When Kathleen Collins, a Professor in the Library at John Jay College, launched Indoor Voices in 2017, she never imagined it would blossom into a 100-episode deep dive into the “CUNYverse,” a sprawling community of creativity, scholarship, and untold stories. From its humble beginnings as a curiosity-driven project, the podcast has become a platform for exploring diverse voices and ideas within the City University of New York system.

“Every category of person and idea is represented here,” Collins reflects. “It would take many lifetimes to learn about them all, but it’s very satisfying to try.”

The podcast’s latest milestone, marked by an episode featuring environmental scholar Rebecca Bratspies, exemplifies its unique charm. Titled with a phrase that captures Bratspies’ essence, the episode was born of Collins’ careful, empathetic approach to storytelling. “I asked if she was comfortable with it, and she was on board immediately! It’s my favorite title of all,” Collins shares, highlighting the collaborative spirit that defines her work.

Podcasting merges Collins’s passions for education, entertainment, and authentic conversation. “I always try to be authentic, curious, empathetic, and never too formal,” she says. This ethos informs not only her podcast but also her teaching style as a professor. An intersection of roles brings a refreshing dynamism to her classroom and her audience.

On April 2, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. in the Ninth Floor Conference Room, Collins, in collaboration with the Office for the Advancement of Research, will amplify the podcast’s impact by hosting a live episode to celebrate its legacy. Keep reading to learn more about the podcast in this Q&A .

What inspired the unique title of Episode 100, and how do you approach quirky yet meaningful topics?

The title of that episode came from the vibe I got from Rebecca Bratspies, the subject of the interview. Emily Sohmer Tai (History professor at Queensborough Community College) recommended her book to me because she had given a talk at the CUNY Academy for the Humanities and Sciences. I don’t remember if Rebecca said that specifically, but in telling her story, she gave the impression that that is what she was thinking as she drove through traffic on the Major Deegan. I wanted to use the title, but I asked her if she was comfortable with it, and she was on board immediately! It’s my favorite title of all of them!

How do you select topics and guests? Are there any topics or people you’ve been especially excited to feature?

In the first few years of the podcast, I would scout, explore, and research. I’d Google things like “CUNY authors” and scour the lists from offices like yours that highlighted the faculty publications of 2018, for example. Gradually, I stopped needing to do that because I would keep my eyes open for anything that interested me in a listserv or newsletter that came across my inbox or at an event. My eyes are almost too wide open because everything seems interesting! In the last few years, I’ve impulsively reached out to people I find interesting and asked them if they want to be a guest (I have never had anyone say no!), and I have too many in the pipeline. It’s a great problem to have, of course. The other thing that started happening after the first few years was that CUNY people approached me and asked to be guests. That is gratifying and makes me feel like people are listening, which is the whole point.

What are the key lessons you’ve learned from creating and growing the Indoor podcast?

In poking around looking for subjects for the podcast, I am continually amazed at the density of creativity and scholarship in our midst. CUNY is a microcosm of the world in many ways. Every category of person and idea is represented here. It would take many lifetimes to learn about them all. Indoor Voices doesn’t even come close to scratching the surface of revealing these lives and stories, but trying is very satisfying.

How do your experiences in journalism, media history, and podcasting shape your audience connection and episode structure?

I would have to thank my graduate journalism degree for helping me overcome my reluctance to interview people because now I love it. I love talking to people and asking questions. That’s research! As for my interest in media history, some episodes revolve around this topic. I could have easily continued to invite guests to talk about television and popular culture exclusively. However, I wanted to broaden the scope and offer guests the opportunity for rich, satisfying conversations that might be better with someone also involved in their field of study. I still conduct some of the interviews (I prefer to think of them as conversations) if I am particularly interested in the topic or do not feel too in-depth. But it’s an excellent opportunity to bring in guest hosts (i.e., conversation partners) because it doubles the number of people we get to highlight.

The technical aspects of podcasting are not my forte. Podcasting was just a way for me to indulge my interests and curiosities. I was always an avid podcast listener, so I liked the audio’s format and intimacy. All these aspects made it seem like a prominent project for me. And podcasting is pretty simple if you don’t get too fussy about it.

How do your roles as a professor and podcast host intersect, and has podcasting influenced your teaching style?

I have always been fascinated by the intersection between education and entertainment! That’s what all my nonfiction books have been about, and now that you raise the question, I think it is how I approach teaching, too. I don’t see a direct connection or impact between my teaching and podcasting, but how I approach podcasting reflects how I approach teaching. I always try to be authentic, curious, empathic, and never too formal or structured.

One of the episodes I am particularly proud of is Episode 77, with a rather bland – though accurate – title of “BRESI grant awardees. I had read about this in some newsletters and found the list, and I thought it was a great source of possible interview subjects. But I thought there were so many great projects; how can I cover all of them? So, I emailed every awardee and asked them to send me an audio file describing their project. Thank goodness not all 126 responded – I don’t know what I would have done if they had; see how impulsive I am. – about 28 did, so I have a collage of all these different voices giving a few minutes’ summary of their project. A few of those people have also returned to the podcast to discuss their work. In January, for instance, you’ll hear Mary Phillips and her Lehman College colleague Olivia Moy talking about her new book, Black Panther Woman.

What advice would you give aspiring academic podcasters on creating an engaging, informative, and sustainable show?

Podcasting can serve many purposes, depending on one’s goal and who they want to reach. It’s not difficult or expensive if you do it. I’m grateful to the Office for the Advancement of Research for recognizing the value of the project. In 2017, when I talked with Dan Stageman about funding opportunities, he was immediately supportive and referred to the idea as “public scholarship.” That phrase hadn’t occurred to me, but it made sense and lent a sense of weightiness, making it feel like more than a lark. OAR funds a few of my costs – a digital recorder and microphones, the podcasting hosting software platform (LibSyn) fees, and WordPress.com for the accompanying blog. I’m completely self-taught and do minimal editing (a task I have discovered that I love; it is a very soothing and absorbing activity) using the free Audacity program. So, my advice is – do it! And keep it interesting by partnering with others with different interests and skills so that there’s a diverse output.

 What are your goals for the podcast’s future? After reaching this milestone, where would you like to take it?

I want to keep doing what I’m doing and discovering new people and corners of CUNY. I had no notion that it would ever be going on this long, but because of the vast CUNYverse, there is so much material. Thanks to Dan Stageman, who came up with the idea of a live episode that is in the works for the spring, and I’m so excited about it! It is the ideal way to acknowledge the relative longevity of this little homegrown DIY endeavor.