Do storytelling podcasts build social capital? An exploration of Krista Tippett’s On Being Project podcasts

Podcasts are the digital form of the traditional practice of oral storytelling, the customary method for human beings to share experience through the societal ritual of translating individual and collective understandings into narrative form. Stories transfer knowledge and insight, an important practice for social cohesion and human survival. In the current technologically-driven environment, podcasters (those who create and distribute podcasts) have become the oracles of the digital epoch, delivering stories and informing through globally accessible networks. The aims of this study include the exploration of a specific type of podcast and whether they work to create social solidarity (social capital) in members of a listening audience. The digital platform, On Being Project, states that the intention of its podcasts is to offer opportunity to listeners to be informed by the stories told, of new pathways for living and surviving. The research explores whether listeners respond to the site’s encouragement to interact through discussion and sharing individual ideas on the podcasted content, to create a better understanding of current cultural challenges framed by new ideas heard, and the commonality of human beings: in other words, the elements of Putnam’s theory of social capital. The research used an audience member survey to collate responses to the listening experience and the analysis of the ideas expressed in answers. Evaluation of results demonstrated that audience members were responsive to innovative approaches to alternative cultural ideologies and a willingness for reciprocal social interaction. The results are presented as a foundation for further research into the effectiveness of podcasts as a tool for social network building.