With everyone at the Green Office super pleased with the work done by the fantastic UvA Green Office Podcast team, here's a look into the past, present and exciting future of the project. There's some great insights by the team into what goes on behind the pod and, of course, be sure to give it a listen if you haven't already on Spotify - UvA Green Office Podcast.
Question no.1: What has the podcast making journey been like so far?
Nefeli: I was glad to have the chance to bring out all my creativity for this project from scratch. I loved volunteering at the UvA Green Office & shared all this knowledge with everyone who listened to our series! The most important takeaway from this series is that we can all start our sustainability journey now!
Sakhi: I personally loved the entire process of building and executing the podcast from scratch – watching the documentary, making notes, creating a script and then recording with my co-host, Lina. I also had the opportunity to record the podcast both in person and virtually, so I got a taste of the challenges that come with both!
Lina: Challenging, exciting, and inspiring. Having a platform to discuss and share thoughts related to sustainability has been very refreshing. I love how Sakhi and I come from very different backgrounds but are exactly on the same page when it comes to social and environmental sustainability.
Julia: As the girls said, it was very challenging to bring it together because we did not know each other before, and we were prevented from meeting in person because of the COVID-19 situation. However, we have worked out perfectly, and you can see the fruits of our work in the podcast episodes!
Question no.2: Any favourite moments or things that stand out to you from your episodes?
Nefeli: My favorite part of the episodes is always to write the script and the discussion topics. I always end up talking so much more than expected so Julia has to do her magic tricks in editing every time (haha). Recording remotely has always been a stand out moment for our episodes!
Sakhi: I honestly loved some of the bloopers we made while recording! We worked on Docu Chats across 2 recording sessions and by the time we reached the end of each session, we could each sense how brain-dead we felt and how our words couldn't quite catch up with the script. In hindsight, it was really fun and it's a sentiment you can share only with someone who's in the same boat; I feel like Lina and I truly understood our frustrations in those small moments!
Lina: I can only agree with Sakhi on this one. Moments where all of a sudden my super german accent comes out or we realise that we say ‘interesting’ in every single sentence as if we didn’t know any other adjectives and we both just burst into laughter are by far the best.
Julia: My favourite moment is meeting a guest. We do not know precisely the story of our guest as it is unveiled during the recording of the episode. However, you never can guess how they find themselves on their journey to sustainability.
Question no.3: What’s it been like to make the series?
Nefeli: It’s been like a rollercoaster. Creating a podcast from scratch with unknown people during a global pandemic was not always so easy. As a team, we had our ups and downs but it has been very exciting to work with Julia for this series and the girls of course. It’s quite a heavy task as we have to prepare an episode per month. Our process included the following: decide on a topic, do research, look for interesting guests to contribute to our discussion, write the script, arrange all the recordings, edit it (multiple times), review it internally with the team, then upload it on digital streaming platforms and promote on social media. This process includes many zoom calls (haha). Yet, it was always fun and exciting to produce this series.
Sakhi: The idea for the podcast series came to me in a Research & Education Team meeting, where I was thinking about what a bummer it was that we couldn't do in-person documentary screenings during this online semester. I'm so grateful for the girls who joined me, and helped bring this idea to fruition. We managed to move a step ahead from a film screening to having an informed discussion of the ideas and views shared in a documentary and how people can get actively involved with this cause. Moreover, we managed to build a whole new series on Zero Waste, which brought in guests and discussed practices which are super sustainable and relevant in today's world.
Lina: There have definitely been ups and downs. Starting the podcast has been very challenging for me since talking freely doesn’t come super naturally to me. At the same time it really pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me improve this skill. During every recording there has been some frustration since there are usually some hick-ups coming up and it doesn’t always go as smoothly as expected or hoped for. But once a new episode is finished and we can listen to the final product all the struggle is absolutely worth it.
Julia: It is a lot of research involved in the making of episodes. I think it is the hardest part of creating the series. We need to make an episode that is not only on topic bringing you all the facts and the story of the guest, but also interesting for you to listen. After that, the taping, despite sometimes technical difficulties due to remote recording, is a lot of fun! It is really satisfying to listen to the final version of the episode after knowing how many hours we have spent on it.
Question no.4: What are you excited about looking forward to?
Nefeli: I cannot wait for season 2! I’d love to expand the team next year with fewer zoom calls (haha)!
Lina: I’m really looking forward to our next chat about ‘The Social Dilemma’, I think we’ll cover a lot of very interesting and relevant topics.
Julia: I am really excited for season 2, as Nefeli said. We are continuing the podcast in the next academic year, hopeful that we will make it face-to-face this time!
Hopefully this was a nice insight into one of the Green Office's many exciting projects and a big thanks needs to go to the team for giving such great answers! If you haven't already, start listening on Spotify - UvA Green Office Podcast.
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