Assistant Professor Dominik Stecuła was recently featured on The Ohio State University Voices of Excellence Podcast. The episode explores his research on political and science communication, analyzing sources of public information and the impact of media on public attitudes and behaviors regarding vaccine use.

The episode also explores how the media landscape has changed with the rise of social media and podcasts. Stecuła highlights that while media influence has declined on a national level, it has become more targeted and impactful within smaller groups, with notable generational differences in media use. 

Additionally, Stecuła focuses on the influence of podcasts such as “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which may impact public opinion more than traditional news programs. In his research, Stecuła examines the structure of Joe Rogan’s audience and posits that Rogan may be more persuasive in political discussions precisely because listeners see him as an entertainer, rather than a standard political commentator—an idea central to some of Stecuła’s ongoing work. 

Stecuła’s research also explores misinformation and vaccine hesitancy, and how being misinformed about human vaccines can result in one being skeptical about canine vaccines as well. That phenomenon even caught the attention of Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update.” Furthermore, he shares his findings on COVID-19 misinformation and how public health practices and political environments can be influenced by modern media, including podcasts.