Over the past decade, podcasts have been rising in popularity, and there seems to be one for every possible topic. The popularity of podcasts reached Bernards High School in 2022 when the Crimson Podcast was created. Since the establishment of the podcast, it’s grown from just audio to video, but perhaps the biggest jump is the new podcast studio.
Andrew Tropp ‘26, The Crimson editor-in-chief and a member of the podcast crew says “[t]he podcast room means a lot for me and the rest of the crew, we’ve been talking about getting one for a long time and after we put in the time and research to make it it feels great to have it. We can’t wait to see the great content that we will be able to produce now that we have the room.”
In late February 2025, The Crimson staff had the opportunity to visit another school, where there was a podcast studio. After recording an episode in that studio, some of the staff got inspired to design their own studio room. For the rest of the year, the podcast crew started to design what they wanted the podcast room to look like.
Ben Balian ‘27, a sports editor for the crimson newspaper and member of the podcast who helped on the design, said “Myself, Jack, Andrew, and Mrs. Hunkele designed the studio over the course of 3 months last school year. We wrote up proposals for the equipment we wanted for the space and drew up a mock design of the layout of the room. Mrs. Hunkele was a huge help in picking furniture and paint colors. We had meetings with Dr. Neigel to explain our plan to him and I think everyone including Dr. Neigel is pleased with the final product.”
After working with Dr. Neigel on the design, the crew got approval and work began on creating the room. Located in the B-300 wing, the new room is the staple of the growth of the The Crimson, Tropp saying “None of it is possible without the support from Mrs Hunkele, Dr Neigel and the rest of the administration at the school, so a big thanks to them.”
On just their second episode in the new podcast studio, Ben Balian and Will Simpson were awarded Best of SNO, an award from a prestigious nationwide program that acknowledges the best in student journalism. The two members of the Podcast interviewed Field Hockey captain Jessica Fu, in what was the first of hopefully many award winning episodes this year.
Will Simpson ‘27, who took part in the award wining podcast episode, says “It feels amazing that I could contribute to the award, as I know the award means a lot to the class”
The future is looking bright for the Crimson Podcast as a new year begins with all sorts of opportunities for the crew.
