Podcast Example: “Reminiscing with Rahi”
“Whale breaching at Jervis Bay” by Denis Hawkins is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
Podcasting as a Class Assignment
Contributed by Charlie Bennett, Public Engagement Librarian.
As a Georgia Tech student, you are experienced in writing papers but it is likely that you have never created a podcast. This section provides a framework for you to use while planning and assembling a podcast for a class assignment.
It is important to remember that this framework will help you with your first efforts creating podcasts for classes, but it is not the only way to create a successful podcast. You will eventually discard some of these rules as you become a more proficient podcaster and develop your own style.
What Is a Podcast?
“Podcast” is a portmanteau of iPod and broadcast dating back to the introduction of Apple’s iPod and the first experiments in delivering media to portable music players. For the purposes of an assignment, we can define a podcast as a digital audio file created to communicate an idea in an aesthetically interesting way and designed to be heard from start to finish in a single listening experience. To create a compelling and effective podcast, you will need to structure it well, maintain a consistent format, establish a coherent aesthetic, and utilize nonverbal communication techniques.
Analyzing a Podcast
Contributed by Brittain Fellow Dr. Courtney Hoffman.
Rhetorical Situation and Choices
Purpose
Dr. Dean-Ruzicka’s Fall 2020 English 1101 class examined nostalgia and the 1980s. She asked her students to produce a podcast episode that examined weird things from the 80s. Her student, Rahi Patel, created this episode of “Reminiscing with Rahi” to discuss Star Trek IV, or “the one with the whales.” Rahi incorporates the theme of the weird into her discussion of the film, arguing that the time travel elements of the movie’s plot allowed a movie made in the 80s to comment on its own moment in history. She connects the variety of subgenres in the film to the overall genre of weird fiction and brings together nostalgia and ecological justice.
Rhetorical Appeals
Rahi summarizes the film’s plot in order to demonstrate her knowledge of the 80s anti-whaling movement and Green Peace’s “Save the Whales” campaign. She also quotes experts in film criticism, which enhances her credibility (ethos). Her enthusiasm for the film, evident in her vocal affect, and her sympathy with the humpback whales who are crucial to the plot appeal through pathos to her audience. The threads of real-life ecological justice campaigns and the weird fiction elements of Star Trek IV that Rahi weaves into her podcast brings an element of logic (logos) into her argument about a futuristic Sci Fi movie.
Modes & Media
Rahi includes clips of the movie’s theme song to connect her own narrative to the original film. Fans of the Star Trek franchise will recognize the music. Her use of the music signals a change in topic throughout the episode, as well as the opening and closing of her short podcast. She conveys her argument using her voice, and especially her vocal affect.
Genre Conventions
Elements of the Genre
Narrative: Podcasts tell a story. Rahi’s story emphasizes how a film that seems like it should not be able to critique the current ecological situation when it is set several centuries in the future can actually make an argument for the interconnected nature of people and their environment.
Voice: The way that a podcast creator uses their voice will draw their audience into their narrative. Sometimes there is a dialogue or conversation between multiple hosts; other times, only one person tells the story, perhaps bringing in clips from interviews or statements from other people. Rahi uses monologue to narrate her podcast and present her argument to her listener.
Sound: Speech is not the only way to convey meaning in a podcast. Music, with or without lyrics, and sound effects are also rhetorically effective means of communicating aurally. In this example, Rahi includes the Star Trek IV theme song in order to signal her podcast’s topic and add a touch of drama to connect to her audience.
Style
Podcasts can be designed in a wide range of styles: formal, informal, humorous, serious, spooky, dramatic, etc. What style you choose for your podcast should influence and be influenced by your topic. Rahi uses a combination of formal and informal elements to catch her listeners’ attention. She speaks directly to the audience by expressing amazement if they haven’t seen this great film, then shifts to a more formal tone when stating her case for why this particular film can be viewed as nostalgic and weird.
Design
As Charlie Bennett argues in his description of podcasts, which you can read in its entirety in WOVENText, podcasts should include moments of reflection to help your audience stay on topic – and you as well – particularly if your podcast episode gets to be fairly long (some can be over two hours, though any assignment you get in your English 1101 or English 1102 class will probably ask for something less than 20 minutes). It’s also important to make your argument clearly and concisely, identifying who is talking when and why they are doing so at that point. Rahi incorporates moments to think about what she’s argued by introducing the film’s theme song into moments that indicate a shift in her argument, moving between ideas while giving her listener a chance to wrap up that line of thought. In the same way, her closing of the episode reminds her listener of the significance of her argument about the film – and the significance of the film’s argument for ecological preservation and the long-term impacts of species in their ecosystem.
Sources
Including attribution of source material, including outside experts’ voices or information, and any music utilized in creating a podcast is important, and should be either included in the credits of the podcast or in show notes that accompany the audio file.
Originally published in Chapter 12 of WOVENText, 2021 edition.