StoryCenter Enters the World of Podcasting

By Ryan Trauman, StoryCenter Director of Podcasting

Podcasting has been around for almost twenty years, but it wasn't until Apple began including podcasts in iTunes that it really started to take hold. Since the podcast Serial became a cultural phenomenon several years ago, podcasting has gone mainstream. Not only have prominent cultural figures like Bruce Springsteen and the Obamas created podcasts, the medium has made thousands of people into minor celebrities.

For thirty years, StoryCenter has supported people in sharing their own stories, in their own words. As our efforts have grown and evolved, storytelling technologies have gotten cheaper and increasingly accessible. In the past few years, increasing numbers of everyday people have taken up podcasting as a creative outlet, and organizations are starting to recognize its potential for supporting their work.

Now, we’re excited to announce what feels like a natural next step for our work: a full-fledged podcasting initiative. Our brand-new, public Podcast Storytelling Workshop and Podcast Production Workshop are open for registration. We're also collaborating with organizational partners to offer customized podcast training and production programs. And finally, we've started a podcast of our very own, The Shortest Distance.

Custom Podcasting Workshops

As podcasting has become more mainstream, more and more organizations have realized that podcasting can be a valuable tool for development, community engagement, public education, and advocacy. 

Many of our partners, funders, and storytellers have been asking, “When will StoryCenter start offering workshops related to podcasting?” 

Each organization has different needs and a specific vision of its mission. Since our founding, StoryCenter has been committed to working in close collaboration with organizational partners, to assist them in meeting these needs. Many groups aren't sure exactly how to best take advantage of the medium or simply lack the capacity to handle the creative development and production themselves. That's where we come in. We can help your organization explore different ways of using podcasting, work with you to hone your podcast strategy, and offer hands-on creative storytelling and audio production training for your staff. Please contact StoryCenter's Allison Myers to start a conversation about working with us.

Public Public Podcasting Workshops

The best podcasts gather together a series of smaller, integrated stories. Maybe you're interested in creating your own solo podcast, or you want to publicly share interviews with people whose voices need to be heard, or you've got something else in mind. We’ve designed our Podcast Storytelling Workshop to help you take your podcast from an excellent idea to a fully conceptualized series. 

In seven sessions guided by facilitators with years of experience in digital storytelling and podcast production, you'll find a clear, distinctive voice for your podcast within a storytelling framework. After discussions of podcast theory and several hands-on, introductory audio editing tutorials, you will finish the course by constructing a polished podcast segment.

On the other hand, maybe you already have a great podcast idea but need audio production skills to match your vision. The impact your podcast can have on the world is limited only by its production quality and your ability to share it. In our Podcast Production Workshop, you'll learn the professional recording, editing, and marketing practices needed for your podcast to thrive. Rather than having to cobble together and review a mix of generic online tutorials, you'll focus on your podcast in an engaged, small group setting. 

Over seven sessions, we will cover professional techniques and tricks used in high-quality audio recording and editing. We’ll also walk you through the details of hosting and distribution, and the development of low-cost marketing activities. By the workshop's conclusion, you will have established a professional and sustainable workflow tailored to your needs, and produced one polished segment of your podcast. You'll be ready to get your podcast online, with the tools and knowledge of a successful podcast producer. 

StoryCenter’s New Podcast: The Shortest Distance

StoryCenter has worked with countless organizations to produce an incredible variety of publicly available audio stories and radio programs, but until now, we haven’t invested in an audio production or podcast of our own. That's why we're so excited to announce The Shortest Distance. 

It’s easy to notice the distance between people - across a room, across the aisle, across the globe. Often the media, politicians, educators, and even our neighbors seem to emphasize difference, creating chasms between us. 

But what if the shortest distance between two people is actually ... a story? 

In this podcast, we'll be sharing creative stories and conversations that explore and celebrate the mysteries of human connection. Our teaser episode, Fuse Beads, is a twenty-minute story of pandemic moments told by Amy Hill, StoryCenter’s Silence Speaks Director, and featuring Jacqueline Stewart, one of our storytellers based in New York City. In ten to twenty minute episodes that will be released every other month starting in June, 2021, you’ll hear other StoryCenter team members using their own distinctive styles to weave their voices together with those of storytellers they’ve encountered over the years.