One-Sided Discussions in Quarantine

by Annika McGraw

For today’s journal entry, I decided to reflect on episode nine of “The Technically Human Podcast”. In this episode, Professor Doing interviews Carl Zimmer, a prolific scientific writer, and columnist for The New York Times. Carl has also published numerous books and hosts a podcast called “What is Life?”. In this episode, Professor Zimmer explains what life is in his own way. He stated that it is commonly disagreed on and that scientists and philosophers add more definitions every day. He argued that it is vital to think of science as an interdisciplinary study.

I found it interesting when Professor Zimmer mentioned that people enjoy listening to conversations and people are more than happy to stick some headphones in and listen to others discuss. I think this brings up an interesting behavior trait of humans. No matter where we are in life, conversation, and discussion between individuals is always important. In relation to technology, we are now able to constantly keep those lines of communication open and have those conversations. As I mentioned in my last journal entry, I have been struggling to communicate with others via social media due to fear of judgment, but I think that podcasts and video platforms such as YouTube have created a new way to get that conversation without the judgment or criticism that comes with social media. I think this concept also shows that a person's needs for conversation have maybe become more one-sided. What I mean by that is people do not have to rely on each other as much anymore to have a riveting discussion and to get the various viewpoints and opinions of others. Social platforms like Spotify and iTunes where one has access to hundreds of podcasts might eliminate the need for immediate conversation in the long run. I understand that lack of conversation with other people can lead to feelings of isolation, but I think right now, in the midst of a global pandemic, these podcasts might serve as a healthy and temporary substitute for the human connection that people are missing out on. I also think podcasts are incredibly beneficial to all people because they are an open and free form of education. Mostly anyone has access to podcasts and thus has access to knowledge. I think that an increase in discussion and debate on different topics has arisen because of the accessibility of podcasts. I personally love to listen to law and true crime podcasts which give me exposure to topics I might never even learn in school. Overall, I think the points Professor Zimmer touched on in this podcast episode are incredibly important, and I think the increase in podcast production will benefit us for a long time.