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.

Voice

The three legs of the tripod of radio —- voice, text, and sound -— are interdependent, and all contribute to the "voice" of any radio piece. Independent producer Karen Michel presents work that demonstrates different styles of voice and discusses what makes each one unique.

  • 2002
  • 01:21:07

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

Music

Music and sound bring layers of meaning to your work. Incorporating them most effectively starts with looking for the movement and metaphor in your materials. Using examples from her own features, Sherre DeLys presents different approaches to integrated sound design.

  • 2002
  • 01:12:12

These Are a Few of Ira Glass's Favorite Things

Ira Glass plays and talks about radio and print journalism that has inspired him, including some surprising 1970s-era NPR documentaries which may be long forgotten by most.

  • 2002
  • 01:24:13

Rocks, Riptides, and Buoys: Radio in the Play of the Airwaves

Longtime proponent of radio as a fluid and flexible medium, Gregory Whitehead plays a variety of work from around the world and gives a philosophical and pragmatic talk on the role of imaginative radio in an increasingly congested media landscape.

  • 2002
  • 01:19:09

Trespassing

Jay Allison leads a discussion about the ways in which documentarians must be skilled in the art of trespassing...

  • 2002
  • 01:24:10

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

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

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

Breaking the Mold: Youth Producers Share Their Work -- Day Two

Their work comes from the heart and gives us a glimpse into the most enigmatic of worlds: teenagehood. Listen in as young producers from around the country present their work and talk about how they're making radio relevant for a new generation.

  • 2003
  • 01:24:21

Breaking the Mold: Youth Producers Share Their Work -- Day One

Their work comes from the heart and gives us a glimpse into the most enigmatic of worlds: teenagehood. Listen in as young producers from around the country present their work and talk about how they're making radio relevant for a new generation.

  • 2003
  • 01:24:54

Ways of Hearing

It's not always easy to put aside the culturally-formed listening patterns we take for granted and hear radio in fresh ways.

  • 2003
  • 01:29:31

The Music of Voices

Creative sound projects are increasingly blurring the lines between radio, audio documentary, sound art, and music.

  • 2003
  • 01:32:08

Seeing Sound

Sound editor Walter Murch (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, The English Patient), sound designer Randy Thom (The Right Stuff, The Thin Blue Line), and radio artist Joe Frank deconstruct excerpts from their work...

  • 2003
  • 01:59:27

To Err (on the Air) Is Human

No one likes to make mistakes, but the difference between you (brilliant producer) and the guy next to you (average producer) is in learning how to use those mistakes to your advantage.

  • 2003
  • 01:13:12

Megaphone

How do documentary producers and artists address the most common issues in the news and shed new light on them?

  • 2003
  • 01:25:45

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

Truth on Stage

When facts cannot plumb the depths, shall we lie? In this session, producers listen to and discuss radio documentaries that use fiction and dramatic elements to get to the truth.

  • 2004
  • 01:19:44

Deadline Radio

Most producers and reporters spend their days "feeding the machine" -- cranking out short-form work on a daily, sometimes hourly deadline, with no time for second guesses. However, a lot of news coverage is formulaic and, frankly, dull.

  • 2004
  • 01:18:25

The Audible Picture Show

Matt Hulse presents short audio works by a diverse range of inventive audio artists and filmmakers, created specifically for "a darkened cinema."

  • 2004
  • 01:24:35

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

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