Maker Sessions

Dive into scores of talks, workshops, and audio manifestos offering wisdom on everything from production skills to journalistic ethics from the best audio producers and makers on the planet.


The Sound and the Blurry

Is it true? Are photographers secretly laughing at the multimedia efforts of audio producers?

  • 2010
  • 01:39:16

2010 Win/Win: AIR's Pitch Panel (Day 2)

This session pulls back the curtain on one of the most difficult and important skills every producer needs to master: pitching a story.

  • 2010
  • 01:26:10

Tales of the Tools

New developments in both hard and software are making audio production much more affordable, flexible, and convenient.

  • 2010
  • 01:38:39

Audio in Space

Producing great audio experiences becomes challenging in entirely new ways when you go beyond the stereo field, and add the dimension of actual physical space (say, a person with an iPod in Central Park.)

  • 2010
  • 01:17:06

The Script Disappears

You've pitched your story; you've collected tape; you've gone through your edits; you're ready to track.

  • 2010
  • 01:28:06

Beyond the Frontlines

News correspondent Jamie Tarabay spent much of the past decade reporting from some of the world's most high-profile conflict zones, including two years as NPR's Baghdad bureau chief.

  • 2010
  • 01:28:20

Small + Big = Dynamite

Back in 2009, one German documentary won both of Europe's most coveted radio prizes – the Prix Italia and the Prix Europa.

  • 2010
  • 01:35:39

"In the Moment" Radio

Up a tree. Circling a mountain. Hitchhiking down a dusty road.

  • 2010
  • 01:29:07

Found in Translation

Someday they'll figure out how to make radio with subtitles.

  • 2010
  • 01:16:54

2010 Win/Win: AIR's Pitch Panel (Day 1)

This session pulls back the curtain on one of the most difficult and important skills every producer needs to master: pitching a story.

  • 2010
  • 01:30:22

Making Waves: The Impact of Radio

In times of crisis the impact of radio coverage on peoples' lives is easy to assess. But day in and day out, how does radio touch the communities or subjects it portrays, and the audience it reaches?

  • 2001
  • 01:09:04

Keyboard Audio

This panel, moderated by Melissa Giraud, brings together two producers (Jay Allison and Elizabeth Meister) who were among the first in public radio and audio production to bring their innovation to the Internet, for a conversation about translating radio stories onto the Web and creating new art forms altogether.

  • 2001
  • 01:11:00

New Voices in Radio

Who's talking to the next generation of public radio listeners? This session, moderated by Ellin O'Leary, turns the mic over to some of the young producers who are busy expanding the audio documentary form by bringing energy and fresh ideas to the world of radio.

  • 2001
  • 01:20:16

D.I.Y. Radio

Do it yourself! This session is geared toward non-professionals and young people who want to learn more about telling stories for radio.

  • 2001
  • 01:03:27

Taking Risks in Radio

Producing "outside the box" is a challenge to the formulaic landscape of public radio, whether you're producing a sound art parody or poetic essay or a show bent on surprising its listeners.

  • 2001
  • 01:27:40

Ear to Ear

David Isay and Dan Collison play excerpts of their radio documentary work and discuss specific challenges, triumphs, and surprises encountered while producing various stories.

  • 2001
  • 59:50

Talking Story

The Kitchen Sisters skillfully lead this panel about creative and unusual approaches and techniques for producing compelling radio stories, including what can be learned from other media, like television and film.

  • 2001
  • 01:00:09

Airtime

What does it take to get your work on the national airwaves? Representatives from NPR, PRI, and the Public Radio Exchange, with the assistance of moderator Julia McEvoy, explain how to get work on national programs and how to distribute stand-alone specials and series.

  • 2002
  • 01:06:51