As I, along with thousands of students across the country, prepare to go back to in-person classes following a year of online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I can’t help but reflect on the quarantine activities that kept me sane for a year. From multiple painting nights to walks with my dog, the activities varied each week, alongside the podcasts that narrated a lonely year. According to Forbes, in February 2021, there were 1,750,000 podcasts with over 43 million episodes available, up from 18.5 million in 2018. Whether it was to stay informed, get motivated or simply have fun, this past year proved that for some people podcasts are more than just a host talking to a microphone, it’s an intimate audio experience in a moment of solitude. 

As multimedia editor for The Prospector, I invite you to build on this experience by listening to The Prospector Podcast, a biweekly, student-run podcast recapping the top stories surrounding UTEP and the El Paso community. Although our podcast has taken on various styles and segments since its debut in 2014, in the past year and a half it has remained consistent with its goal to uplift voices and keep the community informed. How do we achieve this? By taking listeners to the scene. 

In its third and fourth season, The Prospector Podcast brought listeners to the forefront by creating audio stories surrounding events like the Black Lives Matter protests, Jill Biden’s, Ph.D., visit to El Paso and unique traditions found at the borderland. These stories include the voice of journalists and experts, but our aim is to give you more than the journalistic insights which already emerge in the stories and photos The Prospector produces. We want you to listen to the voice of those seeking a space to be heard. 

Through our news, entertainment and sports segments, we want to continue expanding on our commitment to be a valuable resource for our listeners. This new season of The Prospector Podcast will invite new informative and fun discussions with students and experts in the border region. We want listeners to hear the thought and passion behind the work, context, competing viewpoints, and decisions affecting our day-to-day lives. 

If you’re looking to learn more about the unique and pressing stories at UTEP and El Paso, I invite you to check out The Prospector Podcast, subscribe, rate and review it. You can find it at theprospectordaily.com and on main podcast platforms including Spotify and SoundCloud. 

As a journalist, I look forward to the future of podcasts, as I am sure we have only scratched the surface of the podcast’s full potential. As a student returning to school after a year ruled by change and differences in opinion, it feels good to know podcasts are making us better listeners. 

As we transition back to the sound of traffic and creaking chairs, I hope you’ll find yourself playing The Prospector Podcast whenever you find a silent moment.  

Anahy Diaz may be reached at [email protected]; @by_anahydiaz on Twitter.