{"id":17871,"date":"2022-04-22T14:40:45","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T14:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/?p=17871"},"modified":"2022-04-27T19:15:38","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:15:38","slug":"the-power-of-podcasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/2022\/04\/the-power-of-podcasting\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Podcasting"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Marla Holt \/ <\/strong>Illustrations by Israel Vargas<\/strong><\/p>\n

When theater companies went dark and auditions for voice work dried up in the early days of the pandemic, Katharine Heller \u201998 was glad her living room was already equipped for podcasting. The New York-based actor, writer, producer, and voiceover artist had been hosting the slice-of-life podcast Tell The Bartender <\/em>since 2013. During lockdown, the interviews she conducted via platforms like Zoom and Skype in her de facto home office\u2014which includes a large computer monitor, several microphones, a mixing board, and two ergonomic chairs that protect her back during hours of editing\u2014became her lifeline to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love listening to people talk, and inviting those voices into my home really helped with isolation during lockdown,\u201d Heller says.<\/p>\n

Heller\u2019s idea for Tell The Bartender <\/em>came from the eight years she spent tending bar in Brooklyn and listening to patrons share their stories. Now, as a podcast host, she invites ordinary people to talk about their lives in a setting that is as confessional and intimate as the bar, treating her guests and their stories with humor and care. In the past nine years, she has recorded 115 episodes, including some personal favorites, such as the episode, \u201cI Didn\u2019t Know I Was Nugent,\u201d about a restaurateur who discovers his birth father is rocker Ted Nugent, and \u201cCabbage Patch Dreams,\u201d during which Heller and her sister dissect their 1980s obsession with Cabbage Patch dolls.<\/p>\n

From 2014 to 2020, Heller also cohosted The Struggle Bus<\/em>, an advice podcast about self-care and mental health, which at one time made it to No. 7 on Apple Podcasts\u2019 Top 10 chart. In 2016, she founded The Podcast Shop, a boutique company offering pre- and post-production and consulting services for podcasters.<\/p>\n

\u201cPodcasting is personal,\u201d Heller says. \u201cIt\u2019s a balance of journalism, improv, and performance, and I genuinely want people to feel comfortable doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although they\u2019ve only been around since 2004, when media personality Adam Curry launched an audio recording of his everyday life called Daily Source Code<\/em>, podcasts\u2014downloadable episodic audio programs\u2014are here to stay. (According to Edison Research, 51 percent of Americans aged twelve and older listened to a podcast in 2021, with 32 percent listening at least once a month.) The medium is effective and portable, and a podcast\u2019s often vivid and moving content can create a sense of intimacy between creators and listeners.<\/p>\n

Heller and fellow Scots Isabella Kulkarni \u201913, Davy Gardner \u201914, Rolando Rosas \u201996, and Curtis Gilbert \u201902 are just five alumni who are skilled at podcasting. Read on to learn about their work in the medium, as well as how podcasting assignments are expanding the ways that students can present their scholarly work in Macalester classrooms.<\/p>\n

Giving voice to stories<\/h2>\n

Isabella Kulkarni \u201913 first discovered a knack for audio storytelling during her first job after Macalester. She was conducting intake interviews with refugees and new immigrants to the Bay Area for the International Rescue Committee, an organization that helps people who are affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives. At the time, she was also listening to a lot of long-form audio journalism, such as Radiolab<\/em> and This American Life<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized I was already doing the work of looking for stories and voices to amplify,\u201d she says, but didn\u2019t yet have enough training in radio production. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how to make the leap into creating actual podcast stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kulkarni later earned a master\u2019s of science degree in journalism from Columbia University. One of her first radio pieces\u2014about the Mister Softee ice-cream truck jingle that is an earworm for many New Yorkers\u2014aired on NPR\u2019s Marketplace <\/em>while she was in graduate school. She has since created and produced podcasts for Gimlet, the New York Times<\/em>, The Ringer, Radiotopia, WNYC, and Futuro Media Group\u2019s Latino USA<\/em> program. She has also taught the fundamentals of audio reporting and writing at Columbia.<\/p>\n

Now a Los Angeles\u2013based producer, story editor, and showrunner for Audible Originals, a division of the audio entertainment company Audible that creates original audio storytelling, Kulkarni develops scripted content for both fiction and nonfiction podcasts. Her work includes The Sea in the Sky<\/em>, a speculative fiction piece about two astronauts set in a futuristic world when climate change has devastated the planet. Her soon-to-be-released project is an audio documentary about businessman Ed Buck and the intersection of class, race, and drugs.<\/p>\n

Kulkarni is particularly drawn to narrative nonfiction, an interest sparked by her work on two podcasts at Gimlet. She produced for Undone<\/em>, which examined tiny moments in history that had greater ripple effects on society, and also enjoyed reporting and researching for Mogul<\/em>, a miniseries about hip-hop producer Chris Lighty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that podcasting is both creative and impactful,\u201d Kulkarni says. \u201cThere\u2019s a performance aspect to it that allows for emotion and intimacy and lets the listener imagine the world that\u2019s being created, maybe even better internalize the subject matter because there are no visuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kulkarni is also collaborating with New York-based audio creator and writer Davy Gardner \u201914 on an Audible Original fictional podcast series.<\/p>\n

Gardner is the curator of audio storytelling at Tribeca Enterprises, the multiplatform storytelling company behind actor Robert De Niro\u2019s Tribeca Film Festival. He balances writing with leading Tribeca\u2019s audio storytelling department and podcasting studios. Podcasting has the power, Gardner says, to deliver exceptionally good stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cAudio can be a very visual medium, which sounds counterintuitive,\u201d Gardner says. \u201cWhen I\u2019m writing an audio fiction script, I\u2019ll include a stage direction\u2014like the color of clothes or the style of a room\u2014to help the performer visualize the scene. Then the listener can really see it in their mind, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gardner got his start writing comedy for the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City. He moved into podcasting by writing stories performed by actors on Radiotopia\u2019s The Truth <\/em>podcast, which has the tagline of \u201cmovies for your ears.\u201d For example, his audio story \u201cMarried Alive\u201d explores the state of a couple\u2019s relationship while they\u2019re buried by an avalanche, while \u201cMuseum of You\u201d poses the question of creating a museum about your life to use as your dating profile. Gardner also launched and produced four seasons of Wondery\u2019s podcast series Against the Odds<\/em>, an anthology of scripted documentary series paired with personal interviews, such as \u201cThe Thai Cave Rescue,\u201d featuring the 2018 effort to save twelve boys and their soccer coach trapped inside a six-mile caving system after heavy rains.<\/p>\n

\u201cPodcasting, especially audio drama, gives storytelling a different dimension than TV or books,\u201d Gardner says. \u201cIt\u2019s an engaging, immersive experience that\u2019s intimate, close, and allows you to be an active listener. If it\u2019s done well, you don\u2019t want to miss a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Podcasts as digital marketing<\/h2>\n

Podcasts can tell stories, contextualize the day\u2019s news, or provide how-to lessons for practically any skill. The medium is also a useful business marketing tool, says Rolando Rosas \u201996, the founder of Global Teck Worldwide, which sells office technology products such as headsets, speakerphones, and webcams. \u201cWe help people sound and look their best while using these devices,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The company has always offered real-time tech support. But the work-from-home boom introduced an unprecedented demand for home-office technology and, with it, a dramatic increase in customers\u2019 need for support. Rosas saw an opportunity to use podcasting as a way to address clients\u2019 needs quickly and interactively.<\/p>\n

Global Teck Worldwide launched What the Teck?<\/em> on YouTube, during which he and his guests review products, identify trends, and troubleshoot office-technology problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cPodcasting helps us share our relevant knowledge directly with clients,\u201d Rosas says. He\u2019s found that the conversational tone of What the Teck?<\/em> has resonated with listeners and been copied by competitors. \u201cEach time we change up our style, from livestreaming to interviewing guests to doing skits and adding animation, our competitors do the same,\u201d Rosas says.<\/p>\n

\u201cPodcasting is a step toward helping Global Teck Worldwide up our branding,\u201d he says. \u201cMy advice? If you own a business and you\u2019re not podcasting, you should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Podcasts in the classroom<\/h2>\n

At Macalester, professors are embracing podcasts\u2014in addition to research papers or essays\u2014as an assignment that teaches traditional skills as well as clear communication. Students in linguistics, geography, and political science courses, among others, now create podcasts in which they explain their research.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents find podcasting fun, flexible, and interactive. Plus, it\u2019s relatively easy to do,\u201d says Tamatha Perlman, associate director of academic technology services. Her office provides technical support and guidance for faculty members who want to build podcasting into the curriculum. She\u2019s also one of the organizers of Macalester\u2019s first-ever Podcast Week.<\/p>\n

\u201cPodcasting helps students build digital literacy skills while learning to communicate information to a broader, more general audience, rather than a strictly academic one,\u201d Perlman says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a valuable experience for the students in \u201cNeotropical Landscapes,\u201d taught by assistant professor of geography Xavier Haro-Carri\u00f3n. The course examines human-environment interactions, including conservation efforts, in biomes and ecosystems from southern Mexico to Chile, and students create case-study podcasts focused on a geographically small area. Their podcast topics based mainly on a review of scholarly literature of the area they\u2019re presenting\u2014have included endangered hummingbirds in an Ecuadorian national park, conservation in the Brazilian savannas presented through music, and Indigenous peoples\u2019 use of plants from the Amazon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students learn to present their findings and tell a story of a particular geographic area in a new way, which they find entertaining and interactive,\u201d Haro-Carri\u00f3n says. \u201cI was very pleased with the high quality of their work.\u201d Students play with aesthetics, adding appropriate texture from the location they are studying, such as the sound of waves, birds, or musical instruments.<\/p>\n

Because students were so enthusiastic about the project, Haro-Carri\u00f3n plans to continue assigning podcasting in future courses. He found the students enjoyed listening to each other\u2019s work and participating in an end-of-term podcast showcase to learn more about their peers\u2019 process\u2014sort of like an \u201cask the director\u201d session.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents aren\u2019t going to read twenty research papers written by their peers, but they\u2019ll listen to a classmate\u2019s ten- to fifteen-minute podcast,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a compelling way to engage an audience, and it forces students to pick an interesting topic, to be clear with terminology, and to share information in a logical way.\u201d<\/p>\n

American Public Media correspondent Curtis Gilbert \u201902 and Annie Baxter, an editor at the Wall Street Journal\u2019s<\/em> daily podcast The Journal<\/em>, co-taught narrative journalism at Macalester in 2020 and 2021. Gilbert also hosts Sent Away<\/em>, a podcast about Utah\u2019s teen treatment industry, and previously reported for the Peabody Award\u2013winning investigative podcast In the Dark<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Students in the narrative journalism course write for both print and audio, which strengthens their overall communication skills, Gilbert says. \u201cThey learn something about writing in any given style by writing in a different style,\u201d he says. \u201cWith podcasting, they learn to write for the ear by hooking their audience with a story that has characters, surprises, and action, with scenes that move the story forward. Structuring a podcast is extremely linear, because listeners rarely \u2018go back a page\u2019 or rewind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilbert notes that many students used the pandemic as a hook or inflection point for their podcasts. One student created a series about her mother, who was a health care worker in the Bronx during the height of the lockdown. Another focused on a portrait photographer who was capturing his subjects through windows and doorways.<\/p>\n

The human voice is a powerful and emotive instrument, and it can really pull people into a story they want to keep listening to, Gilbert says. \u201cAudio communication fills a unique niche for people, with podcasting in particular lending itself to engaging and deeply investigative storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n

Podcasting 101<\/h2>\n

The generally accepted view of what qualifies as a podcast\u2014a blend of iPod and broadcast\u2014is an episodic series of digital audio files available for downloading and listening to at any time on a personal device. (Remember Serial<\/em> and its slowly unfolding reinvestigation of Maryland teenager Hae Min Lee\u2019s murder and the subsequent arrest and conviction of Adnan Syed? That podcast\u2019s compelling 2014 first season, often cited as an audio game-changer, was many people\u2019s introduction to podcasting.)<\/p>\n

Podcast consumers can subscribe and listen for free on any number of platforms, from Spotify and Google Podcasts to Stitcher and PodBean. The medium is particularly disruptive, given its potential for retailers to reach customers through smaller and more targeted ad buys.<\/p>\n

Media personality Adam Curry is considered podcasting\u2019s pioneer. In 2004, he launched Daily Source Code<\/em>, in which he talked about his everyday life, news, and the idea of podcasting. A mere eighteen years later, there are nearly a million podcasts about everything for everyone.<\/p>\n

Some podcasts are carefully scripted; others are improvised. Producers can record one at home or in a professional studio. Some are supported by corporations, sponsors, and individual donors, with advertisements or not.<\/p>\n

Podcasts, which currently aren\u2019t regulated by the FCC the way TV and radio are, are considered social media.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Listen Up<\/h2>\n

Alumni Isabella Kulkarni, Rolando Rosas, Davy Gardner, Katharine Heller, and Curtis Gilbert enjoy listening to podcasts as well as creating them. Here are a few of their favorites; find them on your chosen platform.<\/em><\/p>\n

Home Cooking<\/em><\/h3>\n

Hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway, the creator of the popular podcast Song Exploder<\/em>, during which musicians dissect their songs to tell the story of how they were made, and Samin Nosrat, chef and author of Salt Fat Acid Heat<\/em>, a James Beard Award\u2013winning cookbook. The pair provides creative inspiration in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a show that anyone can enjoy regardless of the level of their cooking skill. You learn Samin\u2019s trade secrets, but more importantly get to hang out with two people who clearly find joy in each other.\u201d \u2014Isabella Kulkarni<\/p>\n

Slow Burn<\/em><\/h3>\n

This narrative podcast examines watershed moments in history, such as Watergate, the Clinton impeachment, and the police beating of Rodney King and the L.A. riots that followed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the best kind of immersive storytelling because you get the sense that you\u2019re there.\u201d \u2014Davy Gardner<\/p>\n

The Work Week\u2014After Hours<\/em><\/h3>\n

The hosts delve into issues that affect the workplace, from leadership to career innovation to bad bosses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys are very good at covering topics that all workers can relate to.\u201d\u2014Rolando Rosas<\/p>\n

Keith and The Girl<\/em><\/h3>\n

Comedians talk about current events, pop culture, politics, and their everyday lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey get into serious stuff and it\u2019s fascinating and hilarious at the same time.\u201d \u2014Katharine Heller<\/p>\n

Political Gabfest<\/em><\/h3>\n

Sharp political analysis meets informal and irreverent discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re a political junkie, you\u2019ll love this. It\u2019s three really smart people dissecting politics and policy.\u201d \u2014Curtis Gilbert<\/p>\n

Homecoming<\/em><\/h3>\n

A scripted fictional mystery about a soldier who returns from war to a facility called the \u201cHomecoming Initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou listen in to the soldier\u2019s therapy sessions. It gets very nefarious, but in an interesting way.\u201d \u2014Davy Gardner<\/p>\n

Hit Play<\/em><\/h3>\n

Short audio plays written and performed by members of the New York Neo-Futurists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a shameless plug for the theater company I belong to: A podcast that\u2019s the perfect balance of beautiful, funny, and touching.\u201d \u2014Katharine Heller<\/p>\n

The Lazarus Heist<\/em><\/h3>\n

A true crime news podcast that investigates the 2014 hack into Sony Pictures.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt involves cybercrime, North Korea, and Hollywood and is really well done.\u201d \u2014Curtis Gilbert<\/p>\n

Heavyweight<\/em><\/h3>\n

The host tries to fix problems between people, though he\u2019s unqualified to do so, in an attempt to change a moment from their pasts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis show delivers a satisfying narrative every time\u2014it\u2019s both funny and tender. Who doesn\u2019t love a well-thought-out show that makes you laugh, cry, and feel all the feelings?\u201d \u2014Isabella Kulkarni<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Celebrating All Things Podcasting<\/h2>\n

Macalester held a campus-wide celebration of audio storytelling with its first-ever Podcast Week in early April. Events included:<\/p>\n