-Din Rumi, the influential 13th-century Persian poet.

Run Tell This | Mara Schiavocampo M. Jour. ’01
Four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer Schiavocampo joins fellow veteran reporters Wesley Lowery and Keith Reed to provide perspective on race and social justice, covering everything from politics to sports to pop culture and beyond. They’re conversations “you won’t hear in the mainstream news—but should,” they say.

SESYNC Audio Interviews | National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center
Researchers from the center discuss intersections of the science of human behavior and of the natural world, whether through private land management, climate change modeling or protecting vulnerable habitats.

Sound Expertise | Will Robin, associate professor of musicology
Robin chats with fellow music scholars—from opera composers to ethnomusicologists and even anthropologists—about their research and why it matters.

Takeover | Capital News Service
On the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, curbing gun control efforts and limiting the government’s power to restrict carbon emissions, Philip Merrill College of Journalism graduate students and Capital News Service reporters Kate Seltzer and Hunter Savery discuss the court’s conservative supermajority and how its decisions affect the country.

Testudo Times | Testudo Times team
Testudo Times student sportswriters dive into the latest news from around UMD and the Big Ten Conference, featuring previews, recaps and analysis.

The Cutting Edge | Stephen B. Thomas, professor of health policy and management and director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity
Thomas, founder of the Health Advocates In-Reach and Research campaign (HAIR) to engage barbershops and salons as public health portals, provides insight about COVID-19, health disparities and empowering Black communities.

The CyberWire | Dave Bittner ’91
Episodes break down cybersecurity news into daily briefings—featuring interviews with industry, academic and research experts—and include other special editions covering what’s happening in cyberspace.

The Garden Thyme Podcast | College of Agriculture and Natural Resources/University of Maryland Extension
A perfect podcast for plant parents, this wide-ranging series covers issues for gardeners like climate change, plant-care tips and even how to come to grips with species that scare us—a special Halloween episode from hosts Emily Zobel, Rachel Rhodes and Mikaela Boley.

The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast | John Ourand ’89
Sports Business Journal writer Ourand joins New York Post senior sports media columnist Andrew Marchand as the sports reporters covering the reporters. In their weekly episodes, they discuss the “business beyond the buzzer,” featuring guests like ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt ’88 and broadcasting legend Bob Costas.

The Maryland Made Podcast | Maryland Athletics
Episodes produced by Maryland Made, UMD’s student-athlete development program, offer practical information to empower current and former Terps to pursue their professional passions and become leaders in their communities.

The Nice Guys on Business | Doug Sandler ’86
Sandler and co-host Strickland Bonner chat with entrepreneurs and experts to provide insights “served with a side dish of shenanigans and a crapload of nice,” they say, hoping to help listeners find success in business—and life.

Time4Coffee | Andrea Koppel, adjunct journalism lecturer
Award-winning former CNN journalist Koppel curates what she calls “virtual networking coffees,” speaking with hundreds of professionals from dozens of fields to provide insight and advice for those seeking to break into different industries. She offers episodes in short “K-Cup” clips, super-focused “Espresso Shots” or full-length conversations.

Wise Traditions | Hilda Labrada Gore ’83
“Holistic Hilda” embraces ancestral traditions to achieve optimal health, interviewing health and wellness experts like scientists, doctors and farmers to reveal advice for nourishing our bodies.

WMUC Sports | WMUC Sports team
On top of providing listeners with full-game broadcasts and highlights from Terp games, UMD’s student-run sports radio station also delves into sports happenings off campus, including in pro leagues like the NBA and MLB.

Dylan Manfre M.Jour. ’23 contributed to this story.