FSSA Student Hosts PBS Podcast
by A. Spurgeon
When asking students what commitments they have outside of school, there can be some answers you expect — working, sports, tutoring, or simply nothing. But how many can say they’re hosting a podcast for PBS?
Bree Campbell, a senior film major at Frank Sinatra School of The Arts, is doing just that. “I’ve done a lot of my own activism and activist organizations, but my most recent project is ‘On Our Minds,’ a student-run podcast by PBS Newshour,” Bree said.
On the website, “On Our Minds” is described as a “student led and produced podcast,” that facilitates conversations about the teenage experience, the youth and mental health, and a range of topics.
“It discusses the teen experience, and we get to talk to pretty important and famous people,” Bree states, which includes Jonathan Van Ness from the show, Queer Eye, and even the U.S Surgeon General. She’s also able to interview other bright and intuitive teens.
“He’s obviously a really busy guy,” Bree begins, describing the surgeon general. “So it’s really nerve wracking talking to him, especially with being a teenager and hoping they take you seriously, while also simultaneously having these conversations. Plus, it’s really alarming to have such a large audience; my uncle called me and told me that he saw me on TV,” she said.
“I also get to travel. I have a trip to Vegas, all expenses paid, I had an all expenses paid trip to Seattle, and I’ve never been to the west coast ever, so that’s really cool. Also, my following grew once I started the podcast too, so that was nice too,” she adds.
With this extraordinary opportunity, one may be wondering how she even got to it in the first place.
“I actually stumbled across it because of an Instagram ad, it was an open casting call,” Bree said. She adds that, while she wasn’t confident enough to apply, the previous company she worked for, The Bell (which was for educational writing and audio journalism), had recommended she join. With this newfound confidence from The Bell, she thought she did have a chance and went ahead in applying to the call.
“At first, I was very insecure about how my co-host would think of me, because we are co-hosts of this podcast, and a lot of the podcast relies on us having this banter and intimate connection in a way. Also, the scripts can be weird at times, since all we’re doing is reading off of them and shying away from sharing our opinions, so it made it slightly hard to talk freely and all,” Bree adds.
However, she adds that it’s really nice to have things to share with someone.
“We really understand each other, due to the fact that we’re experiencing the same things, we’re both equally as nervous talking to an interviewee, or both fumbling over our words because we record so late, so now it’s pretty easy to connect,” Bree adds.
“On Our Minds” with Bree and James is available anywhere you find your podcasts.