Second-year journalism students launch 100 Reasons to Vote podcast
Second-year journalism students Pamela Hackett, Shaaranki Kulenthirarasa, and Vaishnavi Sriparan launched a new podcast hoping to motivate Gen-Z youth to activate their ballots at the polls: 100 Reasons to Vote (external link) .
While pursuing a minor in politics, Hackett, a mature student, noticed that her Gen-Z classmates had many passionate opinions about political affairs, but when she asked whether they participated in the elections, many of them said they didn’t.
“That mortified me,” Hackett said. “I thought, there's got to be a way to give some reasons as to why you should vote.”
Hackett, always eager for a chance to support women and bring their voices to the fore, approached classmates Kulenthirarasa and Sriparan in the summer of 2024 and they eagerly hopped onto the project, understanding its need in the current political context.
Through the Fall 2024 semester, the small crew worked on and off on putting the podcast together. When rumours began to spread that a provincial snap-election would be called Hackett put a call-out to students at the J-School, inviting them to join the team working on 100 Reasons to Vote. Quickly, their production grew from the three co-founders to about a dozen eager volunteers.
Hackett said taking JRN 525: News Media and The Gig Economy inspired her to use her prior experience as a CEO and seriously consider the business aspect of the podcast—like who it was serving and how the podcast would reach them.
Their first episode was recorded at Met Radio’s studio. Then, social media promotion began and the first three episodes were launched with guests including Gen-Z activists and a former U.S. Congressman.
Now, with a federal election called for Apr. 28, 2025, the co-founders are hoping to double down on their podcast with a line-up of new guests to provide more insight on all the reasons to go to the polls.
Hackett, Kulenthirarasa, Sriparan and their team of dedicated young journalists are seeking more Gen-Z voices to spotlight.
