On Dec. 21, 2021 Staser uploaded the first episode of his podcast “APUSH for Understanding” for AP U.S History and later continued the series into AP European History and AP U.S Government and Politics.

“It was sophomore year with AP U.S History, and I figured that if I explained the concepts of the chapters, I would both understand them better for the AP test and would help my peers. I’ve always been interested in helping people understand things, teaching things and helping break down complicated subjects. I thought that if I could play a small role in that, I could make the world a bit better,” Staser said.

Staser believes the textbooks that generally teach a class fail to convey the level of importance social studies has on the lives of its readers.

“I think sometimes the textbook does a really bad job of capturing that interest. History, politics and geography are supposed to be interesting, and impact you in your everyday life. Sometimes the textbook has a way of describing that makes it seem like it was just something that happened 500 years ago while it impacts the very foundation of our institutions,” Staser said.

The podcast is a reflection of his passions with him having strong ideas on social studies’ role in the shaping of modern society.

“For me, social studies is a solution. Whether its history or politics it’s all about making the world a better place. In history humanity has faced a great many difficulties and has come back from them a lot smarter and it’s important to learn from them, while politics creates society-altering legislature,” Staser said.

Staser noted that viewership fluctuates based on the topic he is discussing.

“Some episodes have zero views, which is really fun, I’d say on average most videos get 5-10 views, it varies a lot. The most watched one with 32 views is ‘Jacksonian Review;’ it’s one of the harder units,” Staser said.

Like the analytics suggest, junior Zevi Davis, a listener to the podcast and friend of Staser, would listen to “APUSH for Understanding,” for specific information.

“When I was confused on certain chapters, I would listen to it to help me. We would have these quizzes where you had to know one randomly picked word from the chapter. Drew went over each chapter, and he would explain each buzzword and write down notes and study off that before every quiz,” Davis said.

Along with helping himself and his peers study for class, the podcast also improved the social skills of its creator.

“It’s helped with my public speaking, virtual communication is very different to interpersonal communication. It has taught me how to engage with people and explain complex issues and work on cadence,” Staser said.

Davis elaborated why he chooses a podcast rather than going through the assigned textbook the school has given.

Culcasi predicts where Staser’s passions will take him.

“I could see him as someone who advocates for other people, someone that uses his education to advocate for people who can’t advocate for themselves, being a voice for them. I also see him being someone in politics, not necessarily as a politician, but as an advisor because he has a good sense of the bigger picture and pushes policy along,” Culcasi said.