For a while now, readers have asked when Sightline Institute would start a podcast. And while we don’t quite have the bandwidth for that just now, we at least want to offer a new way to access our articles: in audio format.
Over the next few months, we’ll be rolling out an audio option for some of our more recent articles using text-to-speech technology. This allows you to listen to our articles (and at whatever speed you like) while you bike, hike, knit, engage in civic actions to make Cascadia a model of global sustainability, or whatever other activities make us Cascadians happy.
Plus, you’ll be able to find these recordings wherever you listen to podcasts, too, including Spotify, Apple, and Google. Whenever we publish an article containing an audio option, we’ll also post it to a basic podcast feed. To be clear, it won’t be a full-on podcast, just a simple feed of these text-to-speech recordings of our latest research, so you can scoop those facts conveniently alongside your other frequent listens.
Why audio? Accessibility! For as long as Sightline has been cranking out the wonky research, we’ve also worked to ensure that it’s comprehensible, convenient, and compelling for the many people who access it. Providing an audio option (at long last!) is one more way we’re doing that.
Finally, as we roll out this new function, do let us know of any problems you encounter with it. Drop a note in the comments section below, or contact us at editor@sightline.org. Happy listening!
John
PODCASTS! A great idea as some of your content has not been available to me as I live in the United States even though I want to know what is going on in our greater world and community. Once again Thank You. I look forward to PODCASTS.
johnlahr324@gmail.com