Speaking of … College of Charleston’ launches on major podcast platforms

The College of Charleston is pleased to announce a new podcast highlighting the people, places and programs that help make it a nationally ranked public liberal arts and sciences university.

Produced by the Office of University Communications and the Division of Information Technology, Speaking of … College of Charleston features conversations with faculty, students, staff, alumni and supporters who bring prestige and positive recognition to the College across a wide array of academic endeavors, professional interests and creative passions.

“The College’s creative professionals have long shared the stories of the people who make our university special through print and online publications such as the award-winning College of Charleston Magazine and our popular online news website, The College Today,” says Ron Menchaca ’98, vice president of communications. “Our new podcast provides another platform for great storytelling and further expands our reach to national and international audiences.”

Some episodes will dive deep into topics that showcase the expertise and scholarship of the College’s faculty while other conversations will touch on current topics in the news or the latest happenings around campus and Charleston. Each episode will be accompanied by an article published on The College Today that includes additional information, images and show notes related to the topic.

Among the episodes published so far, listeners will find:

• An interview and walking tour around Charleston with Bernard Powers, professor emeritus of history and director of the College’s Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston. Powers discusses the life and legacy of Denmark Vesey, a self-educated, formerly enslaved Black man who planned what would have been among the largest slave rebellions in U.S. history before the plot was foiled in 1822.

• An interview and walking tour with journalist and author Brian Hicks of The Post & Courier newspaper. Hicks discusses his latest book about CofC alumnus Judge Waites Waring (Class of 1900), In Darkest South Carolina: J. Waties Waring and the Secret Plan That Sparked a Civil Rights Movement.

• The College’s new Men’s Basketball Coach Pat Kelsey talks about the whirlwind start to his first season. After being named head coach in March 2021 and inheriting a depleted roster, Kelsey and his staff had 10 weeks to recruit and sign 10 new players. Kelsey also discusses the roots of his passion for basketball and coaching.

• In a special Halloween-inspired episode, CofC alumnus and ghost story aficionado Ed Macy ’91 (M.A. ’98) shares some of his favorite spooky stories linked to campus buildings.

• Supply chain professor Purushottam Meena, who specializes in supply chain disruption risk management, breaks down the current supply chain crisis and sheds light on the factors that are creating choke points in getting goods where they need to go.

New episodes are available now and future episodes will be published periodically throughout each academic semester on all major podcast platforms, including Apple, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify and more.