Maker Sessions
Dive into scores of talks, workshops, and audio manifestos offering wisdom on everything from production skills to journalistic ethics from the best audio producers and makers on the planet.
2016 Bitchin' Pitchin': The Art of the Pitch (Day 2)
A bonafide Third Coast tradition, this session pulls back the curtain on one of the most difficult and important skills every producer needs to master: how to pitch a story.
- 2016
- 01:16:58
HowSound Live! Part I
Discover the backstory to this year's TC/RHDF Competition winners!
- 2014
- 01:22:08
Public-powered Journalism
Learn how sharing the mic and megaphone can expand your beat, your stories, and your craft.
- 2014
- 01:11:09
Parachuting In
(aka: State of the Re:Union's Secret Recipe for Serious Place-based Storytelling... in Practically No Time!)
- 2012
- 01:11:25
Whose Story Is It?
Over the past year, we've seen several major scandals cutting to the heart of journalistic and documentary ethics.
- 2012
- 01:15:05
Leave No Trace
There's a slip of paper hanging in Dave Isay's office at StoryCorps with a quote scrawled across it: "A good craftsman leaves no traces."
- 2014
- 01:20:10
The Sounds Inside
In certain radio stories, sounds exist only in the mind of the storyteller and can't be physically recorded -- like dreams, memories, and predictions. How do you create a soundscape that brings "the sounds inside" to life?
- 2007
- 01:22:47
The Mysterious Production
To mark ten amazing years of celebrating sound and story, we're closing out this year's Conference with something a little different - a special conversation about inspiration, collaboration, creativity, and storytelling that will leave your ears ringing... in a good way.
- 2010
- 01:25:31
These Are a Few of the Kitchen Sisters' Favorite Things
Ever wonder what inspires, obsesses and ignites the Kitchen Sisters? Find out during this hour-plus showcase of audio (and other less-evolved art forms) culled from their accidental archive and the stirring work of others.
- 2008
- 01:17:45
Listening Critically
Art forms such as film, literature and even TV, generate rich bodies of critcal writing that push the boundaries of what creators do and why, and gives audiences new ways to appreciate the work.
- 2008
- 01:29:40
Kickstarter for Radio 101
Kickstarter is the world's largest funding platform for creative projects. Art program director Stephanie Pereira gives a primer on how to bring an audio-centric Kickstarter project to life.
- 2012
- 01:03:48
Radio Producers are from Venus; Photographers are from Mars
When radio producers and photographers team up on multimedia projects, it can often feel as if they come from different planets.
- 2012
- 01:16:52
The Story as Walkabout
Smartphones and other gadgets have detached our listening experiences from the radio, and are making another kind of attachment possible - to where the stories actually take place.
- 2012
- 01:18:18
Pushing the Boundaries of Daily Radio
Diamonds are made under pressure! For this session, Priya Ramu and Steve Wadhams from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation present their advice on how to make daily radio that shines and delights.
- 2002
- 01:26:42
Interview
With a little savvy and practice, magic can happen between two people and a microphone. Taki Telonidis and Hal Cannon outline the basic elements of conducting an interview, both in technical and human terms, by playing great examples and bringing in the wisdom of master interviewers on public radio.
- 2002
- 01:24:40
Digging In: Investigative Documentary Radio
Radio is an excellent medium for investigative reporting, so why do we hear so little of it on the air?
- 2001
- 01:06:16
Ear to Ear
David Isay and Dan Collison play excerpts of their radio documentary work and discuss specific challenges, triumphs, and surprises encountered while producing various stories.
- 2001
- 59:50
Taking Risks in Radio
Producing "outside the box" is a challenge to the formulaic landscape of public radio, whether you're producing a sound art parody or poetic essay or a show bent on surprising its listeners.
- 2001
- 01:27:40
Keyboard Audio
This panel, moderated by Melissa Giraud, brings together two producers (Jay Allison and Elizabeth Meister) who were among the first in public radio and audio production to bring their innovation to the Internet, for a conversation about translating radio stories onto the Web and creating new art forms altogether.
- 2001
- 01:11:00
Making Waves: The Impact of Radio
In times of crisis the impact of radio coverage on peoples' lives is easy to assess. But day in and day out, how does radio touch the communities or subjects it portrays, and the audience it reaches?
- 2001
- 01:09:04
Loose Tongues
Narrative deceptions, perverse fictions, audio portraiture: this conversation between feature-makers Natalie Kestecher and Susan Stone explores the interplay of story, character, and music, as well as the delights of creative ambiguity and communication in Kestecher's luminous, protean work.
- 2003
- 58:52
Documenter and Documentee -- Part One
Documenting somebody else's life is one of the hardest challenges producers face in their work. Over an extended period of time relationships intensify, stories often change drastically, and the line between personal and too personal blurs easily.
- 2007
- 01:24:59
Documenter and Documentee -- Part Two
Documenting somebody else's life is one of the hardest challenges producers face in their work. Over an extended period of time relationships intensify, stories often change drastically, and the line between personal and too personal blurs easily.
- 2007
- 01:26:45
Greenberger and Greenberg: On Story and Music
Beyond being atmospheric and scene setting, music can play an active role in audio pieces. David Greenberger has worked with a wide range of musicians and composers for his radio monologues, which are adapted from conversations he has with the elderly.
- 2007
- 01:29:10
When and How to Sell Out
It's hard enough to pitch a story to a public radio show -- are you willing to risk rejection from a whole new set of people? Daniel Sternberg talks about taking all of your talents, training, and neuroses and applying them to the world of podcasting.
- 2007
- 01:13:52