Technical team makes learning about research fun

The National Pest Management Association’s (NPMA’s) “BugBytes” podcast aims to educate listeners by sharing, and more importantly, summarizing, research papers and science news so they are easier to understand.

Dr. Michael Bentley, BCE, NPMA’s VP of training and technical services, hosts the monthly, hour-long podcast. He and his co-hosts — Laura Rosenwald, BCE, associate director of education and training; and Ellie Sanders, BCE, manager of technical services — have five minutes to succinctly explain their favorite pieces of research for their special guest, who declares the entomologist who did the best job the winner. The reward is the legendary BugBytes World Championship Podcasting Belt, which the winner keeps until the next episode.

The podcast gives the NPMA’s entomologists a platform for educating with research, as the pest control industry is constantly evolving with new challenges.

“New invasive species get introduced, existing pests develop resistance to existing tools or methods of control, and many pests are expanding their range into new regions,” Dr. Bentley says. “Pest control research is what gives our industry the answers to keep professional applicators one step ahead of the curve in the constant battle to protect people, food, and property against pests.”

“BugBytes” aims to communicate complicated information in an uncomplicated and fun way. Dr. Bentley hopes listeners tune in because the podcast is educational and enjoyable. “We try not to take ourselves too seriously,” he says.

Evolving format

After a brief stint as the sole host, Dr. Bentley added cohosts because the NPMA team works well together.

“We changed the format from me interviewing a scientist to the three of us competing against one another,” he says.

Each host finds a favorite article or published research from the past few months, and then figures out a way to present in five minutes the research and its outcomes to the episode’s guest, who does not have a strong science background but is from the professional pest control industry.

“It adds the challenge of how our guest is scoring us in how well we translate something that is — no offense to scientists out there — probably pretty dry and boring,” Dr. Bentley says. “Each of us has five minutes, and we’re competing to see who does the best to translate that science information into something enjoyable for our guest.”

Enjoyable education

“BugBytes” also helps the NPMA achieve its goal of providing educational content to its members in all formats: books, podcasts and virtual training courses.

“Whatever your preferred medium of education is, we’ve got something for you,” Dr. Bentley says. “This podcast is easy to listen to within that windshield time as you’re going from service to service, or on your commute to and from work.”

A companion blog is available online.

“Each post has a full write-up of every publication reviewed in the podcast episode, along with a link
to the published research article,” he explains. “If anybody wants to read the research and a more detailed description, we provide that, too.”