Information dissemination is the flavor of the decade. Processing information with our busy lives has become harder than ever and companies are hard at work to ensure knowledge reaches as many people around the globe as possible. These efforts are not without their threats. The rise of what might be called the “fake news” movement has placed established news outlets in an existential crisis in which even the basic facts are questioned.
Arbitration, too, has been sucked into the “fake news” whirlpool resulting in critics questioning the value of the field that has existed for centuries. The arbitration community must adapt the means it disseminates its message by breaking down loaded concepts and utilizing technology so as to reach a wider audience.
One means of information dissemination that has not penetrated the field of arbitration is podcasts. We have seen the use of online audio and video recordings of adjacent fields, such as international law. In this regard, the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law has been a reputable source of information on cutting-edge issues. But outside of our field, the podcast format has exploded over the last handful of years and has become a major platform for politics, arts, literature, drama, and comedy. Arbitration-specific content has been limited, however.
“The Arbitration Station” is a new, weekly podcast that covers new developments in both commercial and investment treaty arbitration. It is run by young arbitration enthusiasts who believe the best way to understand arbitration is to talk about it in a more informal setting. We hope to provide an alternate outlet for those interested in staying connected and to generate dialogue with the wider audience.
Each episode is about an hour long and usually covers three distinct issues: two substantive issues in arbitration and a third, more light-hearted discussion intended to engage members of the arbitration community.
So far, six episodes have been released:
- “The Inaugural” – administrative secretaries, tribunal deliberations and PhD programs;
- “The Bourne Arbitration” – third party funding, diversity in arbitration and espionage tactics in arbitration;
- “The Machine Arbitrators” – appointing authorities, the EU’s role in investment arbitration and the automation of arbitration;
- “The Languages” – res judicata, emergency arbitration and important languages in arbitration;
- “The Costs” – costs in international arbitration and proper etiquette at an arbitration conference; and
- “The Redfern Schedule” – Place of arbitration, document production and arbitration in pop culture.
The podcast can be accessed via the website, iTunes or Soundcloud.
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This is good news. Some gratuitous comments – nothing wrong with hour-long podcasts but short is good too. As a listener, you can get other people to sit down with you and listen to an interesting six or seven minute podcast. An hour long one you will probably have to listen to by yourself. Another thing, structure is good. I refer here to the Algocracy podcast series on wordpress (the law and big data, robotics etc.) and also pm-podcasts.com (a project management podcast) as examples.