NPR Tech Host Manoush Zomorodi Taps Her Podcast Listeners in Research

That was in 2007 At the time Zomorodi today a tech journalist at NPR who hosts its TED Radio Hour was not exactly an early adopterquotThose first couple of years I still had a flip phonequot she recalled quotI felt really disconnected as a new mother pushing around a stroller on maternity leavequot When she did get an iPhone quotI suddenly was like 39Whoa I can take work calls and check my email at the playground39 I had the ability to be in two places at once It blew my mindquotZomorodi continued to marvel at such advances as she began reporting more about technology and business at WNYC public radio after stints at the BBC and Reuters Her reporting on NPR led to podcasts like Note to Self and a new podcast this fall specifically addressing the physical effects of technology Body ElectricDuring this era of tech reporting she said quotI think a lot of people were more interested in upgrades and downloads and new gadgets But this idea that it was shaping us in a sociological psychological physiological way amp8230 was not mainstream yetquotZomorodi dove into this fresh field by creating large crowdsourced experiments with her growing public radio audienceThe first was called quotBored and Brilliantquot with WYNC which she said dated back to those preiPhone days pushing her stroller idly and quotbeing incredibly bored and then missing that boredom because I had my smartphone Every time I got bored I could check Twitter I could check the weather or email or social mediaquotShe wondered if losing that boredom could mean missing the kind of creativity that comes from such a state She spoke to cognitive psychologists and neurologists and did her own research with listener volunteersquotAt the time phones did not track your time so we partnered with an app to get people to track their phone timequot Zomorodi said quotWe had daily challenges Today don39t take any photosquotIt was a way to explore how taking photos affects the memory or changes one39s experience of somethingquotWe did those for an entire week and it was greatquot she exclaimed quotWe had 20000 people sign up which was amazing I ended up writing a book on our findingsquot The resulting Bored and Brilliant How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self 2017 St Martin39s Press began being cited in serious research and led to further audio experimentsquotWe did one about information overload and how we process information and how we can make better use of the information that we take in all day longquot Zomorodi noted quotWe had 30000 people sign up for that which is awesomequotThe Privacy Paradox in 2017 was a third experiment conducted at a time quotwhen people were starting to understand how much of their personal information was being hoovered up by all these companies and used to target themquot she said quotWe had 40000 people sign up for thatquotIt underscored the degree to which people were interested in how their daily lives were being shaped by technology But Zomorodi added quotThey don39t want to necessarily read medical or scientific papers They want to make it fun and interesting and interactivequotPodcasting which has already been very influential in changing the approach of public radio through the use of a more casual natural way of speaking rather than what Zomorodi calls quotthe booming broadcasting voicequot is a good way to draw people to participatequotI think people want to have a trusted friend in their ear and on the radio and podcasting ushered in that new desirequot she asserted quotPodcasts as a research tool I think are underratedquotPodcasts are known to foster an unusual intimacy between the host and listener quotBut it can be used to improve society in ways tooquot she addedAs with other podcasts her results will be shared with listeners on NPR where her TED Radio Hour is carried on 500 stations and further enhances her approach On it she said quotI get to talk to the smartest people in the world all the time and that39s incrediblequotIt39s part of a family of titles that have helped make NPR a leader in the competitive world of podcasting currently ranking third in the Podtrac industry tracker ranking publishers on US audience size despite having far fewer titles 49What sets NPR apart from other creators Zomorodi believes is quality quotThere39s a level of standard that I think people expect from NPRquot she concluded quotThe only way you can do that is to be laserfocused on high production quality and hardcore journalismquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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NPR Tech Host Manoush Zomorodi Taps Her Podcast Listeners in Research

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Roger Catlin

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NPR Tech Host Manoush Zomorodi Taps Her Podcast Listeners in Research

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