Volunteer Opportunities

Many people have thanked and praised Rick for BatGap. But in reality, BatGap is a team effort and we could never do it without our volunteers.  People from around the world help make BatGap a more useful resource for all. If you would like to help, below are some specific needs we have, or let us know if you want to offer your help in some other way:

Transcript Proofreader:

There are several reasons why transcription is useful:

They provide accurate subtitles in YouTube videos. These are valuable because they:

  • YouTube provides automatic caption translation into over 100 different languages. If the original captions are accurate, the translated ones will be much better.
  • Are the basis of the BatGap video content search engine.
  • Make the interviews accessible to hearing-impaired people (5% of the population).
  • Captioned videos rank higher in search results. A recent study saw a 40% increase in views of captioned videos versus uncaptioned.
  • Let viewers watch videos in places where it’s not appropriate or possible to play audio.
  • Help those for whom English is a second language.
  • Help with comprehension of dialogue that is spoken quickly or with accents.
  • Improve comprehension.
  • Are much more accurate than those created automatically by YouTube, especially since my interviews often include Sanskrit terms which automatic transcription garbles.
  • Are used for displaying closed captions in podcast apps that support transcripts.

The value of transcripts on the BatGap website.

  • People can search for words and phrases and find the interviews in which they are mentioned.
  • Some people like to read transcripts.
  • Google indexes the content, increasing the likelihood of interviews turning up in search results.
  • One of my guests, Father Thomas Keating, made the transcript of his BatGap interview the first chapter of his next book.

If you would like to do this while watching interviews, please let us know.

Web Designer: Our website is quite outdated and could use redesigning. We do not expect anyone to volunteer their services for such a large job. We will pay if we can find the right person with advanced technical and design skills. It would be great if they were also a Batgap listener. The site is built in WordPress and we want to keep it that way. Please get in touch if you are interested and qualified.


Internet Law: If you have legal expertise in the area of internet, copyright etc. we would like to consult with you either as a volunteer or at a reduced fee. contact us.


Feel like creating a Wikipedia page for BatGap? If you have experience with this, please contact us.