Special Topics in Media

Send us Fan Mail Celebrating the Special Topics "Anniversary Month" alongside Guest Lecture Week, we are visiting the first lecturecast converted for wide public release. In this RE-ISSUE of the Season 7 premiere, co-hosts Garret Castleberry and Scott McMurry wade into the entertainment genre of American Horror Film. Their dialogue begins with an "origin story" segment in which they share personal introductions to the genre (2:18) before setting the stage for a focused discussion of Uni...

Send us Fan Mail This is it. "[We are] him!" Special Topics in Media celebrates its fourth anniversary (seventh overall) with an "Announcements Special". Host Garret Castleberry previews the production strategies underway in summer, fall, and beyond, as Special Topics in Media counts down to episode 200! Books, TV, Film, Podcasting - there is something for everyone in the world of media, and we are primed to confront these topics alongside innovations in emerging technolog...

Send us Fan Mail In this finale to our 2026 "Conferences and Conferencing" miniseries, host Garret Castleberry is joined by colleagues across the State of Oklahoma to engage in a panel for the Oklahoma Speech, Theatre, Communication Association (or OSTCA). This year, OSTCA is hosted by Southwestern Oklahoma State University (or SWOSU) in Weatherford, Oklahoma, USA. SWOSU is celebrating its 125th anniversary, while Weatherford rests comfortably along the famed Route 66. Route 66 celebrat...

Send us Fan Mail This summer, Special Topics in Media is hitting the road. Our "Summer Conference Series" returns stateside with the Higher Education Podcasting Convention. This year, Higher Ed PodCon was hosted in Cleveland, Ohio. Special Topics host Garret Castleberry traveled to Cleveland to present at the PodCon. His talk, "Embracing Strategic Planning to Cultivate a University Podcast Network," was featured in the Teaching and Learning series at Higher Ed Pod Con II. In addition, S...

Send us Fan Mail This summer, Special Topics in Media is hitting the road. Our "Summer Conference Series" begins with the International Communication Association (ICA) 76th Annual Convention in Cape Town, South Africa. This year, South Africa served as the first African nation to host ICA. To celebrate, host Garret Castleberry produced a trio of takeaways from the conference proceedings. In this post-conference interview, Dr. Castleberry discusses digital media literacy and the state of media...