When you think of the New York State Department of Transportation, you probably don't think of podcasts. But the agency does have one. It's called the DOT POD.

Anya Kardos and Josh Heller are public information officers for the NYSDOT. They host the podcast in a studio that used to be a storage room.

Josh was a sports broadcaster and Anya used to be a reporter. They say the podcast is a vehicle for getting a behind-the-scenes look at what the department does.

They also chat about why roads are the way they are, debunk myths about salt and give a sense of the people who make it all happen — and the hobbies they have outside of work. For example — a bridge engineer comedian.

The first episode came out just before Thanksgiving. New ones drop every two weeks on Tuesday mornings.

“When you better understand the inner workings of your daily commute, you have an understanding and a connection with the people who make all of that happen, and I feel that's what we're striving to do here,” Kardos said.

“Yeah, and overall, we're always looking for new for innovative, creative ways to communicate, to get our message out there,” Heller continued. “And this is just an extension of that.”

They even travel for some of their segments.

You can listen to the podcast on the DOT website or Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music and more. They’re roughly 20 minutes long.

Coming up soon, they chat with folks in Rochester about a bridge-turned-skatepark.