Pitching Radiolab
with Latif Nasser, Becca Bressler, and Barry Lam
July 27, 2023, 6:00 pm ET
This workshop was a virtual event, hosted by Barry Lam (Hi-Phi Nation), in conversation with Radiolab co-host Latif Nasser and Radiolab producer Becca Bressler. “Pitching Radiolab” was a Philosophy in Mediaevent, aimed at bringing high-quality philosophy to the general public.
In this two-hour workshop, Nasser and Bressler fielded several pitches from philosophers whose research interests ranged widely from trust in the police institution and Bohmian mechanics to consciousness and morality in AI and the importance (or non-importance) of experiencing boredom. Selected participants were invited to give their two-minute pitches to a live audience of around 80 attendees. Nasser and Bressler offered unique insight and feedback into what worked especially well about each pitch, and what would be useful to consider for Radiolab‘s listeners and for a public audience.
“We are a story-forward podcast. The story really means a lot to us.” -Latif Nasser
Nasser and Bressler noted that there are three key factors to developing a compelling Radiolab pitch:
- The story, especially its character(s): Pitches should set up a conundrum through a character or set of characters, human or non-human.
- The moral or the big idea: What’s the takeaway?
- Access: How will audiences find their way into the story and the idea?
Watch the workshop recording below.
*Philosophers pitching include Luke Hunt (University of Alabama), Lorraine Besser (Middlebury College), Craig Callender (UC San Diego), Thi Nguyen (University of Utah), Elizabeth Scarbrough (Florida International University), Scott Simmons (Indian River State College), David Miguel Gray (University of Memphis), Kelle Dhein (Santa Fe Institute) and Eddy Nahmias (Georgia State University). Kori Hensell is Marc Sanders Foundation Director of Programming.
The event is part of the Marc Sanders Foundation’s Philosophy in Media Initiative, generously funded by the Templeton Foundation.
