About this podcast
Special Topics in Media Studies is a lecture-based podcast that tackles media history one artifact at a time. Each season of the series we will investigate a different mass media theme, medium, or programming genre. While our focus is educational (it is an academic podcast after all), we tailor our conversations toward a broad audience of media enthusiasts.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 193 episodes
- Guest Lecture Special: Dracula (1931) (REISSUE) · 1 h 23 minSend us Fan Mail Celebrating the Special Topics "Anniversary Month" alongside Guest Lecture Week, we are visiting the first lecturecast converted for wide public release. In this…
- Anniversary Announcements Special - "Where We Are, What Is Coming!" · 20 minSend us Fan Mail This is it. "[We are] him!" Special Topics in Media celebrates its fourth anniversary (seventh overall) with an "Announcements Special". Host Garret Castleberry…
- Conference Spotlight Series (OSTCA): Podcasting as Digitized Routes of Passage in 21st Century Higher Education · 50 min · Season 14 Episode 5Send us Fan Mail In this finale to our 2026 "Conferences and Conferencing" miniseries, host Garret Castleberry is joined by colleagues across the State of Oklahoma to engage in a…
- Conference Spotlight Series (Higher Ed Pod Con): Embracing Strategic Planning to Cultivate a University Podcast Network · 51 min · Season 14 Episode 4Send us Fan Mail This summer, Special Topics in Media is hitting the road. Our "Summer Conference Series" returns stateside with the Higher Education Podcasting Convention. This…
- Conference Spotlight Series (ICA): Emerging Technologies and Media Research Futures with Dr. Nick Bowman · 1 h 9 min · Season 14 Episode 3Send us Fan Mail This summer, Special Topics in Media is hitting the road. Our "Summer Conference Series" begins with the International Communication Association (ICA) 76th…
- Conference Spotlight Series (ICA): Conferencing Best Practices with Dr. Ryan Beaty · 1 h 1 min · Season 14 Episode 2Send us Fan Mail This summer, Special Topics in Media is hitting the road. As part of our "Summer Conference Series", our first stop is at the International Communication…
- Conference Spotlight Series (ICA): Future Shock Sci-Fi in Disney's The Mandalorian · 1 h 2 min · Season 14 Episode 1Send us Fan Mail This summer, Special Topics in Media is hitting the road. As part of our "Summer Conference Series", our first stop is at the International Communication…
- Film Listology: #68 - Ben-Hur · 1 h 50 min · Season 8 Episode 51Send us Fan Mail The "Film Listology" odyssey continues with an epic sword-and-sandals Award Winner from Hollywood's Golden Age: Ben-Hur (1959), directed by William Wyler. This…
- Film Listology: #69 - Jaws · 2 h 19 min · Season 8 Episode 50Send us Fan Mail It's our 50th episode of the "Film Listology" longform season on Special Topics in Media. In our Super Index composite of Top Film ratings and rankings, the #69…
- Film Listology: #70 - Blade Runner · 2 h 9 min · Season 8 Episode 49Send us Fan Mail The Special Topics in Media "Film Listology" season resumes with the #70 entry in the Super Index, the tech-noir cult masterpiece from director Ridley Scott in…
- Film Listology, Reveal Episode! #70-66 · 49 min · Season 8 Episode 48Send us Fan Mail The "Film Listology" countdown resumes with a special reveal episode for films ranking #70-66 on the Listology Super Index. What movies make the cut? What…
- Student Spotlight Series: Brady Allen (Vice President, Communication & Media Club) · 29 min · Season 12 Episode 8Send us Fan Mail This May, Special Topics in Media returns to a newer tradition, our "Student Spotlight Series". Last year, we examined a number of successful internship…
- Student Spotlight Series: Mia Haynes (Chapter President, Communication & Media Club) · 25 min · Season 12 Episode 7Send us Fan Mail This May, Special Topics in Media returns to a newer tradition, our "Student Spotlight Series". Last year, we examined a number of successful internship…
- Film Listology: #71 - Parasite · 1 h 9 min · Season 8 Episode 47Send us Fan Mail As our "Film Listology" season counts down the Top 100 films in the Listology Super Index, we rediscover a surprise import of international acclaim: Parasite…
- Film Listology: #72 - High Noon · 1 h 6 min · Season 8 Episode 46Send us Fan Mail In this "Film Listology" episode of Special Topics in Media, the dialogic duo wrangles with the impact of Fred Zinnemann's Academy Award-winning 1952 film, High…
- Film Listology: #73 - Barry Lyndon · 56 min · Season 8 Episode 45Send us Fan Mail Our "Film Listology" season continues with a surprise entrant in the #73 slot, from famed director Stanley Kubrick in 1975, Barry Lyndon. One could argue that…
- Film Listology: #74 - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington · 43 min · Season 8 Episode 44Send us Fan Mail The "Film Listology" season continues with our #74 entry, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Released in 1939, Frank Capra directs Jimmy Stewart in this tale of an…
- Film Listology: #75 - The Graduate · 48 min · Season 8 Episode 43Send us Fan Mail Our "Film Listology" season sets sail once again with the #75 film according to the MCM Super Index, The Graduate. Mike Nichols directs Dustin Hoffman in this…
- Film Listology, Reveal Episode! #75-71 · 41 min · Season 8 Episode 42Send us Fan Mail Film Listology RETURNS! Scott McMurry joins Garret Castleberry to reveal the next five films currently ranked #75-71 by the analytics super index. Which films…
- The Heist Film: Logan Lucky (2017) · 1 h 41 min · Season 5 Episode 8Send us Fan Mail The Special Topics in Media winds down prematurely with our Heist Film conversation (circa 2021) focusing on Steven Soderbergh's 2017 rural caper, Logan Lucky…
