"You don't need to be a voice for the voiceless,
just pass the Mic."
- Su'ad abdul khabeer
What do I mean by audio docs?
Audio documentaries are a medium - often radio or podcasts- that use sound design and interviews to tell real-world stories. They are the audio version of documentary films!
Why audio?
Focusing on audio allows listeners to feel the subtle dimensions of emotions- a tremble in a voice, a hesitant pause, or a brassy cackling laugh that wheezes with pain.
Learning to listen closely to emotions can lead to understanding of complex situations and make a better community.
![Image: Two members of the Women's Radio Listening Club in Seke Zimbabwe hold a large radio. “DTR Clubs - Seke receive free radios from FES [Friedrich Ebert Stiftung] – Germany org.”]; Date 1990s The owner of the photo is Mavis Mayo and the photographer is Calvin Dondo. ](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54c9409ee4b04a7e225bc773/t/592c800bebbd1a5fd197764d/1532460409934/Women_of_the_Radio_Listening_Clubs_in_Seke_Zimbabwe_receive_Radios.jpg)
Image: Two members of the Women's Radio Listening Club in Seke Zimbabwe hold a large radio. “DTR Clubs - Seke receive free radios from FES [Friedrich Ebert Stiftung] – Germany org.”]; Date 1990s
The owner of the photo is Mavis Mayo and the photographer is Calvin Dondo.
stories can build community.
Audio docs provide a rare opportunity for people to discuss experiences and feel heard on a larger platform. For many members of communities with voices and contributions that are historically and routinely erased- and those who stand in the intersections of these identities- asking them to tell their own story is new: it is revolutionary.
People tell their own stories best.
As an audio documentarian, I ask questions, listen to responses and build bridges so listeners can connect in new ways to each other.
Broadcasting diverse voices builds a more inclusive community.
Audio documentaries can be significant in building an inclusive community that values listening and showing up for each other for both struggles and celebrations.