They created Quarantimes - the podcast about science on lockdown, which gives their audience—mainly students and professors—a glimpse of what it is like to live in quarantine as a scientist.
During each podcast episode, Nikki Mogilever, a member of the Pelling Lab, talks to scientists about their latest projects, their work in the midst of the pandemic, and their post-confinement plans. The podcast platform was chosen for its effectiveness in storytelling and for its ease of recording, creation and promotion from home.
The main objectives of the Quarantimes podcast are to humanize the scientists and the scientific process and to promote a sense of connection between the members of the Pelling Lab during quarantine. With more than 1100 downloads, the podcast successfully reached a wide audience and certainly contributed to alleviating the loneliness of many listeners during confinement. Fatou Bah, research assistant in the IDEA laboratory at the School of Psychology, says, “Quarantimes gave me insight on how others in STEM are coping and helped keep me motivated by knowing that we’re all navigating this together.”
This outreach project has proven to be quite rewarding for the Pelling Lab. Not only was it valuable to democratize science, but it was also a great opportunity to stay connected during these challenging times. Although this particular project depended on the current unique global landscape, Prof. Pelling and his team are interested in creating more digital content to help make science accessible. His team also wishes to inspire other scientists to explore innovative approaches or platforms to engage with their public.
