How to bring history to life

Novelist L. P. Hartley once wrote that the past is a foreign country, “they do things differently there.” At their best, history podcasts welcome you into that foreign country and allow you to understand a moment in time like no other. But whether you have interviews with first-hand sources from a generation ago or you’re telling a story from centuries past, bringing history to life through an audio-only lens presents lots of challenges.

In this practical course, producer Andrew Parsons will walk you through gathering tape, finding archival sources, and sound design tips to turn back time as an audio storyteller. Using specific examples from a variety of audio documentaries and his own work producing Slow Burn and Fiasco, you’ll discover pitfalls to avoid and learn strategies to adopt. Ultimately, you’ll leave class with the knowledge of how to use living and past sources as guides to places and times that no longer exist.