Radio Workshop

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  Episode 4: The Interview | Audio Storytelling, Step by Step 20.09.2026 6min

  This is the craft at the center of every great audio story: the interview. Naomi shares field-tested techniques for getting powerful, honest tape — from slating and room tone to the follow-up questions that unlock real emotion. This episode will help you learn how to listen, how to know when to sit in silence, and how to know when you've got what you need. Listen to Copper Town. Produced by Radio Workshop in partnership with DW Akademie. Hosted by Naomi Grewan and Dhashen Moodley. Filme...
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  Episode 3: Pre-production | Audio Storytelling, Step by Step 19.09.2026 7min

  From shoot schedules to spare batteries, this episode covers everything you need before you hit record in the field. Naomi walks you through the real planning documents used for Radio Workshop's Kitwe story, explains how to think in scenes (not just interviews), breaks down essential recording gear, and shares non-negotiable safety practices for reporting in unfamiliar locations. Practical, a little funny, and essential for anyone prepping their first audio documentary shoot. Listen to ...
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  Episode 2: Research, Research, Reseach | Audio Storytelling, Step by Step 18.09.2026 6min

  Great audio documentaries start with great research. In this episode, Naomi and the team show you exactly how they tracked sources, organized themes, and found "good talkers" during pre-production for their Zambia copper mining story. You'll learn the Focus Statement method — a simple formula that keeps your reporting on track when things get messy — plus real examples of how research shaped their audio story before a single interview was recorded. Listen to Copper Town. Produced by Rad...
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  Episode 1: Find your story | Audio Storytelling, Step by Step 17.09.2026 6min

  Want to make a narrative podcast? Start here! In Episode 1 of our six-part series, Radio Workshop producers Naomi Grewan and Dhashen Moodley break down the five essential ingredients of a great audio story — characters, tension, significance, change, and place using Copper Town, a documentary they made in Kitwe, Zambia, as an example. This episode is the foundation for aspiring audio documentarians, journalists, and storytellers across Africa wanting to tell compelling, impactful stories thro...
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  Copper Town 25.08.2026 40min

  Zambia knows how a copper boom usually ends: rich countries get richer and little is left behind but environmental devastation. This time, a new generation wants to change the ending. In the copper town of Kitwe, Zambia has some of the richest copper deposits on earth, the metal the world needs to build renewable energy and AI data centres. The copper price is climbing, the mines are hiring, and young Zambians want in: a mining student betting her future on the industry, young men digging ill...
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  Brake Like a Boss 07.07.2026 23min

  22-year-old Zanele Molo is learning to ride a bicycle for the first time. But she hates being out of control. Over four days, the team at Khaltsha Cycles – a Khayelitsha-based bike shop and non-profit organisation that empowers women & girls through cycling – will help Zanele find her balance. As she musters the courage to master the bike, Zanele goes back into her past to figure out why letting go is so hard. Support the show We can only do this work because of your support. You can mak...
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  You Will Die at 30 16.06.2026 27min

  At 23, trans woman Awo Dufie is outed, homeless, and facing a prophecy that says she will die at 30 — because she is queer. This threat is reinforced by Ghana's social climate and a looming anti-LGBT bill. Determined to break free from the prophecy, Awo embarks on a risky journey to find an 83-year-old queer elder who didn't just survive decades of hatred and colonial laws — she built a rich life. Can Awo too live long and live free? This is the first episode of a series on queer elders, prod...
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  The War Inside 26.05.2026 21min

  It’s early 2025, and the city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo is being taken over by a rebel group called the M23. In response to the chaos, Feza, one of the few trained psychologists in the city, opens a therapy practice in the back of a cinema to treat what she calls an epidemic of post-traumatic stress. Support the show We can only do this work because of your support. You can make a donation at radioworkshop.org.
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  Bookish 08.04.2026 31min

  You may remember John Obot from a previous episode – the Nigerian teacher who attempted to break the Guinness World Record for time spent reading out loud. Well… despite the sleep deprivation, hallucinations, and false start, it turns out John’s attempt was rejected. So, what went wrong? And could he fix it? Or was this the end of his world record dreams? Support the show We can only do this work because of your support. You can make a donation at radioworkshop.org.
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  My Land Without Oil 10.03.2026 25min

  Pascal Mirindi, a 25-year-old activist from Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, grew up surrounded by the violent fall-out of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, which spilled over into the DRC. But at age 17, when Pascal joined a peaceful demonstration in the streets of Goma, it showed him another way to fight. Experiencing non-violent resistance changed his life and set him on a path to protect his country's ecosystems from the greed of oil companies. But – being confronted...
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  It's Complicated 26.02.2026 41min

  Before the month of love comes to a close, we wanted to share one of our favorite episodes from the archive. Dating is complicated. Not to mention dating on the apps! And for LGBTQI+ folks on the African continent, where many countries criminalise queerness, it’s even MORE complicated. We asked reporters in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya and Namibia to share how they navigate the highs and lows of seeking romance, community and friendship online. Despite all the pitfalls, love calls out to al...
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  Blindsided 17.02.2026 18min

  Abiodun Oyeniran lost his sight completely at age 21. At 28, he finally makes it into the University of Lagos, only to realise the campus is not equipped to fully support the needs of blind students. So, Abiodun becomes an accidental activist, creating a grassroots system that helps visually impaired students navigate exams for 5 years—until the university decides his solution is a threat to their policy and shuts it down. Show Notes Sources: 2017 National Policy on Inclusive Education 2...
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  We’re on Sound School! 03.02.2026 19min

  Last week, one of Radio Workshop’s producers was featured on the Sound School podcast. Sound School, hosted by Rob Rosenthal, spoke to Kabir Jugram about his podcast episode “Nothing Wrong, Bro,” which explores the mental health struggles of young men in South Africa’s most densely populated city, Johannesburg. Twenty-three-year-old reporter Kabir Jagram says young men in South Africa are stoic. Holding back emotions is a survival mechanism in a country wracked with youth unemployment. ...
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  Waste Not Want Not 19.01.2026 13min

  Aphiwe's grandmother taught her to flatten cardboard boxes when she was just a kid, selling the tiny "baby bundles" and saving the money in a piggy bank. Now 19, Aphiwe wears her grandmother's old work clothes and does the job alone — supporting her entire family. Waste pickers like Aphiwe recover 80% of South Africa's recycled plastic and paper, yet earn poverty wages in an industry that depends on them but won't protect them. Shownotes Support the work of Radio Workshop by donating today. S...
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  I Will Not Grow Old Here: The Lights of Sandton 30.12.2025 31min

  To wrap up our December re-releases, here’s the third and final episode of our award-winning series. Mary-Ann explores the contradictions of life in Alexandra. There are no easy answers, and not everyone will make it out of Alex—but there’s something infectious about the energy and persistence of young Alexandrians, a spirit Mary-Ann embodies and hopes will take her out of Alex. Some day... Three years later, Mary-Ann is still living in Alex. She says she doesn’t want to be there, but h...
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  I Will Not Grow Old Here: The Air We Breathe 23.12.2025 38min

  In episode two of our three-part series re-release, Mary-Ann steps out of her comfort zone to explore parts of Alex she's been warned about her whole life. Her search for answers leads her to places where past and present overlap. How will she find her way out of Alex when the legacy of apartheid lingers, practically in the air she breathes? Meanwhile, things in Mary-Ann’s personal life take a turn for the worse. Since we published this episode, Mary-Ann says her personal life has been ...
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  I Will Not Grow Old Here: A Girl from Alex 16.12.2025 29min

  Continuing with our December re-releases, today we’re sharing the first episode of the series that earned us our first Ambies nomination and first One World Media award. This story starts with a number: 70%. That's how many young people in South Africa are unemployed. Youth hustle and hope to find success, but how do you make it in a place like Alexandra township in Johannesburg? And how do you get out? In this three-part series, 23-year-old Mary-Ann Nobele brings listeners into her lif...
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  Zambia's Sacrifice Zone 09.12.2025 25min

  To continue our month of episodes from the Radio Workshop archives, we're revisiting a story from last year. Oliver grew up in Kabwe, Zambia. Nearly a century of lead mining has poisoned Kabwe's land, air, and water, making it one of the world's most toxic towns. Now Oliver is watching a new mining boom sweep across his country, this time for minerals that power clean energy. He faces an impossible choice: fight the industry, or join it to change it from within? Now 19 and a student at Copper...
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  Love Is a Conversation 02.12.2025 21min

  As we head into the holiday season, we’re re-releasing some of our favorite episodes you might have missed—this one is from 2023. The story takes us to Lagos, where we meet audio producer Mo Isu. Mo suffers from severe anxiety—so severe that he knows it's time to get professional help. But will his stern, old-school father approve? Mo decides to face his fears and have a tough conversation. Since this episode was released, Mo has received an official diagnosis for generalised anxiety di...
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  My Whistle My Voice 24.11.2025 22min

  Last Friday, South African women shut down the country a day before the G20 Summit - an initiative led by Women for Change. Across the country, thousands gathered at midday to bring the country to a standstill and honour those who have lost their lives to gender-based violence and femicide. With 16 Days of Activism approaching, it’s crucial that we keep this momentum going. Today, we’re re-releasing an episode born from 16 Days of Activism in Ethiopia, where — like South Africa — women ...