On UN Day, October 24, Best Delegate’s Co-Founder will be officially launching the new Model United Nations Podcast! Best Delegate’s video resources have been viewed over 1.14M times, our resource website over 8 M times, and now Ryan is ready to entertain and educate people interested in listening to the Model United Nations podcast. According to Eddison research, 38% of Americans surveyed regularly listen to podcasts and now you can enjoy listening weekly to our Model United Nations Podcast.
Why did Best Delegate start the Podcast?
Firstly, I love podcasts. I think podcasts enable people to share their stories, passion, and expertise in an engaging way. They create entertaining and insightful experiences for their listeners. And in the process of doing so, podcasts create a community around their particular subject. So I’ve wanted to start a Model United Nations Podcast for a while, to share the stories, passion, and expertise of Best Delegate’s community.
I also think podcasting is the modern-day version of blogging. Fifteen years ago, blogs were a popular way for people to share their stories, passion, and expertise. Best Delegate began as a blog that I launched out of my Yale dorm room in 2007. Since then, Best Delegate has grown from a blog into a company and a suite of online resources that has reached over 5 million people worldwide, helping students learn Model United Nations.
I’m very proud of that fact. And I think a podcast is a natural extension of the blog; it’s a way for us to help more people learn about Model United Nations.
What is the Model United Nations Podcast by Best Delegate about?
The podcast is about Model United Nations, specifically how Model UN “brings out the best” in students around the world. On each episode, I interview a student, teacher, or parent, and I ask them to share how they got started in Model UN; what challenges they’ve encountered at Model UN conferences; what have been the most meaningful lessons they’ve learned in Model UN; and how their experience in Model UN inspires them to make a difference in the world.
What will listeners learn from the podcast?
I tried to write the episode titles in a way that would give listeners a preview of what they’ll hear, so here are a few of the first episodes:
– Finding Her Voice: Why a High School Junior Teaches Model UN to 2nd Graders
– Travel, People, Friends: How to Sell Model UN to a High School Freshman
– Fight or Flight: How Model UN Helps Students Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking
– Everybody Loves NAIMUN: How Model UN Recruits Students for Georgetown University
– SOCOMUN: How One Conference Shapes Orange County Model UN
– Should We Have Awards in Model United Nations?
– Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: How Model UN Creates Safe Spaces for Students
Who is the Model United Nations Podcast by Best Delegate made for?
This podcast is meant for the global Model United Nations community. With my guests, I get deep into topics that are really important to our community, for example, whether we should have competition and awards in Model UN, or how should we integrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and safe spaces into Model UN conferences. I hope the podcast can be a focal point for our discussions globally, and help us all learn, grow, and create better Model UN programs. I hope the podcast brings out the best in the MUN community.
At the same time, I want to make the podcast understandable and accessible to people who are new to Model United Nations, especially younger students. In a few episodes, I go into “teacher mode,” and ask students to explain their favorite Model UN topic, and I guide them in a discussion as if I were their mentor at one of Best Delegate’s MUN programs.
And I don’t assume that listeners know everything about Model UN. During interviews, I frequently ask guests to pause and explain a Model UN keyword, like “caucusing” or “lobbying.” Model UN differs greatly across different conferences and countries, so there’s a need to create a shared context for our conversations about Model UN.
Where can I listen?
Everywhere podcasts are found — Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast.
How often will new episodes be released?
We plan to release new episodes every week.
What podcasts do you listen to that inspired you to create a Best Delegate Podcast?
My favorite podcast is the Tim Ferriss Show. Tim Ferris is the author of The Four Hour Work Week, which I read in college. All of his books have made a meaningful impact on my life. He was also a blogger, but eventually re-allocated his efforts to podcasting. And now The Tim Ferris Show is one of the most downloaded podcasts ever. On the show, he interviews high performers, celebrities, and leaders, and asks questions to “deconstruct” how they are able to perform at such a high level. The guests are consistently fascinating people; my favorite episodes have been Hugh Jackman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jamie Foxx. And I always learn something new, even from listening to the same episode multiple times.
I love the podcast, so it’s highly influenced my own vision for the Model United Nations Podcast. I want to take a similar approach to deconstructing how and why students do Model UN. But at the same time, I need to adapt the MUN podcast for an audience of students, teachers, and parents; The Tim Ferriss Show episodes are 2 hours long, for example, whereas I’ve tried to keep each MUN podcast episode to 20 minutes, so that listeners can hear an entire episode while commuting to and from school (or a MUN conference!).
How should listeners provide recommendations and interact with our podcast host?
I’m open to feedback! I’d love to know what you think of the show, and if there’s a model UN leader who would be a great guest. Please fill out the from on the bottom of this page or on our podcast page.
Final Note from the Host of Model United Nations Podcast by Best Delegate, Ryan Villanueva.
I hope that listeners find the podcast useful, entertaining, and at best, inspiring. If it is useful, I hope MUN clubs will share the podcast with their members, potentially asking them to listen to episodes leading up to their weekly club meetings.
