In recent years, podcasts have become a genuine cultural phenomenon. A whole young generation of authors has taken up this medium to bear witness to the world around them. Podcasts are part of our everyday lives: they inform us, make us think, make us laugh, and move us. But how do you make a documentary podcast? In this course, we will learn how to tell a story through sound. Through several hands-on exercises and the production of a short radio documentary, participants will acquire the fundamentals of sound recording, editing, and writing for audio, while developing their sonic and poetic sensibility.

Target audience

This course is designed for beginners, as well as for those who already have some experience and want to deepen their skills in making a documentary podcast.

Prerequisites

None.

Equipment

Participants should bring their own computer (with Reaper software, available as open source) and their own sound recorder if they have one; HEAD provides sound equipment (sound studio, handheld recorders, etc.).

Learning outcomes

• Acquire basic knowledge of the history and current landscape of radio and podcasting
• Be able to conceptualize a podcast (writing and storytelling)
• Learn the basics of conducting an interview
• Acquire intermediate skills in recording voices and sounds
• Acquire basic skills in sound editing (getting started with Reaper)
• Produce a short documentary sound piece

Course format

Theory classes and hands-on workshops.

Dates and detailed program (Spring/Fall 2026)

Taught by