Introduction to Podcast Storytelling


ORALCOMM127
Spring 2019, Fridays, 11:30-12:50
Instructors: Jonah Willihnganz, Jenny March
2 units, WAYS-CE

This introductory course is designed to teach you the fundamentals of creating stories for new media, especially podcasting. You will learn how to develop and produce pieces across a variety of genres, from memoir to reported pieces, and you will learn the entire process, step-by-step, from pitching and interviewing to scripting and audio (and sometimes photo and video) editing. The course combines a traditional seminar format with a practicum where we workshop work in progress for fiction and nonfiction podcasts produced by the Storytelling Project. Though we focus on audio stories, the craft skills you learn here are transferable to making stories for any medium, from print and performance to web multimedia and film.
May be repeated for credit.


Your American Life

ORALCOMM 130
Instructor: Jake Warga
Winter 2019, Tues/Thurs, 3:30-5:20
4 Units

This small seminar is designed for students interested in creating audio stories for radio or podcast. You will examine the craft elements of the medium, popularized by programs like This American Life, Radiolab and Serial, and then produce your own documentary, memoir, or investigative story. We will explore the basic principles of strong storytelling, and you will learn how to develop your material, choose an effective structure, blend dramatization and reflection, ground insights in concrete scenes, create a strong narrative arc, and manage elements such as characterization, description, and dialogue. We will also examine craft elements unique to the audio form, and you will learn skills for interviewing, scoring, and audio editing. Students will have the opportunity to work with special guests from some of the best narrative podcasts in America. No prior experience with story craft or media required.


Oh My Sweet Land

Wednesday, October 18, 2017
2 pm
Branner Hall Dining Room
Attendance is free to the Stanford community, but RSVP through Eventbrite is required.

Theatre by Amir Nizar Zuabi
directed by Torange Yeghiazarian
featuring Nora el Samahy

A woman of Syrian-German heritage recalls her encounter with Ashraf, a Syrian man in Paris, while preparing the Syrian delicacy kibbeh. When he disappears, she goes on a long journey in search of him that leads to stirring conversations with some of the two-million Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan. One part detective story, one part a woman’s reckoning with her heritage, Oh My Sweet Land complicates our understanding of the conflict in Syria and highlights the resilience of the Syrian people.

Organized by The Markaz: Resource Center with support from the Haas Center for Public Service, the Institute for Diversity in the Arts, the Stanford Storytelling Project, the Office of VPUE, and the WSD HANDA Center for Human Rights & International Justice.