Course Website

Course Syllabus

Course Description:

This project-based course will lead us through an introduction to the ever-expanding medium
of podcasting, specifically radio storytelling. We will unpack and discuss the techniques of
practiced radio producers and use those elements in our own attempts at radio reportage:
arts & culture shorts, vox pops, sonic ID’s, and short and long-form interviews. We will become
proficient in capturing sound, interviewing strangers, writing scripts, pitching ideas for stories,
and using GarageBand software to edit and shape our content.
Participating students will be asked to venture out into the broader Houston community,
compiling profiles, arts & culture pieces, and interviews. Your sojourns around town will
generate the material for some of our most important work.
There is no prerequisite for this course, and no prior knowledge of recording, editing, or
sound production is necessary. However, it is recommended that students possess the
initiative and independence to pursue their own explorations throughout the city of Houston.
A car is not required. A sense of adventure, and a nose for encountering new people and new
situations, will be.

Learning Outcomes:

In this course you will…
-Develop close reading/listening, analytical reading/listening, and critical thinking skills.
-Develop genre-specific knowledge.
-Think, investigate, write creatively, and engage in the workshop and editing process.
-Gain a more nuanced understanding of podcasts and the craft of radio reportage.
-Be exposed to a breadth of radio producers, opinions on craft, and styles of storytelling.
-Explore the inner workings of radio stories and implement those techniques in your own work.
-Become a better communicator – a better medium between your listeners and the world.
-Become more attuned to your world, and the people and complexities in it.

DMC Support:

The class made use of the DMC’s in-class tutorials to learn audio editing techniques with Garageband and Audacity, as well as proper use of the Zoom H4N audio recorders that they rented from the DMC for their projects. Additionally, some students used the DMC’s audio studio for their projects to record high-quality narration.