Podcast looks to uncover 13,000 years of New Brunswick history

Exploring 13,000 years of New Brunswick history sounds like a daunting task.

But for archaeologists-turned-podcasters Gabriel Hrynick and Ken Holyoke, it has been a fruitful endeavour.

The hosts of the New Brunswick Archaeology Podcastare gearing up for the third season of their show, after recently taking home an award from the Canadian Archaeological Association.

Hrynick said the duo are looking to evangelize the worthiness of archaeology in the province.

"We think the archaeology of New Brunswick is just as important as the archaeology anywhere," said Hrynick.

"We try to amplify those stories and bring them into dialogue with the rest of the world."

WATCH| 'Easy way to reach a lot of people':

Podcasters dig into N.B. history

2 months ago

Duration 1:45

Ken Holyoke and Gabriel Hrynick host the New Brunswick Archaeology Podcast, covering more than 13,000 years of history.

Holyoke said the podcast fills an important roleas there aren't a lot of ways the public can interact with archaeology in New Brunswick.

"We saw this sort of gap in public archaeology and recognized that a podcast is a really easy way to reach a lot of people and share stories about New Brunswick in a free and open-access way," he said.

Podcast episodes sometimesinclude an overall theme, such asIndigenous pictograms found throughout eastern Canada, or they can deal withspecific sites, likethe Jemseg Crossing, and extinct animals, such asthe great auk.

Hrynick said the podcast is also a good way for archaeologists to get their work noticed by the public, becausethere isn't a huge readership for the academic articles theyusually write.

"Ken and I joke sometimes that I think our best-cited paper, our academic paper, has about 12 citations, but we can get a few hundredlistens to a podcast," said Hrynick.

"So the route to the podcast is more substantial than our academic work."

If the goal is to get more people interested in New Brunswick archaeology, the podcast appears to be successful.

Holyoke said ithas a growing audience thatis not limited to academics.

"It's been really neat to see the mix. So we've got an academic audiencebut we have a really large public audience," said Holyoke.

"We've been enjoying building the community with folks that listen. We enjoy hearing from people who listen to the podcast," said Hrynick.