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Symposium Podcast Playlist
Playlist Guide
Part 1 | Podcasts by Students
1. “Positive Escapism and Spirited Away,” The Fantasy Forum, recommended by Jill Fennell
Two students produced this episode for our class podcast during a Summer section of my English 1102 class, “Defining and Enjoying Fantasy.”
2. “Episode 1: Jaws,” All Bark, All Bite, recommended by Eric A. Lewis
Four students from Eric’s Xenophobia: The Other in Horror Cinema class use Jaws as a case study to analyze humanity’s relationship with the natural world
Part 2 | Participants’ Podcasts
3. “Nausicaa: ‘What a brute he had been! At it again?,'” tipsyturvy Ulysses, recommended by Eric A. Lewis
Lewis, Shinjini Chattopadhyay, and Wendy Truran run through the themes Wendy loves, hates, and doesn’t get in the Nausicaa episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses. On the way, they reflect on early-twentieth-century Irish masculinity and the sustaining power of a fantasy life.
4. “Higher Education in Prisons,” More Conversations Podcast, recommended by Emani Rashad Saucier
This episode of the MCP highlights the wonderful work that the Andrew Young Center is doing to secure the human right of education for those behind bars. Exposing audiences to this type of work can boost advocacy for it, especially coming directly from those who benefit like Mr. Rodney Spivey-Jones.
5. “The Life of Andrew Young: Part 1,” More Conversations Podcast, recommended by Emani Rashad Saucier
The experiences that lead Ambassador Andrew Young to a life of service are well told on this episode of MCP for all to take in. It’s wonderful to hear and see our leaders recall historical events that are otherwise only found in text and archival media.
6. “Demanding Black Linguistic Justice: An Interview with April Baker-Bell,” Rhetoricity, recommended by Eric Detweiler
“A podcast I’ve been hosting and producing since 2015. Most episodes feature interviews with scholars and around rhetoric and writing studies.”
From the show notes: “This episode features guest interviewer Derek G. Handley speaking with Dr. April Baker-Bell. They discuss Dr. Baker-Bell’s book Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy as well as her work on such projects as the Black Language Syllabus and ‘This Ain’t Another Statement! This is a DEMAND for Black Linguistic Justice!‘”
7. “S1/E6 — Dr. Mary Hedengren of Mere Rhetoric,” The Podcast of Podcasts, recommended by Joseph Robertshaw
An interesting transcription example
8. “The Podcast of Podcasts/TBR Podcast Carnival 2022,” The Big Rhetorical Podcast, recommended by Joseph Robertshaw
9. “Neoliberal Death Machine,” Residential Spread, recommended by J. Laurence Cohen
10. “Justin McGill on AI Writing,” 10-Minute Tech Comm, recommended by Ryan Weber
11. “Of Mountains & Miners,” About South, recommended by Kelly Vines
This interview with Dwight Billings, Emeritus Professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky highlights social inequality and poverty, especially in Appalachia, where Kelly’s family has a long history. The pair discusses what drew the coal mining industry to southern Appalachia and the future of the region. The episode demonstrates how the form of the podcast can integrate narrative, musical, and other aural elements to build an acoustic landscape.
Part 3 | Participants’ Recommended Podcasts (great examples & teaching models)
12. “The Fugitive,” Unclear and Present Danger, recommended by Eric A. Lewis
This is a wonderful example of podcast premise and textual analysis. Jamelle Bouie and John Gatz use the ’90s political thrillers for which they’re nostalgic to examine transformations in America’s self-image on the international stage throughout the ’90s.
13. “The Clinch,” 99% Invisible, recommended by Jill Fennell
This episode was a good professional model for my students because it emphasized interviewing knowledgable or otherwise invested participants about a topic that is often mocked, despite having a large, devoted audience base, similar to fantasy.
14. “Radio Writing with Alex Chadwick,” How Sound, recommended by Charlie Bennett
The set of podcasts I recommend demonstrates various structures and listener-engagement strategies for podcasting. This podcast is a direct communication to the listener from the host, structured like an essay, with points, citations supporting those points, and reflection. This episode is a great reminder of the difference between writing for audio and writing for the page.
15. “tUnE-yArDs – Water Fountain,” Song Exploder, recommended by Charlie Bennett
This podcast is a demonstration and deconstruction podcast, built from multiple clips with almost no host presence. Super cool and this episode features tUnE-yArDs’ shockingly good song, “Water Fountain.”
16. “Tube Benders,” 99% Invisible, recommended by Charlie Bennett
99 Percent Invisible is “richly produced” journalism—that is, reportage as art. The aesthetic joy of the show is as important as the information being imparted, and there are multiple distances between the producers, host, subject, and listener.
17. “Cellies,” Ear Hustle, recommended by Brian Reiff-Amsden
I think this episode is a great way to introduce students to podcasting, especially for students taking a podcasting class who hadn’t previously listened to podcasts. (I had several students like that.) Good story and it illustrates how democratic podcasting is as a medium—doesn’t take massive resources or years of formal education, etc.
18. “Muzak,” Twenty Thousand Hertz, recommended by Brian Reiff-Amsden
There are lots of good episodes of Twenty Thousand Hertz, but this one is a great way of getting students to think more deeply about how sound shapes lived environments.
19. “DeRay Mckesson – Policing is the Laziest Response,” The Tight Rope, recommended by Calvin Bell III
20. “All About Love,” Pod Save the People, recommended by Calvin Bell III
21. “Barbershop,” Being Seen, recommended by Calvin Bell III
22. “Morphing Print Essays into Radio,” Sound School, recommended by Eric Detweiler
A “bi-weekly podcast on audio storytelling” from the Public Radio Exchange and Transom. One of my go-to resources for teaching podcasting.
23. “KO92-Roe,” Kairoticast, recommended by Joseph Robertshaw
This show represents the activist side of podcasting practice
24. “Episode 155: How the American Settler-Colonial Project Shaped Popular Notions of ‘Conservation’,” Citations Needed, recommended by Molly Slavin
25. “30. The Automotive Police State,” The War on Cars, recommended by Molly Slavin
Molly uses this episode for the note-taking exercise she’ll discuss in her microtalk.
26. “#371: Spam I Am with Marjorie Liu,” Off Panel, recommended by J. Laurence Cohen
27. “Jailhouse Sous Vide: Cooking Behind Bars,” Milk Street, recommended by J. Laurence Cohen
28. “Search and Ye Might Find,” 99% Invisible, recommended by Ryan Weber
29. “Animal Instincts,” Criminal
The inaugural episode of Criminal works well to introduce the topic of the show by exploring an unexpected element related to a familiar true crime narrative. The story covered here, the death of Kathleen Peterson and the subsequent trial of Michael Peterson, has been explored in a variety of productions including several documentaries, several podcasts, a even a fictionalized tv show starring John Lithgow, but the storytelling in this episode cultivates new and sustained interest in the story and in the podcast series at the outset.
30. “Kate Bush, Stranger Things, and a hit song four decades in the making,” Switched on Pop
I love the premise of this podcast—it teaches music theory and music history via deep dives into pop hits. The episodes are fun to listen to because they illustrate their points with so many snippets of pop songs that it feels like a fun trivia game, but they weave those examples into a compelling overarching exploration of a particular pop moment. For this episode, they ask why, of all the 80s music incorporated into the tv show Stranger Things, did Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” become a chart-topping hit (again) over three decades after it was initially released.
Teaching Materials
Assignments & Assessment
Jill Fennell’s Podcast Assignment Sheet
Georgia Institute of Technology
English 1102: Defining and Enjoying Fantasy
“This was the final project in my first-year writing and communication class. After working through the states of stasis to understand how people define ‘fantasy,’ students created episodes in our shared podcast about why fantasy should be valued. We collaboratively decided on the name, tone, and cover image of the podcast, as well as the general outline each episode should follow. I created the first episode as an example for the students; students, then, followed our agreed expectations.”
Eric Detweiler’s Rhetoric and Recorded Sound Exercises
Prompts for a series of audio exercises from the Rhetoric and Recorded Sound course
Eric A. Lewis’s Podcast Proposal Assignment Sheet (2019)
First-Year Writing: Speaking and Writing in Community: Traditional Writing and Rhetoric
“This is the assignment sheet I used the first time I taught podcasts. The assignment was to research an existing podcast, produce and record a segment, and write a cover letter applying for the job of segment producer—to teach the students new media and genres and train them in addressing various audiences. (Not to mention justifying the assignment within a writing-intensive, new-media-skeptic curriculum.)”
“Furthermore, since I was teaching similar courses at the University of Notre Dame and inside Westville Correctional Facility at the time, I was able to introduce my incarcerated students to new technologies and media they were eager to encounter and train them in professional skills they desired looking ahead to their re-entry.”
Eric A. Lewis’s Archival Research Podcast Assignment Sheet (2021)
ENGL 1102: Science Fiction/Speculative Lives
“Inspired by Jill Fennell’s collaborative class podcast, I developed a similar assignment for my science fiction class in collaboration with the Georgia Tech Library and our expansive science fiction collection. The collaboration worked wonderfully, but I didn’t leave enough time to scaffold effective archival research and expected too long of episodes. I would change those aspects of the assignment were I to try it again in the future.”
Eric A. Lewis’s Podcast Assignment Sheet (2023)
“My favorite podcasting assignment has students create their own podcasts (related to course content) from scratch. They design a logo, write a podcatcher description, and produce a pilot episode. A later project gives them the option of producing a second episode, incorporating my feedback and their own further developed expertise, and writing a reflection on how they’ve changed and what they’ve learned.”
Eric A. Lewis’s Podcast Genre Analysis Presentation
“I have my students research and present on a podcast to the class to prepare them for my podcast assignment. They learn about the form and practice oral communication skills such as effective structure and audience engagement and give me a chance to provide feedback well in advance of their episode production.”
Joseph W. Robertshaw’s Multimodal Project Rubric
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
English 454/554: New Media and Rhetoric
“This is the rubric for final assignments in my multimodal ‘New Media and Rhetoric’ class.”
Guides & Syllabi
Charlie Bennett’s 10 Step Guide to Starting Your Podcast
Georgia Institute of Technology
CoLab: Creative/Career Origination Lab
This is a mini-feature about starting a podcast based on Charlie’s workshop From Zero to Podcast.
Jessica Abel’s Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio (2015)
Recommended by Brian-Reiff-Amsden
“A graphic novel that walks through basic elements of audio storytelling. It’s accessible but goes fairly deep.”
Eric Detweiler’s Rhetoric and Recorded Sound Syllabus
A syllabus for an upper-level undergrad course on rhetoric and recorded sound
Templates & Readings
NPR Training: Project Blueprint
Recommended by Brian-Reiff-Amsden
“This was a great little template I stole from NPR, which gives students a process/method for working through all the key questions before deciding on a project.”
Joseph Robertshaw’s The Podcast of Podcasts S1, E6 Transcript
A model of potential approaches to transcription and accessibility. Podcasting and podcast transcription are potential sites for activism promoting accessibility, richness, and accessibility.
Eric Detweiler’s “Sounding Out Progymnasmata” (2019)
An article about the above exercises:
This article positions the progymnasmata, an ancient sequence of rhetorical exercises, as a rich resource for contemporary scholarship on rhetoric and sound. Drawing on work at the intersection of rhetoric and sound studies as well as scholarship that repurposes ancient rhetorical concepts to study digital media, I argue that refiguring the progymnasmata can significantly expand rhetorical studies of digital sound. I ground my argument in podcasts, a popular sonic medium that has garnered attention in rhetoric and writing scholarship, ending with a series of six exercises designed to help students learn to make podcasts.
Eric Detweiler’s “The Bandwidth of Podcasting”
A chapter about teaching podcasting
Jill Fennell’s Consent and Release Form Template
Links to an editable Canva file.
Jill Fennell’s Charter Template
Links to an editable Canva file.