‘Offshore’ podcast reporter talks exciting Season 2, connecting listeners to Hawaiian culture – Tampabay.com (blog)

Hawaii is one of the most diverse melting pots in the U.S., but as the popular podcast Offshore reveals, the island state also deals with the same cultural issues as the mainland.

Offshore, from Honolulu Civil Beat and PRX, launched its first season last year, promising "stories from Hawaii" that explore the state's unique cultural dynamic. The first season's 10 episodes delved into the killings of two native Hawaiiansone in 1932 by a Navy officer and another in 2011 committed by a federal agent.

Though almost 80 years apart, the killings reflect the racial and ethnic problems that still run rampant through Hawaii today.

"Talking about race is always a sensitive and challenging thing to do," Offshore host and Civil Beat reporter Jessica Terrell said. "And as were were reporting it, we went through another period of police shootings really being an everyday news story."

Terrell, 33, recently talked with us about the challenges of podcasting as a print reporter and the exciting second season coming Thursday, which she calls "one of the most controversial issues Hawaii has faced in recent memory."

Previous coverage: Offshore podcast showcases a Hawaii few tourists get to see

Offshore/Honolulu Civil Beat

What came first, the story for Season one or the podcast?

The podcast idea came about first. We were looking at a bunch of different local stories that we thought had some national relevance and broader societal issues we could address. Civil Beat had actually covered this story when it was happening (in 2011), so a lot of people in the newsroom were familiar with it. It was a good way to launch the podcast series. It had immediacy and relevance and broader issues that felt timely.

What are some of the first steps you took to report the story for the podcast?

Well, we had to learn how to record audio (laughs). You'll probably notice this in other podcasts, the difference in audio quality at the beginning and at the end. I can't just pull out my iPhone and assume I got the audio I wanted.

And it feels totally different to conduct an interview with giant headphones and a microphone. I had to think like "if you haven't recorded audio the interview doesn't exist."

Another challenge was learning how to craft the story and figuring out who to write it in a different way. We thought we were going to take 10 weeks and we worked on it up until the ultimate deadline.

Do you think telling this story as a longform piece would have had as great of an impact?

I think it would've been a totally different story. I think it would've been hard to get people to stick with it for that long. It would've been a small book.

The podcast let people get more engrossed with it, let people connect with the people involved, you're hearing their voices.

There's an exploding trend of podcasts now, I don't know what it'll be like in a few years. People are so into TV shows, you get more time with the characters. Hopefully podcasts will pick up on that.

Were there aspects to telling this story that were harder than expected?

People in Hawaii seem to be a lot more comfortable talking about race. But as a white woman it does feel a little strange to ask someone about their ethnicity.

When you cover a controversial issue, you're a feeling human being, so you're going to feel a lot of concern for the people in the story. Working on a story for that long, you feel a little emotional towards the end.

I think the hardest part was just coming to an understanding of just how much work goes into serialized longform narrative journalism in audio form. We were on crunch time for a long time, but it was fun and exciting.

As reporters we get to do such cool stuff, it's like this crazy backstage pass to life and other people's lives.

Anything you can reveal on season 2?

Well, it's not a crime story. It's about the clash over the construction of a $1.4 billion telescope atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island (the Thirty Meter Telescope). Two years ago, Jason Momoa protested with "We Are Mauna Kea." (His social media posts) went viral.

So we started reporting on the science against culture. Many Hawaiians believe Mauna Kea is the realm of the gods, a place of creation.

But it's also a perfect place for astronomy. Name any discovery in astronomy, and the telescopes (already on the mountain) have been a part of it.

We're taking the story of this conflict and using it as a way to spin out to much broader issuesthe idea of these growing protest movements of indigenous people coming together and making a stand for the planet, and scientists struggling for science and not understanding the ties to the cultures.

(We are) hoping to address the question, is science political? Should it be political? But we are telling these big stories through personal narratives.

I hiked to the farthest part of Mauna Kea for a solstice. It was a privilege that I got to do it, and I'm bringing listeners there with me in the second season.

Contact Chelsea Tatham at ctatham@tampabay.com. Follow @chelseatatham.

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Offshore

Season one of Offshore, A Killing in Waikiki, is available to stream on iTunes, Stitcher and offshorepodcast.com.

The second season premieres Thursday, March 9.

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'Offshore' podcast reporter talks exciting Season 2, connecting listeners to Hawaiian culture - Tampabay.com (blog)