About
Vision: Public Interest Podcast (PIP) consists of conversations with politicians, activists, advocates, and others who aspire to improve the world. Mission: PIP strives to provide a meaningful and entertaining window into the inspiration and perspiration that drive a diverse array of individuals to advance the public interest. Our hope is that PIP can:
1. Fill the vacuum left by the disap
pearing Fourth Estate (i.e. traditional journalism), especially with regards to local and state issues
2. Raise the profile of and humanize those individuals who advance the public interest
3. Increase informed voter turnout
4. Provide a new way to access those who have taken a stand to improve our community
5. Create stronger positive associations with public service
6. Make public service an attractive and accessible calling for more people
7. Demonstrate the diversity of ways in which one can serve the community
Interview Structure: Interviews last about 20 minutes, beginning with the interviewee speaking about what he or she is either currently doing or has previously done to advance the public interest. The conversation then segues into a discussion about a policy area that is of interest to the interviewee. Dialogue evolves naturally until I bring the podcast to its conclusion by returning to the human-interest aspect of the interview as we close in on 20 minutes. Podcasts are versatile, quick, and generally develop in unpredictable ways, which makes it more fun. Our Hypothesis: If everyone were able to have a 20 minute one-on-one conversation with every elected official currently representing them and every candidate seeking to represent them, everyone would be able to decide which candidates they like best. Given that it is physically impossible for a congressmen to spend 20 minutes with each individual in their 800,000 person constituency or even for a state delegate to reach all 120,000 of their constituents, PIP aims to create a facsimile of this experience for listeners as though they were actually in the room with the politician, activist, advocate, or public servant. In this way, PIP aspires to create a more positive association with public service in all of its many forms. In sum, PIP seeks to advance the public interest by humanizing the political process in all of its formal and informal manifestations.
