Mic Drop: How political science student Rose Kelley turned her love for political history into an award-winning podcast 

Ever wondered what it takes to start a podcast? Ever been curious about creating one? 

Third-year political science student Rose Kelley, host of “In the West Wing,” assures it’s really not the daunting task it seems. “The bar for entry is actually pretty simple, you really only need two things; something to talk about, and the ability to speak clearly and confidently,” Kelley shared with SPIA. “A good podcast can be recorded super easily at home with low quality equipment so long as the quality of what is being talked about is good.” 

Kelley recently won second place for Best Podcast at the College Media Organization awards. “In the West Wing,” dives deep into United States political history, a passion of Kelley’s. “I didn’t have much to do over the pandemic so I would just trawl through Wikipedia and read up as much as I could about it, and I guess it all just got stuck in my brain. I would just pester my friends and talk about political history and trivia endlessly.”

On top of pure passion for the topic, Kelley saw an opportunity to educate her peers and listeners: “The history of American politics is something I love because understanding political history means understanding the ways broad groups of people have organized with one another and how people can collectively shape the trajectory of our country.” 

The catch? Kelley doesn’t host her show as herself. When the recording starts, she transforms into her DJ alter ego: President Shrimpo. “I wanted to have unique branding associated with my interests, and since I’m a political science major I figured presidential stylings would be good. I had been watching a series of streams by this guy online who would draw/animate stuff based on audience suggestions, and one of the drawings was of this anthropomorphic shrimp character ‘President Shrimpo Jones’ and the name stuck in my head.” 

While Kelley has shown us that podcasting requires creativity, passion, and confidence, her studies in NC State’s Political Science major have contributed greatly to her recordings. “I think political science has really informed my ability to critically analyze the motivations and decision making processes of political actors throughout history.”

“When I discuss major political events in my podcast I try to look at the bigger picture, so often pieces of American history are treated like events that occurred in a vacuum, but political science has made it easier to recognize the interplay of broader factors.” 

Kelley’s advice for those interested in podcasting? “If you have something that you can talk about a whole hell of a lot about, try making a podcast about it! Even if it’s something that there’s quite a few podcasts already about, your perspective on it is almost certain to be unique. If you don’t have experience with recording or editing that shouldn’t hold you back, there’s tons of resources out there that can help you figure it out including the content creator training WKNC offers every semester. Making a podcast doesn’t have to be daunting at all, and it’s a great outlet to talk about something you might love.” 

Listen to “In the West Wing,” and Kelley’s award winning episode “Lincoln and Liberty Too!” here or wherever you enjoy podcasts.