Pod Uni

**CONTENT WARNING** Just a heads up - this episode does feature a little bit of colourful language.

An interview with Kirsten Johnstone and Melody Thomas of PopSock Media. PopSock Media is an award-winning narrative podcasting company that connects and engages audiences through beautiful and impactful storytelling. Their unique approach to true-crime podcasting puts them at the forefront of the genre, and they have some great insights for aspiring podcasters – especially those leaning towards the narrative non-fiction genre. Be sure to check out their multi-award winning podcast series hosted and researched by renowned freelance journalist, Aaron Smale: “The Lake”, which is a deep dive into the abuse endured by children at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Facility; and “True Justice”, a five-part podcast series sharing the stories of those who have been through New Zealand prisons and advocating for a more just justice system in Aotearoa. Also keep an eye out for their new and upcoming projects: “The Good Sex Project”, which is about good sex, good relationships and how to have them, and “Untidy”, a podcast about parenting the parents. “The Good Sex Project” will be available soon through Stuff and Re: News. “Untidy” is currently available through Rova and Apple Podcasts.

An interview with Luce Blakiston, the founder of Shit You Should Care About (SYSCA). SYSCA is a multimedia news platform founded by Luce along with her two best mates, Liv and Rubes. They aim to take the news and focus on the parts that are more uplifting to get away from the depressing nature of the news, making it more digestible. Luce sheds light on what it is like to build and maintain a multimedia platform –from a daily newsletter to a podcast to all the socials. She gives great insights into what goes into creating different forms of content, and the benefits of approaching content from multiple angles.

An interview with award-winning author and playwright, Whiti Hereaka. She gives us insight through her experience in both writing and theatre performance on how to write for effective vocal delivery and how stories come together, which are both essential tools in any aspiring podcaster’s repertoire.

This “how to” episode offers a broad overview of important things to consider after you’ve finished recording audio for your podcast. These include: editing software, hosting platforms, podcatchers, promoting your podcast, and making money from your podcast. (Spoiler alert: it’s really difficult to make $$$ podcasting!)

This “how to” episode introduces you to two key aspects of podcast narration: writing for audio and vocal delivery. We open by talking about how your language as the host/narrator is linked to your relationship with your audience, topic, and interviewees. In the middle, we’ve got lots of tips and tricks. And we conclude by emphasizing the significance of using your own voice and language rather than trying to mimic someone else’s.  

This “how to” episode introduces you to the art of interviewing. We discuss how to select good locations for conducting interviews and what to do before, during, and after the interview itself. We also talk about the “hunter” and “farmer” methods of interviewing. And we give a shoutout to Studs Terkel!

This “how to” episode introduces you to 3 types of microphones you might use (shotgun, cardioid, and omnidirectional) and 3 types of nonhuman sounds you might gather in the field (room tones, ambient sounds, and characteristic sound effects). 

Collin recites this Māori karakia and explains how it connects to notions of writing that are important for podcasting.

Tuhia ki te rangi

Tuhia ki te whenua

Tuhia ki te ngākau

Ō ngā tangata katoa

Ko te mea nui

Ko te aroha

Haumi e!

Hui e!

Taiki e!

This episode introduces you to Pod Uni - the podcast about podcasting. Learn how to make your own podcast and how to think critically about the podcasts that we listen to. Hosted by Collin Bjork, a lecturer at Massey University in Aotearoa New Zealand. Informed by Māori culture and language.

For learners and teachers everywhere, including at university, high school, and primary school. Appropriate for inclusion in communication and media courses, rhetoric and writing courses, literature and culture courses, and more!