Alumni reflect on Luther College experiences with advice for current and prospective students on “The Podeia Podcast”

DECORAH, IOWA — A new podcast presented by Luther College’s Center for Ethics and Public Engagement (The CEPE) in partnership with Luther’s radio station, KWLC, released its first season this spring with seven episodes. Featuring recent Luther graduates, “The Podeia Podcast” aims to reveal to current and prospective students that everyone has difficult or embarrassing moments in college and that these are often vital parts of learning and building community.

“The Podeia Podcast” asks recent alumni to share stories from their time at Luther College.

Planning for the podcast began in the spring of 2022 with the premise to feature alumni who graduated within the last 10 years as guests who recount their awkward moments during their time at Luther and discuss how they handled these moments and  what they learned from the experience.

“I know almost every student listens to podcasts, and the purpose of Podeia is to bring in recent graduates and hear from them. Current and prospective students can relate to their stories in an entertaining and fun way,” said Andy Hageman, director of The CEPE and Luther College professor of English.

The first episode featured Emily Tope, an English major from Luther College who graduated in 2015. She discussed how she handled the situation of not being prepared for her Luther lab elective class and her own experience taking the lab elective. Other episodes discussed how to deal with college decisions from breaking rules to managing loneliness and much more.

Luther students and alumni collaborated on the production of the podcast. Dominique Stringer, class of 2022, hosted, wrote and produced the first season. Asher Elliott Smith, class of 2024, edited “Podeia” and Methembe Moyo, class of 2023, served as the production assistant. Alum Andrew Murray, class of 2018, composed the theme song.

The name “Podeia” is a play on Paideia, which is a longstanding set of core curriculum courses taken by all Luther students, but the show is not affiliated with the curriculum.

“The wordplay of mashing up ‘pod’ from ‘podcast’ with ‘Paideia’ lines up with the audience we’re trying to reach consisting of current and prospective Luther students,” Hageman said.

The second season of the podcast “Podeia” will begin production in January and is set to release episodes in the spring of 2024. The new season will have a new host, as well as group interviews featuring multiple alumni in one episode.

“The Podeia Podcast” is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Pocket Casts.

About Luther College

At Luther College in beautiful Decorah, Iowa, students explore big questions and take action to benefit people, communities and society. Luther’s academic programs, experiential approach to learning and welcoming community inspire students to learn actively, live purposefully and lead courageously for a lifetime of impact. Learn more at luther.edu.