Radio's Not Dead. It's Just Called Podcasting

Like most of National Public Radio's audience, I am an avid, if not obsessive fan of the "Serial" podcast. I feel like anyone who wants to teach about radio journalism should use that as one of the works they study. It's sensational nature leads some to ask, "Is it REALLY journalism?" I argue yes, but it could also spark a very interesting debate on ethics and the line between fact and fiction.

In addition to "Serial," I’ve got a regular rotation of podcasts that I listen to on my daily commute to work.

1. The Jillian Michaels Show
2. Girl on Guy with Aisha Tyler
3. The Nerdist
4. Pop Culture Happy Hour
5. James Bonding
6. You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes
7. How Did This Get Made

Even though some of these podcasts are pretty ridiculous, some of them have become excellent teaching tools in my classroom. Chris Hardwick of "The Nerdist" is not a trained journalist. He was the host of "Singled Out" on MTV...

...but now he runs the podcasting empire that is "The Nerdist" and he hosts "Talking Dead" on AMC, a live talk show airing after each episode of "The Talking Dead."

A stand-up comedian by trade, I bring up Chris Hardwick because he is an outstanding interviewer. If you've never listened to his interview of Paul McCartney on "The Nerdist" podcast, do yourself a favor - grab a pen and paper and take notes while you do. What makes Hardwick so great is that he is a conversationalist and a listener.

But I digress.

Tuesday's session on audio was, for me, one of the most exciting sessions for me because the longer I do this gig, the more of an audio geek I become. Imagine my excitement when one of my second-semester transfers just up and decided to create his own podcast for our website called "A Day in the Life." It's an interview series where my reporter interviews students who have interesting or unusual hobbies outside of school. He interviewed a mentorship student, a social entrepreneur, and an electronic dance music producer.


And he did all of this without any prompting from me.

I can't wait to better teach my students about audio and podcasting, but I'm also looking forward to going shopping for podcast gear. In an ideal world, I'd have a podcasting studio in my lab.

Maybe I can convince the prototyping teacher to make it a class project...

Erinn Harris
TJHSST
Alexandria, VA