Your Podcast is a Story: Finding and Telling Strong Narratives

Good stories are the key to any form of audio storytelling. This is especially true for podcasts and interview based audio stories. 

Join Tracy Wahl, the former executive producer of NPR’s Morning Edition, for a full-day workshop designed to acquaint participants with the basics of podcasting and the art of interviews and audio storytelling.

Interviewing and being interviewed is an essential part of presenting one's work or the work of others. In this workshop, participants will get help with interviewing of all types, including conference moderation — useful even for those not interested in creating their own podcast. 

Wahl, who was instrumental in starting the podcasts Hidden Brain and Invisibilia will talk specifically about podcasting and how to create simple short podcast segments. Attendees will learn recording techniques using iPhones. NPR investigative reporter Daniel Zwerdling will lead a session on how to tell compelling stories.

This will be a collaborative workshop, where participants will be given listening assignments and will get to practice interviewing and recording.

Schedule

9–9:30 a.m.
Coffee & introductions.

9:30–10:30 a.m.
Insights into podcasting.

10:30 a.m.–noon
Interviewing techniques — how to find compelling stories w/ Daniel Zwerdling.

noon–1 p.m.
Lunch (included)

1–2 p.m.
Break into small groups - practice interviewing and recording.

2–3 p.m.
Play examples, and get feedback.

3–4 p.m.
What next? How to market your podcast and pitch to NPR

Speakers:

Tracy Wahl
In her nearly 20 years at NPR, Wahl established herself as a champion for innovation in the newsroom. She was among the first at NPR to embrace social media as a way to engage audiences and deepen our journalism through crowd-sourced reporting. She is passionate about experimentation, and incubating new ideas and talent. During her tenure, as executive producer of Morning Edition she made the program a start-up space for great work. She launched the Morning Edition Book Club, oversaw the ambitious, award-winning cross-network "Borderland" series, and inaugurated The Race Card Project with Michele Norris as a regular feature of the program.

She partnered with the Science Desk and Shankar Vedantam to develop "Hidden Brain" on Morning Edition, which spun off as a podcast in 2015. She was also part of the team that launched Invisibilia as a broadcast segment and podcast. In her most recent position as Executive Producer for Editorial Franchises, Wahl conceived of and executive produced A Nation Engaged — a collaboration with more than sixty member stations about issues related to the 2016 election. She is now a public media consultant focused on content and engagement.

Daniel Zwerdling, Correspondent, NPR Investigations Unit
Zwerdling's investigations have won every major award in broadcasting — including the 2017 DuPont. As a member of the Investigations Unit, he has reported on the domestic impact of war, mental health, the dubious labeling of "sustainable" seafood and immigrant detention, among many other things. Previously, Zwerdling hosted Weekend All Things Considered and reported from all over the world. Zwerdling has been working for NPR since 1980.

Kimberly Quach

School for the Future of Innovation in Society

kimberly.quach@asu.edu