¨Hello to this week’s edition of the Saint Benedict´s Prep- Benedict´s News Podcast where we discuss current world issues and the news around our community.¨

This audio intro was generated by Diego Martinez SY  during a recording Oct. 12, 2017.  The name of the podcast series is ¨The Convo” with this week’s episode titled, “Azriel A.J. Johnson Talks Culture Shock and Soccer.¨ The podcast and others in the series can be reviewed  at  https://soundcloud.com/user-587404506 .

A podcast is a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically, according to the Google dictionary.

Martinez, the social media editor at The Benedict News, is hosting what is expected to be a series of podcasts featuring student-led discussions on current events.  In addition to Martinez, Benedict News Photography Editor Jonathan Dulce, Staff Writer Olatunji Adewole, and Adviser and Journalism Teacher Kitta MacPherson form the cast of the podcast.

Azriel “A.J.” Johnson, a varsity soccer player from Malawi, was interviewed during the Oct. 12 podcast. Yannie Lopez, a Benedict News staff photographer, was the featured guest for the Sept.16  production. He was interviewed about the effects of Hurricane Irma on Miami and what it was like during the storm for his relatives who live there.

Students in the summer phase Introduction to Journalism class were schooled in the art of podcast making by Chidi Asoluka ´01, who initiated and oversaw a series of popular podcasts featuring African-American high school girls at Germantown Academy, a private school located outside Philadelphia. Some of Mr. Asoluka’s podcasts can be heard at https://soundcloud.com/newcomm .

The Benedict podcasters are easing into their roles.

“I don’t really have many intentions for the podcasts,” Martinez said.  “My main one is to get used to talking in public and on air.¨

Other members of the podcast cast have similar outlooks, staying humble as they learn.  “I just want to take it slowly to see where it is going to go,” Dulce said.

In the most recent recording, Johnson talked about his adjustment to living in America after moving from Malawi in Africa to live at SBP. He also gave his thoughts about American efforts in soccer in light of the U.S.A. team’s stunning World Cup qualifying failure earlier this week in Trinidad.

In the earlier recording in September, Lopez related how frightened he and his family were during the onslaught of the storm Aug. 30, 2017 until Sept. 16, 2017.  Lopez and his immediate family were safe in New Jersey while aunts, uncles, and cousins were holed up in their houses in Miami riding out the storm. Lopez’ cousin suffered minor injuries but Lopez’ relatives overall survived intact.   

The discussion moved to a general discourse on storms affected by climate change and lessons learned at St. Benedict’s about looking out for each other in the wake of such disasters.

Next up? Some possible topics are ¨a sequel to the first podcast of current events, the lingering effects of the ´superstorms´, and how we relate outside events to community events at St. Benedict’s,¨ Adewole said.