By Emma Stevens, Show Manager
In the past year, the Xavier community has seen an uptick in the amount of multimedia creation by students, notably in the form of student-run podcasts.
Podcasts have recently seen a spike in popularity, an interest that has developed.
Several Xavier students have begun to produce their own original podcasts this school year. Newswire is taking a deeper look at two of these student podcasts, giving you a taste of what these shows have to offer.
Get Up and Grow
Photo courtesy of @getupandgrow.podcasts via Instagram
This podcast is co-hosted by Maddie Asbridge and Hannah Whitaker. Though Whitaker is not a Xavier student, Asbridge is a junior communication studies and music performance double major with a minor in digital media.
Asbridge and Whitaker were inspired to begin producing Get Up and Grow after quarantine when both women first began consistently listening to podcasts. Both fell in love with the medium during the stay-at-home order and felt compelled to begin their own show.
Starting the show in September 2020, the duo has since released 26 episodes and an introductory trailer. They release episodes on a weekly basis.
The show focuses on growth and self-love.
“Overall, we just want to spread joy and positivity to our listeners,” Asbridge said.
In terms of audience, Get Up and Grow is evolving. Asbridge explained that the first season of the podcast was more targeted toward women in college. However, the second season is intended for a broader audience of college students in general.
“We decided to go this route with our podcast because we wanted to discuss various college topics, featuring a wide array of guests. We wanted to hear from different individuals to get the ‘full experience’ of college from many perspectives,” Asbridge said.
Get Up and Grow is living up to its name and continues to grow in popularity. Those interested in tuning in can find the show on Spotify or follow the podcast on Instagram
@getupandgrowpodcast.
BOP Talks
Run by three XU students, BOP Talks is new to the podcast scene. Co-hosts Anthony Contreras, Lin DeGraaf and Kim Ongoma began releasing episodes this March.
Named for the favorite colors of the hosts — blue, orange and purple — BOP Talks covers a wide range of topics but focuses on issues that are relevant to college students.
“Our podcast is generally a free-for-all. Any topic can be discussed. We normally include in each of our episodes: life updates, pop culture topics we found interesting and politics,” DeGraaf explained.
Contreras, DeGraaf and Ongoma are “besties” and treat the podcast as a space to share their thoughts and feelings as if they were speaking to their listeners as friends.
Now, a fair amount of the content covered on BOP Talks is Xavier-specific. In one episode, Xavier’s own “Dancing Elliot” is interviewed. Nonetheless, the podcast is meant to cater to college students in general.
With six episodes currently on Spotify, DeGraaf expressed that the BOP Talks crew has many exciting plans for the future.
“I reached out to two bands from XavierFest — Shiny Penny and ModernTies — to be interviewed and they agreed, so we are looking forward to that,” DeGraaf shared.
To connect with BOP Talks, follow them on either Spotify or Instagram @boptalkspodcast.
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