To start off DS106 Week 4 – Learning to Listen, we were asked to watch a series of videos (five to be exact) to get a feel of what’s expected for the week and to listen/learn from some experts about radio storytelling.

The first part of first assignment was to watch a series of FOUR videos by Ira Glass, host of This American Life, a weekly radio storytelling show on National Public Radio! The First of FOUR, was about the basics of radio storytelling, and do’s and don’ts, and types/storyboards. I enjoyed this first one because it caught my attention and gave me thorough insight. He also made sure to use the word reflection A LOT in this video. The Second of FOUR, was about “finding great stories,” he went into GREAT detail, describing the many difficulties of finding interesting stories. (: I learned from this video to KILL IT! haha! The Third of FOUR, on good taste was probably my favorite of the series only because I found it to be the most interesting. I liked how he used himself as an example for a flashback to show that you might fail at first BUT NEVER give up! I just found it motivating!! The Last of FOUR, about the two most common pitfalls: “acting like a tv” and “showing a horrible personality.” What I got out of this last video was to basically just be myself, don’t mess with my voice and let my good personality shine thru!

The second part of the first assignment was to watch Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad: How Radio Creates Empathy. I really, really enjoyed this one. He is so precise in how he describes the essence of radio. The fact that radio is constantly “going to become dead,” and yet it still survives. He says that the human voice is just so unique that nothing can ever replace it. The human voice has the ability to portray emotion. He says that the radio in itself is so powerful because of what it lacks, the absence of pictures is its most defining aspect. The radio allows people connect in a unique way. (: