Audio Educators Meetup: Student Podcast Playbook with The Bell

The Association of Independents in Radio’s Audio Educators Committee will host a presentation on the Student Podcast Playbook, a free curricula designed to teach high school students audio journalism skills through a four-week unit, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.

The Bell, a nonprofit organization founded in 2017, will present the curriculum and share practical insights from more than eight years of teaching high school students journalistic audio storytelling. Staff members will demonstrate a sample activity from the playbook, offer advice on implementing the curriculum in school classrooms, and answer audience questions during the one-hour virtual event.

The Student Podcast Playbook guides students through creating a scripted, journalistic podcast episode from conception to completion. The curriculum emphasizes experiential learning, requiring students to immediately apply newly acquired podcasting skills—including interviewing, scriptwriting, and audio editing—to their own projects. Each lesson is structured to build competency in these core audio journalism competencies while maintaining engagement through hands-on application.

The Bell’s work has demonstrated measurable impact in New York City schools. The organization has trained more than 150 high school students in rigorous audio journalism programs, with student reporters producing dozens of in-depth audio stories for nationally acclaimed podcasts including Miseducation and P.S. Weekly. These episodes have accumulated more than 130,000 downloads, with additional reach through broadcasts on The New Yorker Radio Hour and other national platforms.

The organization has also established collaborative partnerships with nonprofit newsrooms including The Hechinger Report, WNYC Studios, and Chalkbeat, positioning The Bell as a recognized national leader in youth-adult reporting partnerships. In 2022, The Bell founded the NYC Youth Journalism Coalition, a collaborative initiative designed to strengthen the journalism career pipeline and expand access to journalism programs in schools historically lacking such offerings. The organization is also scaling operations in Mississippi through the Jackson Youth Newsroom, a program focused on cultivating civic-minded journalists in the Deep South.

The three-person presentation team brings complementary expertise in program management and journalism education. Mira Gordon serves as The Bell’s senior manager of New York City programs and leads student internships and podcast production. Sabrina DuQuesnay manages student and alumni experience and previously served as co-host of the Miseducation podcast. Taylor McGraw, the organization’s executive director and co-founder, previously taught in New York City schools and has published journalism in USA Today, the New York Daily News, The Hechinger Report, and other publications.

The live event is open to all participants and will be recorded; however, the recording will be available exclusively to AIR members. Audio Educators are eligible for a 20 percent discount on a one-year Professional AIR Membership. Registration is free and available through the AIR website. The event is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT on July 15, 2026.

AIR’s Audio Educators Committee organizes this event as part of its ongoing mission to support educators integrating audio and podcast production into school curricula. The organization serves independent radio producers, educators, and audio professionals across North America.