Audio Educators Meetup: Student Podcast Playbook with The Bell
The Bell will present the Student Podcast Playbook, a free podcasting curriculum for school classrooms. In this four-week unit, students will learn how to create a scripted, journalistic podcast episode from start to finish. Each lesson is structured so that students will “learn by doing,” immediately applying podcasting skills—such as interviewing, scriptwriting, and audio editing—to their own projects.
The Bell’s staff will share a sample activity from the curriculum, provide practical advice from the organization's more than eight years of teaching high school students the craft of journalistic audio storytelling, and take audience questions.
The Bell is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to building the next generation of journalists and civic leaders. Founded in 2017 by former teachers and journalists Taylor McGraw and Adrian Uribarri, The Bell has trained more than 150 New York City high school students in rigorous audio journalism programs. Its student reporters have produced dozens of in-depth audio stories about local public schools for nationally acclaimed podcasts, Miseducation and P.S. Weekly. Collectively, these podcast episodes have been downloaded more than 130,000 times, and an even bigger audience has heard this work live on national airwaves, including The New Yorker Radio Hour. Collaborations with nonprofit newsrooms, including The Hechinger Report, WNYC Studios and Chalkbeat, have earned The Bell a reputation as a national leader in building symbiotic youth-adult reporting partnerships.
In 2022, The Bell spearheaded the formation of the NYC Youth Journalism Coalition, a collective effort to strengthen the journalism career pipeline. Through the coalition's "Journalism for All" initiative, The Bell and partners are actively expanding journalism programs to dozens of schools that historically lacked them, democratizing access to the field for thousands of students. The Bell is also scaling its work in Mississippi through the Jackson Youth Newsroom, a program focused on building a new generation of civic-minded journalists in the Deep South.
This event is organized by AIR's Audio Educators Committee. The live event is open to all. The event will be recorded with the recording only available to AIR members. Audio Educators get 20% off a 1-year Professional AIR Membership.
Speakers
Mira Gordon
Mira Gordon is The Bell’s senior manager of New York City programs. She leads student internships, programs community events and contributes to the production of The Bell's Miseducation and P.S. Weekly podcasts. Her background in youth development includes previous work with Breakthrough New York. She holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Barnard College.
Sabrina DuQuesnay
Sabrina DuQuesnay is The Bell’s manager of student and alumni experience. A New York City public school alumnus, she’s been involved with The Bell’s programs since her junior year of high school and was a co-host of the Miseducation podcast in its early seasons. Sabrina holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and double minors in philosophy and creative writing from Stony Brook University.
Taylor McGraw
Taylor McGraw is The Bell’s Executive Director and Co-Founder. Prior to launching The Bell in 2017, he spent five years teaching and coaching in New York City schools. He is a journalist whose writing has appeared in USA Today, the New York Daily News, The Hechinger Report, Mississippi Today and Narratively. After a decade in New York City, he moved in 2022 to Jackson, Mississippi, where he is leading The Bell’s newest initiative, the Jackson Youth Newsroom. A native of Oxford, Mississippi, he got his start in journalism working for the Oxford High School student newspaper.