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.

D.I.Y. Radio

Do it yourself! This session is geared toward non-professionals and young people who want to learn more about telling stories for radio.

  • 2001
  • 01:03:27

New Voices in Radio

Who's talking to the next generation of public radio listeners? This session, moderated by Ellin O'Leary, turns the mic over to some of the young producers who are busy expanding the audio documentary form by bringing energy and fresh ideas to the world of radio.

  • 2001
  • 01:20:16

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

2010 Win/Win: AIR's Pitch Panel (Day 1)

This session pulls back the curtain on one of the most difficult and important skills every producer needs to master: pitching a story.

  • 2010
  • 01:30:22

Found in Translation

Someday they'll figure out how to make radio with subtitles.

  • 2010
  • 01:16:54

"In the Moment" Radio

Up a tree. Circling a mountain. Hitchhiking down a dusty road.

  • 2010
  • 01:29:07

Small + Big = Dynamite

Back in 2009, one German documentary won both of Europe's most coveted radio prizes – the Prix Italia and the Prix Europa.

  • 2010
  • 01:35:39

Beyond the Frontlines

News correspondent Jamie Tarabay spent much of the past decade reporting from some of the world's most high-profile conflict zones, including two years as NPR's Baghdad bureau chief.

  • 2010
  • 01:28:20

Featuring . . . the Feature

The radio "feature" is a long-standing tradition of European broadcasting, a format with a style all its own. Kaye Mortley, an independent producer based in France, describes the feature this way: "These pieces are mind movies -- road movies sculpted out of reality.

  • 2002
  • 01:26:59

Once Upon a Time . . . The End

So, you've got your assignment. You've done your research, you've collected your tape, and now it's time (oh god) to write. In this panel discussion, moderated by Robert Krulwich, we examine the Everest and K-2 of story telling: How to Begin and (assuming you can get past that one) How to End.

  • 2002
  • 01:23:00

Music: A Force for Good (and Sometimes Evil)

Radio makers have many techniques at their disposal for crafting each story they tell, including one in particular that gets used and abused more than any other: scoring.

  • 2005
  • 01:21:00

Gen Next: Youth Producers Share Their Work - Part Two

It's common enough to learn about youth culture through the observations of experts and adults, but so much more intriguing to hear it straight from the hearts and minds of the teenagers navigating through their own worlds.

  • 2004
  • 01:21:09

Explaining the World in Four Minutes

When David Kestenbaum tells people he covers science for NPR, they often say something like "it must be hard explaining such complicated ideas in such a short amount of time!" Well, it is.

  • 2005
  • 01:11:34

Podcasting: Believe the Hype

Join podcast pioneers and radio producers Benjamen Walker and Tod Maffin to discover how podcasting, in less than one year, changed broadcasting forever.

  • 2005
  • 01:22:10

A Sense of Place

Washington Post reporter Anne Hull shares her thoughts about how to capture an environment that reveals the world of a particular subject to your audience: by paying attention to detail and hopefully avoiding familiar cliches.

  • 2005
  • 01:19:08

Image as Metaphor

Do metaphors inherently deepen a story? Can using metaphors be more effective than revealing direct facts and information about a subject?

  • 2004
  • 01:24:25

Everyday Voices

David Isay and Alex Kotlowitz both try to discover extraordinary stories in "ordinary people."

  • 2004
  • 01:20:47

Trust Me, I'm an Editor

Producers come to editors with their tape, a vision, and a piece in various stages of completion. Editors bring their skills, a fresh set of ears, a fat red pen, and often the mandate of an established show format.

  • 2004
  • 01:31:18

Two Towns of Jasper

Producers and long-time friends Whitney Dow and Marco Williams (Two Tone Productions) discuss the making of their film Two Towns of Jasper, a documentary about the racially motivated murder of James Byrd, who in 1998 was dragged to his death after being beaten then chained to the back of a pick-up truck in Jasper, Texas.

  • 2004
  • 01:23:16

These Are a Few of Jacki Lyden's Favorite Things

Jacki Lyden has been an NPR contributor and host for more than two decades, reporting on vital issues at home and abroad and winning numerous awards for her work.

  • 2004
  • 01:23:47

Gen Next: Youth Producers Share Their Work - Part One

It's common enough to learn about youth culture through the observations of experts and adults, but so much more intriguing to hear it straight from the hearts and minds of the teenagers navigating through their own worlds.

  • 2004
  • 01:17:20