• Choose one or two elements of good story ideas described by Abel and Glass and describe how they are at play in your chosen episode.
• Be prepared to talk about your own story ideas, no matter how tentative.

• Moments where guests or hosts tell compelling stories
• Motive
• Visual description / narration
• Suspense
• Empathy / connection
• Humor
• A story leading to an idea
• Roles of those in the conversation (expert / student / curious person / other)
• Elements of sound design that propel the story
• Conclusions (resolutions / unresolved questions or issues)

You’ll have fifteen minutes to prepare your presentation and fifteen minutes present. You should discuss some of the elements listed above and choose at least two clips for us to listen to as a class.

Groups

Ariannna, Holden,  Carlos
Angelina, Monica, Kristina, Edwin
Tatjana, Shmyah, Eduardo, Loida
Alessia, Grazelle, Torri, Kate

For Tuesday’s class, I suggest watching Ira Glass on storytelling first (see Calendar). Make notes about his most significant points about how good storytelling works—especially audio storytelling. 

Then, listen to the two assigned podcast episodes. Note moments where they use moments of storytelling that resonate with what Glass has to say. Note the time stamps. We’ll discuss all this in class, with an eye toward how to tell a good story in your conversation episodes. 

We’ll be on Zoom. Try to be in a place where you can turn on your camera and play close attention.

Good Talks With G, is a podcast that speaks about anything and everything. You name it! For this episode, I’ve invited my good friend Paula, who’s currently teaching young kids and is on her way to graduating as an Early Childhood teacher. We will be talking about what her journey was like having a sudden shift of career interest in her early years, to talking about the the challenges she still faces as a young teacher for this new generation.

The Ins And Outs Of Teaching is a safe space for current and future teachers!

Torri Little Interviews Teacher, Janiela Lindsay.

First, congratulations on developing, producing, and editing your first episodes!

Your next one will be a conversation episode, so we’ll start talking about and listening to examples of those now. For class tomorrow, prepare the following:

1. Listen to the episode of Switched On Pop about BTS—a discussion episode, like the ones you’re creating next. As you listen, note how hosts play certain roles—for example, the expert and the novice. 

2. Read Chapter 9 in Weldon’s NPR Podcast Startup Guide, on Audio Storytelling.

3. Choose a moment from the chapter that makes you think in a new way about audio storytelling—or give you ideas about it. I’ll ask you to share these with the class. Think about whether or not the idea you choose from the chapter is at play in the Switched on Pop episode. 

Unlacing Our Shoes is a podcast focused on humanizing athletes, challenging the listener to think about the psychological aspect of athletics, not just the entertaining end result.

Holden Velasco sits down with Queens College men’s basketball player Jayden Seraphin to discuss the impact of both their mothers passing.

Jayden Seraphin is a captain on the Queens College men’s basketball team, having played on the team for two years. Seraphin has won awards for his performance on the court, but today he’s speaking with Holden Velasco about a life-altering experience that happened to both of them off the court. The passing of their mothers. Seraphin and Velasco exchange their experiences while Seraphin goes into depth about the emotions of being a successful college athlete without a mother.

Music Credit: “Dahlia” and “An Old Shadow of Mine” by Headland.