Podcast University Profile: Ben Ruilin Fong

Welcome to “Podcast University: Sounding Stories from Across the Humanities,” a new series highlighting podcasting projects by UC Davis graduate students, faculty, and staff. 

For our second installment of Podcast University, we profile Ben Ruilin Fong, PhD student in Comparative Literature, one of nine graduate students who received a DHI grant to attend the National Humanities Center Podcasting the Humanities Institute. As part of the weeklong program, Ben attended informative seminars and worked in a small group to produce a podcast, Foodscapes. All groups were made up of students from different disciplines and institutions working together to produce an original podcast. 

Prior to the workshop, Ben wasn’t a podcaster at all—he was more of a casual listener. At the Institute, he took on the role of editor in his group, learned software, and cut together an intro and outro clip from their conversation. As someone who was very much a novice, Ben was thrilled with his experience at the Institute; he reports that it was “designed for beginners and experts alike, in a stress-free environment.” While it was at first challenging to conceive of how they were going to produce a podcast among four very different graduate students, Ben notes that the flexibility of the podcasting genre was actually perfect for that situation: “The great thing about podcasting is that your podcast can really be on whatever topic you want and whatever quality you are comfortable with. It can be two people chatting, or it can be a production with background noise, transitions, and sound effects.” After the workshop, Ben realized that the most significant barrier to podcasting is really the cost of a good quality microphone. Extra technical flourishes then just depend on the kind of podcast format you want to pursue. Ben compared it to investing in a really good pair of running shoes: while the upfront costs might be a bit high, the investment can allow you to improve your track time. Likewise, investing in a good microphone simply and significantly improves the production quality of your podcast.

One of Ben’s biggest takeaways from the Institute was how podcasting is a really great medium for the moment. During the pandemic, Ben found himself sending a lot of voice memos instead of texts to his friends to try to recreate that tangible feeling of talking. Podcasting reflects that sense of connection. Ben highlighted all the nuances that one can pick up from someone’s voice and sees podcasting as a way to make research much more accessible. From the Institute, Ben learned how to write a style guide that outlines the tone, structures, and recurring segments that help podcasting distill research into approachable stories. Instead of a lecture, podcasting turns research into a personal connection with a familiar rhythm—or as Ben puts it, podcasting gives research “a ‘me and you sharing a beer on a stoop’ level of comfort. And that’s a brilliant format for some of the biographical research and work that I’m doing.”

Ben is currently working on a podcasting project that explores the Chinese Cookbook Collection archives here at Davis. His own experiences with his non-English speaking grandfather, who was a chef, and his Indiana-born mother helped Ben to see how cookbooks can be a fascinating and helpful resource for those trying to bridge cultures. His podcast will chronicle his work in the archives and feature his own biographical reflections. 

Overall, Ben hopes that more graduate students will take advantage of the various podcasting opportunities offered through the DHI, such as the National Humanities Center’s podcasting institutes. The NHC workshop was a special experience for Ben as it truly facilitated learning a brand new skill in a safe and effective way.