“Olivia Rodrigo is one of the premier swearers in contemporary popular culture” might not be the type of analysis expected from top poli-sci profs, but it’s the flavor that UConn’s Stephen Dyson and Jeffrey Dudas are dishing out regularly with their deep-dive podcast, “The Pop Culture Professors.”
Perhaps more expected, their thought-provoking discussions also tease out political or philosophical themes in everything from “Sinners” to “Interstellar,” “Star Wars: Andor” to “The Last of Us,” and Taylor Swift to last year’s Oasis reunion tour.
Since their August 2022 debut episode, “The Weird Politics of ‘Star Wars,’” Dyson and Dudas have attracted 2,500-plus YouTube subscribers, plus thousands of listeners on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The show’s top four most-viewed YouTube episodes all discuss “Andor,” with the most popular at 25,000 views. Why? Dyson and Dudas note that not only was the show itself about a political revolution (plus a ratings smash), but the professors intentionally released their analyses the day after new installments dropped on Disney+.
The quick turnaround of the medium allows them to participate in up-to-the-minute conversations on pop culture happenings, a stark contrast to the cadence of peer-reviewed publications or their forthcoming book analyzing pop culture, inspired by the podcast’s success.
