The Jodcast was established by astronomy PhD students and postdocs of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester since 2006. It is a bi-monthly podcast which aims to inform the public about latest astronomy research results, to motivate young people and students to pursue careers in science and to make astronomy plain and understandable to all.
As part of this update, we present the results of a listener survey conducted in 2016. The result show a listener demographic that is overwhelmingly white, male and well-educated, with many listeners holding at least a Bachelor’s degree in a scientific field. The average listener age is 55, and they are typically keen amateur astronomers, with many owning their own telescopes. The majority of our listeners are UK-based, with North America being the second-most represented.
Recent accomplishments include hosting a Jodcast Live episode at Jodrell Bank Observatory (JBO), attended by more than 50 people, and securing a permanent studio space. More Live outings are planned for the Bluedot Festival 2019 and the inaugural Manchester Podcast Festival in October 2019, in order to reach a wider and more diverse audience. The show is keen to represent the changing face of professional astronomy, and has covered astronomy-adjacent issues such as open access, the representation of women in STEM fields and science policy and communication. With these, the show is well placed to “Jod On” for the foreseeable future.