Bergen Banter Podcast Premieres
PARAMUS, N.J. – Bergen Community College has launched the first official podcast in the institution’s nearly 60-year history.
The series premiere of Bergen Banter went live on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify, iHeartRadio and Apple Podcast, on November 20. Leveraging the institution’s faculty and staff as content area experts, the podcast aims to educate, offering listeners an opportunity to take a deep dive into topics of global, civic and recreational interest.
“The show’s concept remains particularly unique in that the subject matter does not directly focus on Bergen, or community colleges,” showrunner, podcast host and Bergen Executive Director of Public Relations Larry Hlavenka, Ed.D., said.
According to Hlavenka, the approach not only spotlights the faculty and staff’s depth of knowledge, but allows the College to capture the public’s attention beyond Bergen County with topics that have mass appeal.
“We want the podcast to promote intelligent discourse on things happening in our world,” Hlavenka said. “It’s really an extension of the classroom experience - a field expert trying to educate on a specific topic. We hope the podcast can drive conversation on these topics to a larger audience than we typically target as a community college with regional exposure. This expands our reach and positions Bergen as an education influencer.”
Hlavenka said topics will have a “ripped from the headlines” feel, as the College seeks to provide commentary on issues occurring in the cultural zeitgeist to inspire engagement. Listeners can expect to hear from faculty experts from a variety of fields, including the arts, sciences and even pop culture.
“Listeners won’t hear screaming talking heads, hot takes meant to ‘go viral’ or abrasive opinions,” Hlavenka said. “This is an opportunity to hear fact-based, intelligent conversation with the incredibly educated and accomplished people who work and teach at Bergen.”
New episodes will drop each month during the academic year, with the possibility of additional conversations based on current events. The College records episodes on a set built for the podcast at its main campus in Paramus. Bergen Manager of Media Technologies Ted Jarosinski led the technical development of the show, including the set design, build and audio/visual engineering, while Manager of New Media Services led the logo design and Web Developer Frank Hablawi manages distribution.
In the series premiere - “Girl Power? Women as Heads of State” - Hlavenka speaks with history and women’s studies professor Christine Eubank, Ph.D., to capture a historical context on the complexities of gender and state leadership and why the glass ceiling remains, generally, intact. Eubank discusses women leaders throughout history, including Hatshepsut, of Egypt, and Angela Merkel, of Germany, and the unique challenges women face in achieving political equity with their male peers. When the conversation shifts to the United States, Eubank makes a bold prediction for the presidential glass ceiling.
“No spoilers,” Hlavenka said. “You’ll have to listen.”
Visit banter.bergen.edu to subscribe.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
Photo caption: Bergen Community College Executive Director of Public Relations Larry Hlavenka, Ed.D., and history and women’s studies professor Christine Eubank, Ph.D.
What's Related