Think you’re too busy to learn more? It’s time you do an inventory to identify when you could be multitasking with these journalism podcasts.
I squeeze in hours of extra learning while I’m:
- making coffee
- showering
- brushing my teeth
- doing my hair
- getting dressed
- driving to work
- walking anywhere
- grocery shopping
- at the gas station
- exercising
- doing laundry
- cooking
When I was a college student, teachers actually made us read textbooks! Now, I try to make learning as convenient as possible for my students. Here are some of my favorite episodes that will help you become a better storyteller while you’re stuck in traffic or at the grocery store.
Podcasts about interviewing
The Turnaround podcast is a great resource for behind-the-scenes trade secrets and tips. Jesse Thorn interviews some of America’s best interviewers about interviewing. Here are a couple episodes that are particularly relevant to new journalists. The Turnaround is available on MaximumFun.org. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
- The Turnaround: NPR’s Audie Cornish on the intimacy of interviewing https://maximumfun.org/turnaround/audie-cornish
- The Turnaround: NPR’s Terry Gross https://maximumfun.org/turnaround/terry-gross
- The Turnaround: NPR’s Ira Glass https://maximumfun.org/turnaround/ira-glass
- The Turnaround: The New Yorker’s Susan Orlean https://maximumfun.org/turnaround/susan-orlean
Podcasts about writing and storytelling
Most of these episode suggestions are from WriteLane, a podcast by Tampa Bay Times reporter Lane DeGregory and editor Maria Carrillo.
- WriteLane podcast “How do you write a story that breaks your heart” (22 min)
- WriteLane podcast “Narratives off the news” (25:16)
- WriteLane podcast “Coaching your editor part one” (26 min)
- WriteLane podcast “Coaching your editor part two” (28 min)
- WriteLane podcast “The editing process” (23 min)
- WriteLane podcast “Questions from the audience” (24 min)
- WriteLane podcast “The language of storytellers” (23 min)
- Grammar Girl podcast on Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms (13:48)
Podcasts about media
- The Takeaway “Diversity in America’s Newsrooms” (7:47) https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-diverse-are-americas-newsrooms/
- “Tanzina Vega: ‘Change Is Happening’ In Newsrooms” (16:28) http://www.wlrn.org/post/tanzina-vega-change-happening-newsrooms
- 1A interview with editor Tina Brown. Brown re-invented Vanity Fair for the modern era https://the1a.org/shows/2017-12-11/tina-brown
- 1A local journalism https://the1a.org/shows/2018-07-02/the-value-of-local-journalism
- 1A Surveying The Public Domain https://the1a.org/shows/2019-01-10/public-domain
- Why narrative storytelling declined in recent years and why it’s important to keep it going for a newsroom’s financial future. Subscription models and paywalls. Lane Write podcast. https://soundcloud.com/user-847739924/narrative-in-america
Podcasts about injustice
- All Things Considered “White Privilege II” interview (8:16) https://www.npr.org/2016/01/29/464707970/-this-song-is-uncomfortable-macklemore-on-the-contradictions-of-white-privilege
- 1A Deadly force https://the1a.org/shows/2019-01-02/how-do-we-track-the-use-of-deadly-force-by-police
- Black Lives Matter: The State of Activism Five Years After Eric Garner’s Death https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/black-lives-matter-activism-five-years-after-eric-garner-death
- Why “Send Her Back” Reverberated So Loudly https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/send-her-back-on-the-media
- On The Media Handbook: Poverty in America https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/breaking-news-consumers-handbook-poverty-america-edition (23 min)
- Chronicling Sexual Harassment And Assault In The #MeToo Era https://www.npr.org/2019/07/09/739958913/chronicling-sexual-harassment-and-assault-in-the-metoo-era (35 min)
- Inside The Sex Trafficking Charges Against Jeffrey Epstein https://amp.wbur.org/onpoint/2019/07/10/jeffrey-epstein-sex-trafficking-miami-herald-julie-brown (46 min)
- Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter, in More Ways than One. A dive into a Pew Research study on how men and women are represented in social posts, and why it matters. https://soundcloud.com/behind-the-numbers/why-diversity-and-inclusion-matter-in-more-ways-than-one (18 min)
Podcasts about social media
- Social media and mobile editor for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Facebook reach https://itsalljournalism.com/316-how-much-greater-could-your-facebook-reach-be/
- Science of Social Media: 10 Important Skills and Traits Your Social Media Manager Will Need https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-manager-job-description
- How Hashtag Our Stories is helping citizen journalists tell better stories https://www.journalism.co.uk/podcast/everything-through-the-camera-how-hashtag-our-stories-is-using-lenses-to-get-citizen-journalists-to-tell-more-stories-/s399/a733093/
- Science of Social Media: The art of copyrighting https://buffer.com/resources/the-art-of-copywriting
- Science of Social Media: The Most Essential (and Surprising) Social Media Statistics and Facts of 2019 https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-stats-facts
- How To Discover Great Content Ideas Using Reddit, YouTube, And Other Social Media Platforms by The Science of Social Media https://soundcloud.com/the-science-of-social-media/how-to-discover-great-content-ideas-using-reddit-youtube-and-other-social-media-platforms
- Science of Social Media: 8 Fun Things to Try on Instagram You Probably Haven’t Thought of Before https://buffer.com/resources/fresh-instagram-tips
- Science of Social Media: Best Instagram Apps for Marketers https://buffer.com/resources/best-instagram-apps-for-marketers
- Science of Social Media: Grade Your Marketing for Free With These 10+ Tools https://buffer.com/resources/website-graders-content-scores
Podcast about storytellers
Becoming Storytellers is a podcast by TV anchor Venise Toussaint. She interviews storytellers about what it’s like working in the biz.
- ABC Action News Tampa Anchor/Reporter, Jasmine Styles, talks about how she stumbled on journalism, why she chose a job in market #141 over market #11 https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/becoming/ep-03-abc-action-news-tampa-p7mvEXaT5Gs/
- Bay News 9 MMJ Stephanie Claytor talks about pros/cons of working in bureau, balancing family & career, and starting travel blog https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/becoming/ep-02-bay-news-9-mmj-XiBW4RfNeS_/
- Cleveland 19 News MMJ Reporter/Anchor Sia Nyorkor shares her journey from behind the scenes to on-air & her advice to younger journalists https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/becoming/ep-01-cleveland-19-news-mmj-ErGU3SDpTLq/
- Quincy Harris, host of “The Q” on Fox29 Philly & The Quincy Harris Morning Show on 100.3 WRNB talks about the full circle moment of being asked to host his own TV show, how he prepared for it a decade earlier & what’s next. https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/becoming/ep-04-quincy-harris-host-of-vAWKcxptSLy/
Podcasts about immersive storytelling and AI
- How to create interactive immersive experiences in journalism (28:27) https://soundcloud.com/its-all-journalism/308-how-to-create-interactive-immersive-experiences-in-journalism
- It’s All Journalism podcast “360 digital video puts audience in the middle of the story” https://soundcloud.com/its-all-journalism/222-360-digital-video-puts-audience-in-the-middle-of-the-story
- “When Investigative Gets Immersive: Exploring Scientific Storytelling with Journalism 360” https://soundcloud.com/onlinenewsassociation/when-investigative-gets-immersive-exploring-scientific-storytelling-with-journalism-360
- 1A AI in journalism https://the1a.org/shows/2018-06-06/artificial-intelligence-in-journalism
Podcasts about politics
- Planet Money “Ungerrymandering Florida” (20:56) https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/06/08/618410306/episode-846-ungerrymandering-florida
- Terry Gross “Rulings On Gerrymandering And The Census Could Define The Political Future” https://www.npr.org/2019/07/09/739854998/rulings-on-gerrymandering-and-the-census-could-define-the-political-future