The JayPod: A High Library Production

Joshua Cohen

College campuses are exciting places where you can hear or take part in conversations about a wide range of subjects from the arts and humanities to STEM and public health disciplines. Librarians have the opportunity to assist with faculty and student research across many disciplines. In this library-sponsored podcast, Elizabethtown College librarian Josh Cohen talks with Etown faculty, students, and staff about their scholarship, publications, and other research projects. Join us to learn more about the intellectual life of Elizabethtown College in central Pennsylvania. You can subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. Music featured in this podcast is by Josh Cohen. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas for future podcasts, contact Josh at cohenjp@etown.edu.

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Our Editor's Take

The JayPod: A High Library Productionis a podcast about what people learn at Elizabethtown College (Etown). The school is near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The podcast's host is Joshua Cohen, Etown's instruction and outreach librarian.

College is where people go to become specialists in their chosen field. It's also home to experts and scholars. For the layperson, dismissing their work as esoteric navel-gazing is easy. College's insularity from the outside world almost invites such critiques. However, a closer analysis reveals that the exchange of ideas has deep roots. It has real-world applications and offers solutions to large-scale problems. In this podcast, Cohen opens the doors of the halls of learning to the world.

Cohen interviews a professor, student, or administrator at Etown in every podcast episode. They have a wide range of interests and perspectives. Bruce Walsh teaches playwriting and acting. He talks about working with aspiring actors and what it's like to have a theater for a classroom. The host and guest also discuss Walsh's directorial work at the Etown Tempest Theatre. Another episode is about the impact of mindfulness on learning. Cohen engages in mindfulness and meditation practice. He explores its effects on well-being.

Students at Etown are also studying interesting things. Cohen interviews Alexander Waskiewicz on the podcast. He looked at COVID-19 vaccination rates in Amish communities. Waskiewicz believes messaging tailored to that culture might have improved the rates. Eric Schubert studies genealogy as a tool to solve cold cases. His work gained prominence when he solved the 1964 murder of a nine-year-old.

Listeners might enjoy the alumni spotlight episodes of the podcast. Etown alums include baseball pitcher Gene Garber and philanthropist S. Dale High. One episode is about W. Miller Barbour, who became a leader of the National Urban League.

The JayPod: A High Library Production might appeal to Etown alumni who want to revisit their college days. Listeners who love discussing new ideas may also enjoy the podcast.

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EducationEducation

Play Trailer

The JayPod! Season 2 Trailer

The JayPod! Season 2 Trailer

Check out the trailer for Season 2 of The JayPod: A High Library Production, featuring Etown College English professor Erica Dolson, student Nicole Pinnella, and Director of Prestigious Scholarships and Public Heritage Studies, Jean-Paul Benowitz.

Episodes

Novelist Curtis Smith On His Latest Book, "The Lost and the Blind"

Novelist Curtis Smith On His Latest Book, "The Lost and the Blind"

Curtis Smith is a novelist and essayist who works at Etown College as the Assistant Director of Academic Advising and teaches in the English department and the First Year Seminar program. In this final episode of Season 2, Smith returns to the podcast to discuss his sixth novel, The Lost and the Blind. The novel centers on a 17-year-old boy named Mark Hayes who lives in a highly unstable family situation with a drug-addicted single mother who is often absent for long stretches of time, leaving Mark to fend for himself without many resources and very limited guidance. Some of Smith's other recent publications include the novels The Magpie's Return and Lovepain as well as the essay collection Communion. If you are interested in purchasing The Lost and the Blind, you can find a copy in print, ebook format, or as an audiobook from most online booksellers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.

Creating an LGBTQ+ Dictionary in Arabic with Samhar Almomani '24

Creating an LGBTQ+ Dictionary in Arabic with Samhar Almomani '24

In the March episode of the library podcast, we welcome graduating senior, Samhar Almomani, to discuss his work creating an LGBTQ+ dictionary in Arabic. The dictionary includes both terminology and spotlights notable figures and events in LGBTQ+ history in the Middle East.Samhar is a public health major at Etown College with a special interest in addressing healthcare disparities. He recently presented on his dictionary project at the American Public Health Association conference.

Etown College Alumnus Spotlight: W. Miller Barbour '32, Civil Rights Leader

Etown College Alumnus Spotlight: W. Miller Barbour '32, Civil Rights Leader

In celebration of Black History Month, this episode spotlights a notable, African American Etown College alumnus, W. Miller Barbour (also known as William Miller Barbour). Hailing from nearby Middletown, PA, Barbour was one of the college’s first African American graduates, studying in the liberal arts program and graduating in 1932. He then went on to pursue a Master’s degree in social work at the University of Pennsylvania before embarking on a career as a scholar and activist, fighting for African American rights around housing and employment through leadership positions at the National Urban League. A group of Etown faculty, staff, and recent alums are working together on a research project about Barbour’s life, work, and legacy. Librarian Josh Cohen speaks with some of the team, including Jean-Paul Benowitz, director of prestigious scholarships and Public Heritage Studies; Peter Depuydt, a retired librarian and archivist; Abigail Sholes '23, a History and Social Studies Education major who graduated in December; and a returning guest to the podcast, Eric Schubert '23, who has been working as a forensic genetic genealogist for the company Othram Incorporated since graduating last May. It was a pleasure to be able to talk with them about their research, which they hope to publish prior to the college’s 125th anniversary celebration in the Fall 2024.

On Race and Racial Equity in Higher Education with Dr. Kesha Morant Williams

On Race and Racial Equity in Higher Education with Dr. Kesha Morant Williams

This episode features a conversation with Dr. Kesha Morant Williams, Etown College’s Senior Advisor for College Diversity, Equity and Belonging. We discuss Dr. Williams’ 2021 essay, “I Can Breathe,” published in Survive and Thrive: A Journal for the Medical Humanities and Narrative as Medicine. In the essay, she reflects on a racist hate crime she experienced on the campus of Penn State Berks when she worked there in 2020. We also discuss other topics around race in the United States, including the concept of “Black respectability,” the recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in higher education, and her work promoting diversity, equity, and belonging at Elizabethtown College.

Directing Julia Cho’s play "The Language Archive": A Conversation with Bruce Walsh

Directing Julia Cho’s play "The Language Archive": A Conversation with Bruce Walsh

In this episode of the podcast, Bruce Walsh, who teaches playwriting and acting at Elizabethtown College, talks about directing Julia Cho’s 2012 play, The Language Archive. The play focuses on the character of George, a linguist who studies and tries to preserve dying languages. Although language is his field of study, he struggles to communicate with other people, particularly with his wife, Mary, who leaves him at the start of the play.We discuss some of the themes in the play, like the limitations of language and the struggle to communicate effectively with those we care about most, as well as Bruce’s history with the theater and his approach to directing student actors. The Language Archive will be performed at Etown College’s Tempest Theatre on November 3, 4, 9, and 10 at 7:30pm and November 5 and 11 at 3:00pm at Etown College’s Tempest Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.

Music Therapy for Veterans: A Conversation with Nicole Pinnella and Emily Frantz

Music Therapy for Veterans: A Conversation with Nicole Pinnella and Emily Frantz

In this conversation, recorded earlier this summer, Etown music therapy student Nicole Pinnella discusses her summer research project on the benefits of providing music therapy for veterans. She is joined by her professor and faculty mentor, Emily Frantz, who serves as Etown College's director of the music therapy program. For those listeners unfamiliar with the profession of music therapy, you will learn more about what music therapy is and how it can impact people's lives. Plus, Nicole will also discuss her passion for music therapy, how she decided on this career, and how she developed an interest in working with veterans.

Writing Creative Non-Fiction with Erica Dolson

Writing Creative Non-Fiction with Erica Dolson

This episode features a conversation with Erica Dolson, a professor in Elizabethtown College's English department who serves as the director of our creative writing program. Erica writes creative non-fiction (which she has also taught at the college) and she has published work in Full-Stop, Critical Read, and borrowed solace among other publications. She also regularly teaches first-year writing and professional writing.Today we’ll be discussing the topic of creative non-fiction, her writing process, as well as some of the challenges and pleasures of writing on personal topics. She will read from and discuss a couple of her essays: “Chance of Showers,” published this past December in Bright Flash Literary Review, and “How I Renewed My Enthusiasm for Writing,” published in Hippocampus Magazine in late 2020.

The JayPod! Season 2 Trailer

The JayPod! Season 2 Trailer

Check out the trailer for Season 2 of The JayPod: A High Library Production, featuring Etown College English professor Erica Dolson, student Nicole Pinnella, and Director of Prestigious Scholarships and Public Heritage Studies, Jean-Paul Benowitz.

Studying the Health Benefits of Mindfulness Training for Undergraduate Students with Drs. Elizabeth Dalton and Tomás Estrada

Studying the Health Benefits of Mindfulness Training for Undergraduate Students with Drs. Elizabeth Dalton and Tomás Estrada

How can mindfulness training and meditation practice benefit our mental health and well-being? In today's world of constant distractions, it seems harder than ever to live in the present moment with sustained focus while managing the stress of daily life. In a recent study, Etown College's Assistant Professor of Psychology, Dr. Elizabeth Dalton and Associate Professor of Engineering and Physics, Dr. Tomás Estrada collaborated to explore the impact of formal mindfulness training on the well-being of 48 undergraduate engineering students.In this episode, we discuss the concept of mindfulness and its usefulness both in the classroom as well as in one's personal life to manage stress and improve one's overall quality of life. Estrada and Dalton also provide some background information on how they developed an interest in this area of research and what conclusions they reached through their study, "Implementation and Feasibility of a Group Mindfulness Intervention for Undergraduate Engineering Students" which they published in a recent issue of Advances in Engineering Education. Some books on mindfulness training that we discuss in this episode and which might be of interest to listeners include Jon Kabat-Zinn's Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness and Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein's A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook.

Using Archival Materials in Pre-service Teacher Education: A Conversation with Rachel Grove Rohrbaugh and Brian Booker

Using Archival Materials in Pre-service Teacher Education: A Conversation with Rachel Grove Rohrbaugh and Brian Booker

In this archives-focused episode, host Josh Cohen got the opportunity to talk with High Library archivist, Rachel Grove Rohrbaugh, and Education faculty member, Brian Booker, about their collaboration for Education students in Brian's Social Studies Methods course. Rachel and Brian worked together to create an assignment requiring the students to use archival resources to create a short K-12 social studies lesson.In the January/February issue of the publication Archival Outlook, Rachel published an article about this project, titled, “Make an Impact with Archival Outreach to Preservice Teachers: Instructing Students to Teach with Primary Sources.”We discuss that collaboration and its goals and how K-12 social studies teachers can benefit from incorporating primary source materials into their instruction. Plus, we highlight the High Library's Hess Archives collections which feature materials related to the Church of the Brethren, the Elizabethtown College archives, and collections related to Anabaptist and Pietist groups.For archivists and others interested in Rachel's work with Brian's class, here is a link to the library guide that Rachel created and which we reference in the episode.

Philip Roth's "The Plot Against America" and Its Relevance to American Politics Today with Dr. Fletcher McClellan

Philip Roth's "The Plot Against America" and Its Relevance to American Politics Today with Dr. Fletcher McClellan

In his 2004 novel, The Plot Against America, the late author Philip Roth explores an alternate version of American history from 1940 - 1942 in which FDR loses the 1940 presidential election against the isolationist, celebrity aviator Charles Lindbergh, leading to serious consequences for the country, particularly for the Jewish population.Etown College Professor of Political Science, Dr. Fletcher McClellan has used the novel in his senior seminar in recent years as a way to explore parallels between the fictional Lindbergh presidency of Roth's novel and the Trump presidency, focusing on the similarities between the isolationist, nativist ideology behind the America First movement of the early 40s and the MAGA movement. In this month's JayPod episode, we discuss these and other parallels and how the novel might inform discussions of current American politics and the state of our democracy. In November 2022, Dr. McClellan published an article, "It Almost Happened (And Might Still Happen) Here: Philip Roth's The Plot Against America" in the Journal of Political Science Education on how he has used the novel in his senior seminars.

The Amish Response to COVID Vaccines with Alexander Waskiewicz and Dr. Steven Nolt

The Amish Response to COVID Vaccines with Alexander Waskiewicz and Dr. Steven Nolt

Are you interested in how the Amish population in the U. S. responded to the COVID vaccine in 2021? In this JayPod episode, host Josh Cohen spoke with Etown College student Alexander Waskiewicz, who recently completed a research project to try to understand how Old Order Amish populations reacted to news of the vaccine and how public health outreach efforts might be improved to better communicate with these populations. He completed his research in consultation with Etown College Professor of History and Anabaptist Studies, Dr. Steven Nolt. We discuss what Alex discovered as well as how some Old Order Amish communities tend to approach health care decisions and illness more broadly. It was a fascinating conversation on a topic that host Josh Cohen was eager to learn more about.Alex is a junior at Etown, majoring in political science and public health. Dr. Nolt is a nationally recognized scholar on Anabaptist and Pietist Groups and has published many books on the Amish, Mennonites, and on Pennsylvania German history and culture. Some of his books include The Amish: A Concise Introduction and A History of the Amish.

Using Digital Storytelling in Literacy Education with Dr. Kathryn Caprino

Using Digital Storytelling in Literacy Education with Dr. Kathryn Caprino

Digital storytelling can be a powerful teaching tool for children. In this episode of The JayPod, Etown Education professor Dr. Kathryn Caprino talks about what digital storytelling is and what some of the potential benefits are for using it in the classroom. In 2021, she published a series of blog posts on this topic in collaboration with former Early Childhood Education students, Samantha Weigle and Alyssa Marzili.You can check out those blog posts at the links below:1. Digital Storytelling: An Exciting Teaching Tool! 2. Assessing Digital Stories in the Middle Grades Dr. Caprino has taught middle and high school English. She teaches classes on adolescent and children’s literature and literacy methods and has a special interest in integrating technology as part of literacy education. You can follow her on Twitter at @Kcapliteracy and she also reviews children's books at https://katiereviewsbooks.wordpress.com/.

Translating Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” with Dr. Mark Harman

Translating Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” with Dr. Mark Harman

In this episode, Dr. Mark Harman, Professor Emeritus of German and English at Elizabethtown College and award-winning translator of Kafka and other authors, discusses his recent work, translating Kafka’s novella, commonly titled, “The Metamorphosis” in English but which Mark entitles, “The Transformation.” His translation is part of a forthcoming collection of Kafka stories on which Mark is currently working. We discuss the story, the translation process, and Kafka’s enduring appeal.

Developing a Better Test for Lyme Disease: A Conversation with Dr. Lauren Toote and Justin Cosgrove

Developing a Better Test for Lyme Disease: A Conversation with Dr. Lauren Toote and Justin Cosgrove

Dr. Lauren Toote, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Etown College, has been hard at work for the past couple years on the development of a more sensitive and accurate test for diagnosing Lyme disease which has become increasingly prevalent across the United States (particularly in our neck of the woods in rural Pennsylvania). This past summer, Dr. Toote worked with her student, Justin Cosgrove, on a Summer Creative Arts and Research Project (SCARP) to continue to develop this new test which will continue to be an ongoing project.In this chat, we discuss the challenges and the possibilities that this project presents as well as some of the background on Lyme disease in the United States and the complexities and limitations of the current diagnostic tools. And of course, we discuss the chemistry involved.

Hinduism and Other Religions in the "Game of Thrones" Fantasy World: A Conversation with Dr. Jeffery Long

Hinduism and Other Religions in the "Game of Thrones" Fantasy World: A Conversation with Dr. Jeffery Long

The question, "Is Hinduism Present in Game of Thrones?," is the title of a book chapter recently published by Elizabethtown College Professor of Religious and Asian Studies, Dr. Jeffery Long, in Theology and Game of Thrones, a collection of essays that came out in February of this year. In this episode, host Josh Cohen chats with Dr. Long about his exploration of influences from Hinduism and other world religions in George R.R. Martin's popular fantasy series. Some of the topics include Martin's various fictional religions and how they impact the shaping of the Game of Thrones world as well as the relevance of scholar Edward Said's concept of "orientalism."

Eric Schubert, The Etown College Student Who Helped Solve a 57-Year-Old Murder Case

Eric Schubert, The Etown College Student Who Helped Solve a 57-Year-Old Murder Case

Earlier this year, Elizabethtown College student, Eric Schubert ('23) used his genealogy research skills to help solve the 57-year-old murder case of Marise Ann Chivarella, a 9-year-old girl who was abducted and murdered on her way to school in March 1964. Schubert's work on the case received attention from a wide variety of media outlets including People magazine, Good Morning America, CNN, Newsweek, CBC News, and The Daily Mail. Schubert's interest in genealogy research has led him to work on numerous cold cases.In our conversation, Eric and I discuss his work on the Chivarella case, how he developed an interest in genealogy research, and how he first got involved in helping to solve cold cases.

Writing Flash Fiction with Curtis Smith

Writing Flash Fiction with Curtis Smith

Welcome to this first episode of The JayPod: A High Library Production in which host Josh Cohen talks with Curt Smith about flash fiction writing. Curt serves as the Assistant Director of Academic Advising at Etown College and as a faculty member in the English department and the First Year Seminar program. He is also a prolific novelist and short-story writer who has published thirteen books of fiction and non-fiction. This includes his most recent novel, The Magpie's Return, which made Kirkus Review's Best Indies List of 2020. Over the course of his writing career, he's published hundreds of stories and essays which have been selected for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Mystery Stories, and in the Norton anthology New Microfictions. You can check out a couple of Curt's flash fiction pieces, "We Were Girls Once, Dancing" and "Mercy" which he will be reading and discussing in this episode.