PubCasts: Audiobook-style readings of peer-reviewed articles increase reach and visibility

How many times have you wished that you could listen to that new research article you’ve been meaning to read? We have wished for this many times.

In our research with fisheries practitioners we often hear that scientific jargon and the paywalls behind which much of it sits prevent non-academics from engaging with scientific research. So, as we set about starting Coastal Routes, a new community of practice that emphasized science communication, we wondered: if papers were easy to listen to—like podcasts or audiobooks—would this improve access to research for those who cannot, or are not inclined to, engage with written reports?

Enter PubCasts, short for “publication podcasts,” which are condensed and annotated audio recordings of peer-reviewed scholarship, read by the author(s). They are abridged to keep listening time to a manageable length and to avoid the challenge of reading out in-text citations or dense methodological details that are usually less-than-interesting to lay audiences. They are annotated in the sense that, in our recordings, we take the liberty to diverge from the actual written text to add commentary. This gives us an opportunity to explain key concepts, give a short anecdote about the research experience, or emphasize a main point while presenting our work.

We posted our first PubCast in 2019. Our goal was to experiment with a new way to engage with the literature and create a more digestible venue for non-academics to learn about new science. But, PubCasts go a step further. They engage audiences through the power of the human voice, a scientist telling the story of their science. As storytellers, we recognize the unique way hearing a story told through the voice of its creator connects with audiences in a fundamentally different way than text, particularly text that intentionally separates the researcher from the outcomes of the research.

Listen to Hannah Harrison and Philip Loring’s PubCast on wild seafood harvest:

Since sharing our first PubCast, we have been pleasantly surprised by how popular they are. We release our PubCasts, for free, via Soundcloud and on the Coastal Routes website. As we are able, we time their release to coincide with the online publication of our new articles.

We found that publishers are generally interested and enthusiastic to publish the PubCast link below the abstract of a new online article (see example at end of this Abstract), or sometimes as an “author’s note” or supplementary material (see example under this Author’s Note).

With recent articles for which we made a PubCast, we have noticed that in the first few days after release, the PubCast typically receives many more listens in comparison to the number of page views of the article itself; the numbers do tend to balance out over time. It is our hope that if demand for this sort of material grows, journals will be more likely to publish and promote recording links, or perhaps even implement a recording repository as part of the article submission options (though we don’t believe it should ever be a requirement).

How to get started

We have really enjoyed the process of making PubCasts and are excited to share our experiences and lessons learned. We hope to see others replicate and experiment with the format. To get you started, we developed a free protocol that breaks down our process of making PubCasts.

Like any effort at knowledge mobilization or translation, PubCasts do take some time and effort to make. But the learning curve is relatively short. Once you’ve de-mystified the world of basic audio track editing and podcast hosting, it is easy to get into a rhythm.

Things to keep in mind

• You do not need fancy equipment to make a PubCast. Any built-in computer microphone or set of standard earbuds will do. They key is to record in a quiet, low-echo environment and to read slowly and clearly. We recommend recording to Audacity; it’s free software and lets you do minor editing so you can erase errors.

• Plan your recordings. We like to work from a print-out of the paper, which we mark up and break into segments that we record as individual clips on the same track. We recommend editing as you go, rather than trying to go back and find your mistakes in a long audio file.

• Reading aloud is a surprisingly underdeveloped skill for most of us. What looks good on paper may be a real mouthful to read aloud. You need to be willing to abridge what you have written and offer colour commentary through verbal annotations. It’s okay to summarize, condense, and do a couple of read-throughs before recording.

• Don’t read the in-text citations or the methods section. We like to encourage listeners to look for the citations and methods in the published paper, if they are interested. We do offer a short summary of the methods and acknowledge specific scholars if their concepts or frameworks are featured.

• Once you get the hang of it, recording a PubCast usually takes only 1-2 hours. To make it as efficient as possible, we recommend recording during the proofing stage of a new paper. Using the paper proofs as your script does double-duty by helping you find mistakes in the proofs while also preparing the PubCast to be ready for release when the paper comes out.

• PubCasts can be excellent team or student-led outputs. Multiple voices on a PubCast makes it more engaging, and can offer students an opportunity to translate their work into novel formats and share more widely (hear a student PubCast here).

Increasingly, we scientists are being asked to not just do good science but to be good storytellers with the products of that science. This can seem daunting, especially in the era of COVID-19 and working from home. We have found that PubCasts are a relatively low-investment, low-risk way to stretch our storytelling muscles and reach a broader audience in doing so. We hope that some of you try this out and we really look forward to seeing (hearing!) what you come up with.

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Hannah L. Harrison is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Guelph and advocate for knowledge mobilization and translation of science. Follow her on Twitter @FishPeoplePlace.

Philip Loring is the Arrell Chair in Food, Policy, and Society at the University of Guelph. Follow him on Twitter @ConserveChange.