The stories behind the state’s vast transportation network
Picture this: you’re traveling somewhere upstate to see family or go skiing, and you see a truck ahead of you dumping salt on the highway.
You may have wondered before what goes into a snow and ice response, but now, the New York State Department of Transportation provides an opportunity to hear from DOT employees directly through a podcast called the DOT POD. The podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and Amazon Music, making for easy listening in your vehicle while traveling.
Josh Heller and Anya Kardos are the podcast hosts.
Kardos has worked in the news business for 24 years, starting at the ABC affiliate in Detroit,Mich., moving onto Lansing, Mich. and then to Albany, N.Y.
Heller’s background is in sports broadcasting. He did play-by-play broadcasting for mostly hockey teams, traveling the country with different teams until ending up in Albany working for a minor league hockey team. He was doing voiceover work before getting the job at the DOT.
“We’re constantly looking for new and innovative ways to get our stories and get our messages out there,” Heller said. “This was just a new way to do that, maybe a new audience to reach, and a way to not only talk about what we do and why we do it but also the people who are on the ground doing it.”
Kardos added that the podcast gives the public an opportunity to see the people behind the projects and their keen insights on what makes the state’s transportation network work.
“We’re much more than just bridges and structures,” Kardos said. “We are people here. We’re one DOT.”
Heller said that so far, putting together the DOT POD has been a smooth process.
“I think the one thing that struck me when I came here from a news background, as someone who is always looking for the next great story, is that this place is not lacking for that at all,” Kardos said. “There are great stories, not just behind the projects, everywhere you turn, across the state with DOT. And that is what really struck me, from the get-go, is how many great people there are here and all the interesting work that they’re doing.”
Heller said he was impressed when he found out that the DOT is made up of almost 8,000 employees.
“That blew my mind, just how a well-oiled machine has to be for things that frankly we take for granted,” Heller said. “The amount of work that goes into what we see every day is staggering.” The DOT POD, for now, updates every two weeks. Podcast titles released so far include “Harry White Joins the DOT POD,” “Snow and Ice Spectacular” and “Road Salt.”
When asked what has been the most interesting part of organizing this podcast series, Kardos said it’s been getting to know the DOT employees outside of their careers.
“There’s a lot of folks here who have amazing hobbies,” Kardos said. “There are some folks who are really into beekeeping, maple syrup making, dance and comedy, like with Harry White. Our first episode featured Harry White, because he uses a mix of humor to kind of express very complex ideas.”
Harry White is a bridge engineer with decades of experience who is known for combining his wit and hilarious anecdotes to break down concepts behind the department’s bridge designs. And while he jokes that he makes “tens of dollars” as a stand-up comic, he has opened for some A-List comedians.
On the show, White discusses his passion for engineering and making serious ideas fun while also widening the door for the next generation of engineers in New York.
Recruiting the next generation of DOT employees was not the impetus for the DOT POD; however, both Heller and Kardos said, it certainly has the ability for people who are looking to make a change in their lives to explore what a career with the DOT might look like.
“I think it definitely opens a window of a perspective of what someone can do here,” Kardos said. “If you’re a young person and you’re interested in the mechanical trades, there’s so many programs. We have an internship program, we have a partnership with the [State University of New York] SUNY system, and we have a lot of outreach and connections within the communities of the state that really open doors for people who might be considering a career with DOT.”
So far, Heller said, the feedback from the DOT POD has been positive, both internally and externally.
“It’s been great so far,” Heller said.
To listen to episodes of the DOT POD, visit webapps.dot.ny.gov/podcast.
Post Views: 27