UD radio show ‘Rise and Science’ aims to make STEM accessible to all

If there’s anything Rashida Ruddock and Kat Wiley love more than science, it’s bringing science into the everyday realm, where it’s as accessible as possible and easily understood by the general population. Their radio show and podcast, Rise and Science, comes out weekly and focuses on a demographic beyond the scientific community.
On a typical show, Ruddock and Wiley interview individuals working in STEM, either as graduate students, professors or industrial scientists, discussing their scientific journeys, as well as how their current line of work impacts the broader society.
The show also includes a weekly “Science News” or “ Science for You” segment, where the hosts present exciting breakthroughs in science or break down the science involved in common processes in our daily lives. Including co-presidents Ruddock and Wiley, Rise and Science has five teams of hosts consisting of graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Delaware. The show airs live on 91.3 WVUD every Tuesday from 8:30–9:00 a.m.

High-level studies: Hot-air balloon gives #UDel students a new perspective on landscape #ecology https://t.co/c2z9jwlSjI @J_Buler @UDcanr pic.twitter.com/mNXc1pmLiE

— UD Research (@UDResearch) June 13, 2017

We asked Ruddock and Wiley for a quick behind-the-scenes peek at how the show gets made.

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Technical.ly Delaware: What’s a normal day like for you?
Both of us are third-year doctoral candidates in the department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UD, so our day jobs mostly consist of lab work. But on days where we have interviews lined up, we block out a couple hours to interview our guests and do the research on our “Science for You” or “Science News” segments.
The longer we’ve worked on the show, the more frequently Rise and Science slowly creeps into our minds during the work day. Now whenever we meet cool new scientists, or read about a new scientific breakthrough, our immediate impulse is to jot it down as an idea for a show.
TD: What’s the best thing about working on a radio show?
The opportunity to meet new scientists! It’s fascinating to learn about how the work that they’re doing has impacted — and has the potential to impact — our society. We also really enjoy learning about how people became interested in science and what inspired them to do the work that they do today.
It’s also a great way to sharpen our science communication skills.

We're celebrating our 1 year anniversary today! Thank you to all our listeners and guests for your support over the past year! @wvudradio pic.twitter.com/QwbwRCCnvF

— Rise and Science (@riseandscience) May 30, 2017

TD: How do you keep focused on doing what you need to do for the show?
RR: Keeping the end goal in mind always helps us to stay focus on getting everything done for our shows.
KW: I think teamwork helps keep us focused. Each member of the Rise and Science team has their own responsibilities and a whole group of us to hold them accountable. It’s a group effort. I think Rashida and I tag-team pretty well as co-presidents too!
TD: What is your go-to soundtrack when you need to focus and push through a busy day or tough project?
RR: I like to listen to our “Rise and Science” theme song whenever I need to push through a busy day. It’s very upbeat and always keeps me in high spirits.
KW: During my senior year of college my friends and I would always listen to the same playlist when we needed to get a lot of work done. It has a good mix of mostly chill songs, but also has few songs that make you get up and dance to remind you to take a break. I usually go back to the same playlist on days when I have a lot on my plate — it still works!