Instructing a free, self-paced "Storytelling for Impact: Audio" course with National Geographic

My interest in audio storytelling started from my teenage love for community radio, and a recognition that audio is more accessible to both produce and consume than many other media. So when I was asked by National Geographic to instruct a free online storytelling class for youth, my answer was "heck yeah!" The self-paced course shares behind-the-scenes, how-to videos that show every step of the process I undergo to create an audio story: from researching your story, to conducting pre-interviews and interviews, compiling your story, capturing quality audio and editing, and seeking feedback. You can also meet my cat (the star of the class), watch me accidentally talk about rock and roll and skateboarding when asked about audio storytelling (it's all related!), and offer such great (no sarcasm) tips as "go under a blanket.” The class is geared toward youth ages 16-25, as well as educators—but it's open to anyone. In the course you'll also hear from fantastic youth audio producer Meghana Kakubal and educator Rachel Hansen.

In the course I document the process of creating an audio story about Rudolph Kirk (who I also recently wrote about for the Washington Post): a Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps enrollee who, as one of the few Black American enrollees allowed to have a leadership role in the program, has a story that captures both the rampant (yet little-acknowledged) institutional racism in the program AND the potential of such a program—a potential that was limited by this institutional racism. By speaking with a descendant of Mr. Kirk, as well as a historian and a current Corps employee, the story shares history to shed light onto how a future program can be more equitable than its predecessor. You can hear that final audio story as part of the class, too.

Creating these videos was also a crash course in videography for me; due to Covid, I did all the filming myself (except the outdoor profile, filmed in 12 degrees by Aiden Klimenko. Thankfully, the great editors and cinematographers at Nat Geo provided fantastic guidance.

I hope anyone interested can take advantage of the course—even if you're outside the recommended ages! You can find the course here; select the audio storytelling course either for educators or for students. I hope you enjoy!