All Pods / Arts
Telling Stories That Matter: Podcasting for Impact
Craft audio stories that express your voice, your passions, and your ideas with clarity and purpose.
Group size
2-6 students
Outcome
A podcast-style audio piece that explores a chosen topic through research and personal insight.
Tuition
$495
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Telling Stories That Matter: Podcasting for Impact
In this immersive course, participants will explore storytelling through sound — using podcasting as a creative tool to communicate ideas that matter. Whether you're passionate about social change, personal narrative, science communication, the arts, or cultural commentary, this class will help you shape your interest into a compelling audio narrative. You’ll learn the essentials of podcast production: how to structure a story, conduct interviews, write scripts, record and edit audio, and share your work. We'll work primarily in Ableton Live, a professional audio platform, with support available for those new to digital sound editing. This course is perfect for students looking to develop their voice and storytelling practice in a supportive environment.
Week by week curriculum
Week 1
What makes a story memorable? We’ll explore the fundamentals of storytelling through sound and review a range of podcast formats — narrative, interview-based, documentary, experimental — to spark inspiration. You’ll begin brainstorming your topic and mapping your episode concept.
Week 2
Learn to shape your ideas into a coherent narrative arc. You’ll also learn how to prepare for and conduct interviews that go deeper than surface-level questions. If your episode includes a guest, you’ll start organizing your first conversation.
Week 3
We’ll dive into scripting techniques that maintain clarity, personality, and flow. You’ll explore the emotional and thematic power of music, silence, and ambient sound.
Week 4
This week is all about bringing it together. You’ll learn foundational skills in Ableton Live (or an audio editor of your choice), and start building your piece — adding narration, transitions, music, and structure.
Week 5
You’ll workshop drafts as a group, focusing on clarity, pacing, tone, and listener engagement. You’ll also refine technical elements like volume leveling, transitions, and sound layering.
Week 6
We’ll host a celebratory listening session where each participant presents their final piece to the group. You’ll also learn the basics of podcast publishing (platforms, metadata, cover art, and distribution), should you want to share your work publicly.