Last week, I had a reunion of sorts. My latest #AudioForAction guest was Dr. Zakiya Whatley, whose show, Dope Labs, I supported when we were both at Spotify.
During our chat, we talked about:
How she fell in love with science and ended up Dr. Zakiya Whatley
How she ended up in podcasting
What she’s been up to in addition to Dope Labs
Finding funding for science-related shows
Teaching science and media literacy to young people
Tell us what you think! Are you curious about how to teach science to adults and young people? Do you want to know how to make an engaging science podcast? Let us know!
Keep up with Zakiya’s work:
SciComm Summer Camp is a three-week live virtual program where students in grades 6–12 build and present their own podcast episode. If you’ve got a teen in your life (grades 6–12), this one’s worth a look. SciComm Summer Camp is a three-week live virtual program where students take a science topic they’re curious about and turn it into a real podcast episode — researching, scripting, recording, editing in Descript, and presenting it live to an audience they invite. It’s audio as a skill for thinking clearly and being heard, taught by a PhD scientist and University of Maryland science-communication instructor.
Session 2 runs July 14 – August 1, 2026, live on Zoom, capped at 12 students. See what a day looks like: scicommlaunchpad.com/what-happens-at-camp
A special offer for the #AudioForAction community:
Zakiya set aside two SciComm Summer Camp seats for the "#AudioForAction community at $300 off (code AUDIOACTION). Valid through July 7.
Learn more: scicommlaunchpad.com/enroll
Listen to Breakthrough by Boston Children’s Hospital
Upstream Solutions - Zakiya’s Company
We help experts — individuals and organizations — make what they know demonstrable, shareable, and actually usable. Sometimes that’s a podcast. Sometimes it’s a training program, a grant that gets funded, a career pivot, a documentation system. The format follows the problem, not the other way around.
Learn more about Zakiya at http://www.zakiyawhatley.com
🗓️ Upcoming #AudioForAction Lives
July 9, 12:30-1:15 pm ET / 9:30-10:15 am PT - Interview with Jaha Avery, host of Threshold podcast season: The Corridor.
📢 Announcement
Join the 30-Day Podcast Challenge kicking off July 1st! 30 days of practical, actionable prompts to help you build a better podcast — one small improvement at a time. Led by Arielle Nissenblatt🎧 .
