Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY

Narrative Podcasts

Podcast episodes produced by students in the Narrative Podcasts Workshop

Election 2024

What’s It Like to Vote Without Privacy?

The first time Kathy Collins voted in person, she had to tell someone else who she was voting for. We take privacy for granted when it comes to voting, but for many disabled Americans, that hasn’t been the case. Join us for the lead up to election day 2024 as we talk to Kathy and Dr. Sharon McLennon Wier about what it’s like to vote without privacy in New York – and what activists are doing about it.

Great White Way

What’s It Like to Audition in New York City as an International Performer?

Auditioning in New York City is challenging, especially for a living. For foreign-born artists, attempting to succeed on the Great White Way is even more complicated. In this episode, Costa Rican actress Nea Somogyi takes us behind the curtain of the auditioning world in the eyes of an international performer.

Medical Aid in Dying

What’s It Like to Live Without the Right to Die?

Every day, pet owners around the country choose euthanasia to prevent prolonged suffering for their animal companions. But what happens when a person wants that same peace? In this episode, we explore what it’s like to live without the right to die.

A New Life

What’s It Like to Be Free in New York City After Decades in Prison?

Reporters Lauren Rapp and Perry Gregory explore what it’s like to create a new life in New York City after decades of incarceration. Older adults are a growing population in US prison systems. When these individuals get out, they have to deal with a whole new set of problems: understanding technology, finding housing, and navigating the city.

Mental Health

What’s It Like…to Plan for When You Lose It?

When Elyn Saks was studying at Yale Law School, she suffered a schizophrenic breakdown. While hospitalized, Elyn was physically restrained, against her will, for hours at a time. Now a well-respected lawyer and USC Professor, Elyn has built a successful career in mental health law while managing her schizophrenia, and has worked to help others suffering from mental illness retain autonomy over their minds and bodies.

Orthodox Relationships

Chained to Marriage

Divorce is seemingly ubiquitous in the U.S. But what happens when divorce is not an option for you in your community? In this episode, we follow Flatbush Girl: a woman on a mission to free women from their unwanted marriages. Her shameless pursuit to upend the systems stacked against Orthodox Jewish women are impressive. But are they sustainable?

Climate Migration

What’s It Like to Have to Move Because of Climate Change?

Can you escape climate change? As the planet warms, more people are moving because of extreme weather, crop loss and other climate catastrophes. But moving doesn’t solve everything. In this episode, we’re speaking with poet and climate scientist Aryaana Khan about her experience with climate migration and how it shaped her life.

It says it’s halal, but is it?

What’s It Like to Produce and Consume Halal Meat in America?

The sticker says the meat is halal, but is it? Halal food has become a $20 billion industry in the US but it remains one of the least regulated—it’s the fourth most susceptible to labeling fraud in the entire food industry. On this episode, a journey into the messy business of halal meat regulation in America to find out who actually gets to label something as halal in the US.

It says it’s halal, but is it?

What’s It Like To Make Wudhu In Public?

Whenever Dania washes up in her school’s public bathroom, she tries to get done as soon as possible. She’s afraid of someone walking in on her. But she decided she was no longer going to be afraid anymore. Join us as we follow Dania Mansour, a Muslim American college student as she navigates making wudhu, the Islamic practice of washing oneself to prepare for prayer, in public bathrooms on her campus.

On the Job

What’s It Like to Run an Unlicensed Business in New York?

Of New York’s 20,000 street vendors, nearly all of them are immigrants, and most are unlicensed. That makes them vulnerable to harassment, fines, and even arrest. In Corona Plaza in Queens, vendors are coming together to push for change. This is the story of those vendors.

This is a podcast about what’s at stake in the fight against Line 3: Who stands to gain and lose the most in a climate battle that unfolded in Northern Minnesota?

Chris Rock, Louis CK, Dave Chapelle, Aziz Ansari, Mike Birbiglia, Amy Schumer, and Ray Romano are just some of the names that call this Greenwich Village comedy club home. In the first episode of Comedy Meccas, we talked with staff and comics from the Cellar to find out what makes it such a legendary institution.

Intractable

The Rat Problem

A show about problems that seem easy but keep coming back to bite us.

One journalist’s 20-year journey to an apology.

 

Leah’s dreams used to be an exciting escape. Now, they’re focused on one thing: invaders. We’re on a mission to help Leah rewrite her quarantine dreams.

This podcast follows the internal and external obstacles facing first generation college students.

A podcast about what happens when our brain plays tricks on us.

As a kid, Bobby Ehrenberg was popular, smart and athletic. Now, at age 61, he is in prison for murder, working to redeem himself. This is the first part of his story—how a young man with so much potential could fall so far.

Surviving

The Wire

The story of Joe Schweitzer, a former Marine involved in an aviation disaster that left 20 people dead.