Podcast ethnography (Lundström and Lundström, 2021)

Welcome to Revise and Resubmit, the podcast where we explore the latest and most innovative research in social sciences, business, and beyond. Today, we dive into a fascinating new method that brings together two of our favorite worlds—podcasting and ethnography. Our featured article, 'Podcast ethnography', is authored by Markus Lundström and Tomas Poletti Lundström. Published on 2021, in the International Journal of Social Research Methodology and brought to you by Routledge, this paper opens up a whole new frontier for researchers studying the dynamics of social fields. Ethnography has long been about immersing oneself in cultures, observing rituals, and decoding behaviors—but what happens when the field moves online, and conversations happen over a podcast? Lundström and Lundström introduce podcast ethnography, a method that allows researchers to engage with podcast communities in a way that’s flexible and adaptable to the fast-paced digital age. By exploring, engaging, and examining podcasts, this method helps researchers navigate difficult milieus—like the example of the Swedish nationalist podcast Motgift [Antidote]—with spatial and temporal freedom, offering a unique way to observe and analyze contentious social dynamics. We’d like to extend our thanks to Markus Lundström and Tomas Poletti Lundström for their insightful research, and to Routledge for publishing this important work as an open access article in the International Journal of Social Research Methodology. So, as we reflect on this intriguing new research method, we have to ask—how might podcast ethnography reshape how we study digital cultures and communities? Let’s find out. Reference Lundström, M., & Lundström, T. P. (2021). Podcast ethnography. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 24(3), 289-299. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2020.1778221