Fans of "Serial" and "The Daily" can make their own podcasts in a new DukeCreate workshop.
The workshop series, created in 2015, offers free instruction in various arts disciplines, like painting, drawing and ceramics. Both students and community members can have access to the arts in a judgment-free, low-cost space guided by experts. The workshops, which are taught by local artists and students in the MFA|EDA program, are free and open to anyone 18 and over.
This week’s digital media workshop, Podcasting 101, will teach students how to set up their own podcast and provide insight into careers in audio.The workshop will be led by Michael Betts II, a graduate student in the MFA|EDA program and a sound designer who has been working with audio for almost 20 years.
Betts felt inspired to lead this workshop because of his inherent love of storytelling and his hope to share that love with others.
“I think the stories of people are the most important part of society because stories churn empathy and empathy friendship, and friendship, love,” Betts said. “I believe in the democratization of learning; plainly put — if I know something and I can share it with others, I should.”
Those interested should bring a charged laptop, a smartphone and headphones. The workshop is open to Duke students, faculty and staff, who must register ahead of time.
“It's honestly a really epic avenue to learn because the only real investment to be made is the time it takes to attend,” Betts said. “It also showcases resources available at Duke that might not have previously been on a students radar.”
At a research university not particularly known for its arts education, DukeCreate workshops give students an opportunity to find more balance.
“My hope is that this emphasizes the need for a truly balanced education, informed by the arts. That it can allow those who feel trapped to do work that ‘makes money but destroys your soul’ to know that you don't have to choose one over the other,” Betts said. “The greatest innovations are those that are nested in the arts and find a way to save a country and world dying of mediocrity and give it a new purpose, hence the phrase #podsaveamerica and #podsavetheworld.”
Betts is currently working as a sound designer on a project that focuses on difficult conversations had between African American parents and their sons, titled “The Talk.”
The Podcast 101 workshop will be held Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Rubenstein Arts Center in the AMI Computer Lab.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.