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Podcast series explores media, politics and Gen Z influence

Nov 03, 2025

In a three-part podcast series, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­ faculty and students will discuss the changing dynamics of media and politics.

Scott Sackett (right) adjusts Dr. Richard Lee’s microphone during a rehearsal for their Sunrise podcast series.

The series, titled Sunrise, will begin Wednesday, Nov. 5, with a discussion focused on the results of the Nov. 4 general election. Additional episodes will follow Nov. 12 and 19. Each podcast will be posted on the Jandoli Institute website () at 8 p.m. on the day it is recorded.

β€œA new generation of political candidates is using TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms to challenge traditional retail politicians,” said Dr. Richard Lee, a professor in the university’s Jandoli School of Communication. β€œWe will use the podcasts to explore the implications of this development for media, for politics, and for democracy.”

Lee, who covered politics as a reporter and later served as deputy communications director for two New Jersey governors, will host the podcasts.

Panelists for the Nov. 5 podcast will be Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Jandoli School; Dr. Phillip Payne, chair of ΒιΆΉΣ³»­β€™s History Department, and Holden Turek, a Political Science student.

The Nov. 12 session will include Dr. Ben Gross, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology; Dr. Pauline Hoffmann, associate professor in the Jandoli School; and Olivia Francis-Gray, a Communications, Social Justice and Advocacy major in the Jandoli School.

On Nov. 19, the panelists will be Don Gilliland, associate professor in the Jandoli School; Dr. Mary Rose Kubal, chair of the Department of Political Science; and Andrew McGurl, a Journalism major in the Jandoli School.

β€œGen Z faces a daily barrage of entertainment, ads, news, rumors and conspiracies in their feeds. Yet a nationally representative News Literacy Project survey found just 18% can accurately tell those categories apart,” said Scott Sackett, a lecturer in the Jandoli School who is leading the production team. β€œThis podcast series with SBU faculty and students is the kind of media-literacy programming democracy requires.”

In addition to Sackett, the production team includes Jandoli School students Sydney Labayewski, Robin Stone, Brooke Johnpier, Danielle Clark, Ronald Noel and Wynton Dublin.