Why Audio?​

In recent years, I have slowly started to listen to more podcasts in my free-time, and I have always been fascinated by their way of informing audiences through casual conversation and relatable storytelling. Additionally, I admire the flexibility of podcasts: one can take a topic as broad or as narrow as one wishes and flesh it out however they see fit. With my artifact of origin speaking on problems with the U.S. education system, I have chosen the podcast as a way to expose these issues in a personal and meaningful way, one in which the audience can hear something genuine and relatable.

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In other genres typical to this topic, such as nonfiction books, journal articles, or research-based papers, there is a heavy focus on a lot of information with a strong incorporation on facts and data. With the podcast, I hope to purposefully escape this in order to make the subject matter more accessible to the everyday person. I hope not to explain to my audience the entirety of the situation, but instead utilize a conversation-based interview style to share personal stories that in turn encourage listeners to reflect, think critically, and recognize the reality of current educational practices around us.

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With that being said, I anticipate my audience to mostly my peers: high school and college students as well as recent graduates with or without a current stake in education. In doing so, I hope to expand the current conversation to those who have just or are currently experiencing the consequences of these issues, but also those who will have the agency to make changes and be activists in the future. In a way, I believe this experiment expands upon the current conversation of education reform by personalizing the root issues and pulling in an energetic group of individuals.

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Genre Research

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I decided to focus my research not only on elements of good podcasts and the technical processes of how to make them, which led me to some enjoyable examples as well as tutorial posts/videos and the Audacity program, but also on the preparation process of writing a podcast script. On the whole, the most successful podcasts are the result of thorough preparation. One must understand the style of podcast they wish to create as well as develop specific topic guidelines, questions, and talking points in order to make the final product effective, interesting, and engaging for the audience.

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Furthermore, I explored a variety of podcast “styles”, one of which is labeled the “Gardener” approach, which involves setting a very general idea, planting the seed, giving it some water, and then letting it grow more wildly and freely. For the purposes of my experiment, I believe this approach will yield the most honest results in conversation. However, leaving space for too much freedom may allow the episode to stray from the original plan, resulting in a hodgepodge of unconnected ideas clouding the podcast.

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Lastly, my genre research led me to the “three structure” narrative style to pace the podcast conversation, which involves setting intentional takeaways beforehand. In addition to this planning, I learned it is best to share questions with the guest beforehand, incorporate questions naturally at the right times, and keep questions as open ended as possible. In doing so, you want to create a “closed” conversation with which the audience is still able to participate in: can what I talk about leave them thinking? looking to their own life and considering the content in their own personal realm? can I write an effective script that will guide me to a professional, casual/colloquial, and stimulating recording session?

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Works Cited

1. “GUIDE – Writing Process for Audio Essays.” Digital Writing 101, digitalwriting101.net/content/guide-writing-process-for-audio-essays/. 
2. “Starting Your Podcast: A Guide For Students.” NPR, NPR, 15 Nov. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/11/15/662070097/starting-your-podcast-a-guide-for-students. 
3. SmartPassiveIncome, director. How to Record and Edit a Podcast in Audacity (Complete Tutorial). YouTube, YouTube, 17 Feb. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl-WDjWrTtk. 
4. Buzzsprout. “How to Write a Podcast Script [5 Free Script Templates].” Buzzsprout, 25 Sept. 2020, www.buzzsprout.com/blog/write-podcast-script-examples. 
5. Thomson, Piper. “How to Write a Podcast Script and Structure Your Episodes.” G2 Learning Hub, 15 May 2019, learn.g2.com/podcast-script. 
6. Acunzo, Jay. “Writing for Audio, Not Articles: Subtle Differences Make All the Difference.” Marketing Showrunners, 1 July 2019, www.marketingshowrunners.com/blog/writing-for-audio-text-articles-differences/.

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