Dive into the podcasting world along with Mari and Mia and learn all about how to tell a story in an audio-only format

By: Mia Johnson and Mariana Schuetze

Two women wearing headphones, one with pink hair (left) and the other with red (right), smile and pose for a picture at a radio studio in front of microphones and their laptops. — Mia Johnson and Mariana Schuetze are the co-hosts of the *Audio Only* podcast and third-year journalism students at TMU. This podcast started as an assignment for their ‘Podcasting and Radio Basics’ class and grew into something more. (Angela Glover/TMU)

Podcasting is hard – it’s not an easy gig. We would know. There’s scheduling interviews, pre-interviews, conducting interviews, script writing, and narration recordings. And don’t even get us started on the post-production process. But the work these audio-only formats produce – it’s a different world. A world that only exists between your ears. It’s a sensory, visceral space where we can imagine these narratives playing out.

Audio Only is a podcast about podcasts, hosted by CanCulture’s film editor, Mariana Schuetze and literary editor, Mia Johnson. We’re just getting started in podcasting and Audio Only not only highlights our love for storytelling through audio but also what it takes to create a podcast. We wanted to explore audio drama narratives and how fictional truths can get at larger truths than non-fiction.

Epiphany is an audio drama narrative created by fourth-year media production students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). It is a touching, coming-of-age story that deals with sexual assault by putting the character’s healing journey at the forefront of the narrative.

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We talked to Haylee Thompson, the creator of the Epiphany, co-writer Drake Sanderson and Addison Holley, who directed Epiphany. And for an expert perspective, we talked to Chris Tolley, co-producer and co-host of the CBC podcast, PlayME. Listen to our first episode to get a glimpse into the world of audio-only storytelling.

Epiphany is still in the process of mastering but will be released in the coming months, you can listen to it on their website and find more updates on its impending release on their Instagram, @tmuepiphany.

Find a full transcript of the podcast here.

Mariana Schuetze and Mia Johnson have been working on this project since mid-October. One of the final recordings was done in the Allan Slaight Radio Institute at The Creative School at TMU. (Angela Glover/TMU)

Addison Holley and Epiphany’s sound engineer, Matt Major, worked together, along with Haylee Thompson and Drake Sanderson, on editing Epiphany. (Mariana Schuetze/TMU)

Besides directing, Addison Holley is also an accomplished voice actor. She said her previous experience with voice work is what drew her to Epiphany. (Elias Wong/Epiphany)

Haylee Thompson is the creator, lead writer and co-producer of Epiphany. The audio narrative started as her final-year practicum project at TMU (Elias Wong/Epiphany)

Co-hosts of the New York Times podcast ‘Still Processing’ Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris came with some "Top" energy

Still Processing co-hosts Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris standing on the Hot Docs stage in Toronto on Nov. 12 2019. (CanCulture/Brooke Houghton)

By Brooke Houghton

Hot Docs’ fourth annual podcast festival in Toronto closed its curtains on Nov. 12 with an uncensored conversation between Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris of the New York Times award-winning podcast Still Processing.

The culture podcast covers hot topics, films and general societal issues through a queer and POC perspective. The podcast is co-hosted by Wesley Morris, a pulitzer prize winning film critic, and Jenna Wortham, a culture writer for the New York Times.

The co-hosts discussed “top” and “bottom” energy, the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich, anal pleasure and personal anecdotes of uncomfortable racial situations from hair touching to personal style.

The show opened with Morris and Wortham emerging from the audience and playfully dancing their way upstage and into their seats.

After a warm and quippy introduction about Wortham googling 'Hot Toronto news' Morris transitioned into a personal experience of his from earlier in the week.

Morris recalled shopping in a small store where he was the only customer and the cashier started to play Solange's song Don’t Touch My Hair.

"It was so weird!" said Morris. "… It was like she wanted me to know she knew not to touch my hair."

Wortham chimed in on this issue with her own experiences of dealing with people asking, "Where is that from? I must have it!" (imagine a bad French accent) about her lock-pad necklace and personal style in general.

She went on to suggest that these occurrences are manifestations of white guilt. Where although their intentions may be to show solidarity, their execution is uncomfortable, to say the least.

This conversational discussion shines a light on a serious issue in a relatable, funny and empathetic way that listeners of Still Processing are more than familiar with.

The pair quickly moved on to an interactive game in which the audience had to decide whether the meaning behind a photo had “top” or “bottom” energy.

Their first image was a zoomed-in photo of Mark Zuckerberg's hairline. The energy in question? His barber. The audience immediately took to the game and energetically participated in screaming, “Top!”, “Bottom!”, whooping and generally having a great time.

Other notable contestants on Top or Bottom included the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich, Frank Ocean’s "Prep" party, the Joker dancing, and the Trump impeachment informant.

Wortham and Morris closed the show with a Q&A from the audience where they talked about how anal pleasure does not make you gay, queer identity and who can identify as queer, and the current books they're reading.

On stage the co-stars proved their infectious charisma is not limited to their scripted podcast but simply inherent in their dynamic.

Still Processing just wrapped up its second season and will be returning for a third season with the New York Times in 2020.