On Jan. 27, Student Health released the first episode of its podcast, “The Gray Area: Real Talk for Real Relationships.” The podcast explores the “nuanced” and often “undetermined” areas of being in a relationship. 

“The Gray Area podcast is a short-form podcast series … for students, by students,” said Jinny Kim, a senior majoring in journalism, a well-being and health outreach ambassador for Student Health, and one of the hosts of the first episode. “It’s really meant to be kind of an open, genuine discussion about these real relationships that real people face.”

The first episode, “New Year, New You,” focused on prioritizing yourself in the new year. The unreleased second episode is about situationships which can be a huge part of campus culture, Kim said. She said the podcast explores the in-between parts of relationships, not necessarily bringing on either extreme.

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“The focus and the topic of our podcast … is so broad that there’s a lot of things I think would be exciting to have specific episodes on,” Kim said. “It’d be really cool to have an episode focusing on dating app culture, which can be a huge part of college life.”

Kim said the conversations between the hosts are not scripted word-to-word, to focus on the “real aspect” of the podcast. 

“Recording that first episode was really good, like real conversation flowing between us … because these topics are relevant to us,” Kim said. “Talking it out in the podcast … makes me reflect on myself and my life.” 

Kyra Aligaen, another WHOA and a senior majoring in occupational therapy as well as a first-year entry level doctorate student studying occupational therapy, said having conversations about things happening in her life in the podcast helps normalize experiences that might otherwise feel “isolating.”

“It’s been validating, just knowing that we’re all kind of navigating these situations,” Aligaen said. “It’s been helpful to listen to the episodes myself and apply them to my own life.”

Talking about breakups, intimacy and uncomfortable situations can be frightening, Deborah Schleicher, the guest on “The Gray Area’s” second episode, wrote in a statement to the Daily Trojan. 

“With toxic or unhealthy relationships, or concerns about intimacy, there can be feelings of shame that prohibit talking about it or seeking support,” wrote Schleicher, director of Violence Prevention in Confidential Advocacy, Resources, and Education Support Center. “The Gray Area podcast will help normalize conversations about the complexities of relationships in college.”

Schleicher said it’s key for students to find support through friends, family, mentors or professionals when facing relationship difficulties.

“There is no shame in being curious about different types of relationships or discussing ‘the gray area’ inherent in those connections. Talking about it can actually help!” Schleicher wrote.

Rachel Litchman, associate director of public communications at Student Health, said the WHOA cohort that hosts the podcast consists of six to eight students every year and has an “interesting [and distinct] breadth of knowledge.” 

Kim said the podcast’s rotating host model helps the podcast remain inclusive and reflective of the student body’s collective experiences. Each week, two different WHOAs take over the show. 

“Within the WHOA cohort, we have very different lived experiences,” Kim said. “[We try] out different combinations of hosts … [and have] as many WHOAs as possible … who are interested in hosting … to share their unique perspectives and thoughts.” 

Litchman said the podcast also hosts guest speakers such as clinicians from CARE-SC who are trained to be broad and inclusive in their therapy approaches. 

“When they’re coming onto the podcast, they’re really trying to think about the student body as a really diverse, holistic community,” Litchman said. “They’re not going to be focusing on any one perspective in their responses so it’s really valuable to have such experts joining the conversation.” 

Disclaimer: Jinny Kim was an assistant opinion editor in Fall 2024. She is no longer involved in the paper.