Marfa Public Radio School: PODCASTING 101

Are you a storyteller that wants to start a podcast? Is audio your passion, but you aren’t sure where to start? 

Marfa Public Radio presents Marfa Public Radio School: Podcasting 101 , a five-day online workshop led by audio producer and writer Ruxandra Guidi, (Fonografia Collective, University of Arizona’s School of Journalism) in collaboration with AIR Media.

From Friday, June 25th -  Tuesday, 29th beginner storytellers are invited to workshop a story idea and learn the basics of podcast creation.

Get inspired by the variety of podcast forms, from host-driven to non-narrated. Learn how to improve the quality of your tape, the art of interviewing, how to record, and what makes a story compelling from our seasoned guest instructors Sam Sanders (NPR Host; It’s been a minute), Martina Castro (CEO; Adonde Media), Kelsey Padgett (WNYC), and more .  

Don’t have a story idea? Pitch a personal or family story - at any stage. Participants will be guided through audio exercises, and one-on-one sessions to strengthen the audio pieces that they’ll share on the final day of the workshop.

As Marfa Public Radio continues to expand as a hub for the next generation of audio storytellers, this workshop is free to 10 accepted participants, priority seats will be given to BIPOC, Bilingual, and West Texan storytellers. Participants will also be given a free membership to AIR media and a free trial to Hindenburg Audio Editing Software. 

Please apply using this form by Monday , May 31st at 10 pm (CDT). Accepted participants will be notified by Friday, June 4th. 

Click here for the full program schedule.

We’ll host an information session on Wednesday, May 19th at 5 PM (CDT) via Zoom:

Topic: Podcasting 101 Info Session
Time: May 19, 2021 05:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89739561448

Meeting ID: 897 3956 1448
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About Us

Marfa Public Radio is an award-winning, non-profit, listener-supported radio station serving far West Texas. Our mission is to be a lifeline to the communities we serve, a beacon for the stories of West Texas, and a center for media innovation.

Instructor Bios

Ruxandra Guidi has been telling stories for over two decades. Her reporting for public radio, podcasts and magazines has taken her throughout the United States, the Caribbean, South and Central America, as well as Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico border region. After earning a Master’s degree in journalism from U.C. Berkeley in 2002, she assisted independent producers The Kitchen Sisters with their award-winning series Lost & Found Sound; then worked as a reporter, editor, and producer for NPR's Latino USA, BBC’s The World, Fronteras Desk in San Diego-Tijuana, and KPCC Public Radio's immigration beat in Los Angeles. She's also worked extensively throughout Central and South America, having been a freelance foreign correspondent based in Bolivia (2007-2009) and in Ecuador (2014-2016). She is the president of the board of Homelands Productions, a journalism nonprofit cooperative founded in 1989, and a contributing editor for the 50 year-old nonprofit magazine High Country News. In 2018, she was awarded the Susan Tifft Fellowship for women in documentary and journalism by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Currently, she is a freelance editor and contributor for various magazines and podcasts, and an assistant professor of practice and assistant director of the Bilingual Journalism Program at the University of Arizona’s School of Journalism, where she teaches audio storytelling, feature writing and freelancing to undergraduate and graduate students. She’s a native of Caracas, Venezuela, and is currently based in Tucson, Arizona.

Elise Pepple is the Executive Director of Marfa Public Radio. Elise got her start with StoryCorps and has loved stories ever since. She studied radio at the Salt Institute for Documentary Study in Maine. She used to host a live storytelling series and teach audio to college students. She co-produced Portland Brick: a project building public memory. At Marfa Public Radio, Elise aims to use both old school and new school techniques to make the station relevant.

Sam Sanders is a correspondent and host of It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders at NPR. In the show, Sanders engages with journalists, actors, musicians, and listeners to gain the kind of understanding about news and popular culture that can only be reached through conversation. The podcast releases two episodes each week: a "deep dive" interview on Tuesdays, as well as a Friday wrap of the week's news.
Previously, as a key member of NPR's election unit, Sam covered the intersection of culture, pop culture, and politics in the 2016 election, and embedded with the Bernie Sanders campaign for several months. He was also one of the original co-hosts of NPR's Politics Podcast, which launched in 2015.
Sanders joined NPR in 2009 as a Kroc Fellow, and since then has worn many hats within the organization, including field producer and breaking news reporter. He's spent time at three Member stations as well: WUNC in North Carolina, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and WBUR in Boston, as an intern for On Point. 
Sanders graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2009 with a master's degree in public policy, with a focus on media and politics. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, with a double major in political science and music.
In his free time, Sanders runs, eats bacon, and continues his love/hate relationship with Twitter.

Martina Castro ( @martinacastro) is founder and CEO of Adonde Media (@adondemedia), a globally-minded podcast production company based in Los Angeles, CA. Over the past fifteen years, Martina has produced and edited award-winning audio content in both the U.S. and Latin America. She has worked at NPR and KALW-FM in San Francisco, CA, and co-founded NPR’s Radio Ambulante. Since launching Adonde, Martina has led multilingual and multinational teams as Executive Producer on podcasts for clients such as Duolingo, TED, Spotify, and Vice News.

Kelsey Padgett is a Peabody award-winning documentary radio and podcast producer who, after years working at Radiolab, co-created WNYC's More Perfect. Her work has primarily covered the US Supreme Court and historical legal ephemera. In addition to recently spending a year and a half working as an Urban Park Ranger, her interests include home improvement, local activism, and true crime. She lives outside of New York City with her wife, her dog, and an angry, ancient cat.