Forum 9: Revolutions

This week, we will do a case study of history podcaster Mike Duncan's show Revolutions. Duncan got into the podcasting game early, starting a series on The History of Rome in 2007 that went for five years and released over 150 episodes. Being one of the first podcasts in its genre, Duncan amassed a large following with tens of millions of downloads. He has harnessed that momentum into a successful career that has included merchandise fundraisers, leading historical tours, two book deals (to date), and a second podcast series that we will look at in this forum.

As you will hear, the format of Revolutions is quite simple. Each show rolls an intro bumper, has a short announcements segment, and then goes straight into the content. Being a podcast about history, Duncan conducts a lot of background research for each episode. But the real substance of what he does, and why his shows have been so successful, is that he does a great job of organizing and translating complex material from history books into a readable script that listeners can easily digest just by listening. As you will hear, there is nothing fancy about the show, he does not have a naturally great "radio voice," and the show does not use natural sound, sound effects, or other audio aesthetics to enhance the storytelling. Yet, the content fills a niche and generates substantial income (most episodes will have an ad that rolls at the beginning of the show).

For your forum post, listen to the show trailer, and then listen the first, or pilot, episode of the season of your choice. Each season covers a different historical revolution. Some you may recognize from history classes you've taken in the past, while others you may not have heard about before. You can use the links below or listen on the podcast app of your choice.

Revolutions Trailer  https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/2013/09/000-introduction.html

Choose one (1):

English Revolution  https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/2013/09/001-the-kingdoms-of-charles-stuart.html
American Revolution  https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/2014/02/017-the-new-world.html
French Revolution   https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/2014/07/31-the-three-estates-.html
Haitian Revolution  https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/2015/12/401-saint-domingue.html
South American Revolutions  https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/2016/06/501-the-conquest.html
Mexican Revolution  https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/2018/08/901-new-spain-.html
Russian Revolution  https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/2019/05/101-the-international-working-mens-association.html

Listen for the ways that Duncan organizes and translates a lot of information into effective audio-only stories and answer the following:

What do you notice about the way he writes his script for speaking?
What do you notice about his speaking style (pace, speaking voice, vocal cues, etc.)?
Even if a history podcast is not your thing, do you think Duncan does an effective job with what he is trying to achieve with his podcast?

To receive full credit you should make a meaningful comment on at least two (2) of your classmates' posts. A meaningful comment is defined as 2-3 sentences that demonstrate clearly you have 1) read their original post in its entirety, and 2) you are responding to their thoughts and ideas in a clear and respectful way.


PODCAST OUTLINE

In this assignment you will create an outline of your podcast episode. At the top of your outline write the title of your show (in italics) and the expected Total Run Time (at this stage this will be an estimate or a range). For aspects of your show that can be scripted – such as your trailer narration, introduction, and/or your interview questions – you should write out in full complete sentences a script of what you plan to say. For other aspects of your show – such as musical cues, sound effects, and natural sound – you should describe in as much detail as possible what you plan to do. The more detail you provide, the more feedback I will be able to give you as we transition into the production phase of your podcast.

You should type your outline into the text box in D2L in a manner similar to the weekly Discussion Forums.