Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

Since 1973, the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies has taught students from all over the United States and around the world to become skilled documentarians and storytellers. At the core of Salt is a 24/7 15-week experience. Motivated individuals from all walks of life come to Salt to focus on documentary storytelling, develop new skills, and build expertise. Our faculty members are working documentarians and teaching professionals who help provide a strong foundation for students to make their best work.

SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

59 Pieces

The SaltCast was a bi-weekly podcast produced from 2008-2010, aimed at pulling back the curtain on radio storytelling. From fieldwork and recording techniques to narrative and ethics, Saltcast explored the ins-and-outs of radio production. If you want to hear more Salt radio work, including that produced by more recent students, check out http://www.prx.org/group_accounts/1185-salt !

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Updated: Jan 07, 2013

#44 - Racial Cleansing in America

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

On this Saltcast we feature John’s story “Racial Cleansing In America.” It’s about the expulsion of blacks from Corbin, Kentucky by the town’s whit...

Bought by Radio Newark and PRX Remix

#43 - Brainhilda and I

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

After sustaining a brain injury in a car accident, Carole Starr was diagnosed with hyperacusis, a severe sensitivity to sound. This would be trauma...

Bought by Radio Newark and PRX Remix

#42 - Saltcast Parody (Graduation Fall 2009)

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

Caption: Rob holds his head in his hands, tears from laughing so hard. , Credit: Adriana Teresa

This fall, the radio students produced a parody of the Saltcast. It’s a riot. And, it’s today’s feature. I admit, it’s a bit of an insider piece bu...

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#41 - Pizza Time!

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

Caption: Make way for Tom Witkowski, the dean of delivery at Pizza Time, Portland, Maine. , Credit: Rebeca Beeman

Mark Kramer, founder of the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism, says if a story doesn't have an obvious narrative hook, it needs a strong ch...

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#40 - Flatline Days

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

Caption: Hillary Hebert takes a break after talking about motherhood and bi-polar disorder. , Credit: Keith Lane

We don’t teach “sound art” at Salt, but we do wonder from time-to-time how a feature might benefit from using sound art to tell a story. In particu...

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#38 - Josh: Growing Up With Tourrette's

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

Caption: Have tape deck, will diary. Josh Cutler, the subject of Joe Richman’s “Josh: Growing Up With Tourrette’s.”

Joe Richman has made some of the best documentaries on public radio. His work is stellar — sound rich, dramatic, personal. On this Saltcast, Joe jo...

Bought by Radio Newark, KUT, and PRX Remix

#39 - Mind on the Brain

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

Caption: Watch a video tape as a prompt during an interview.

Get people moving and using senses other than their ears during an interview.

Bought by Radio Newark and PRX Remix

#37 - Sound Healer

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

Caption: Sound healer Sandra Chausse., Credit: Rebecca Beeman courtesy of the Salt archive

In the radio track at Salt, we use Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Franklin’s definition of story: a sequence of events where a sympathetic chara...

Bought by Radio Newark and PRX Remix

#36 - Survivors: Solitary Confinement in America's Prisons

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

Caption: Robert King Wilkerson spent twenty-nine years in solitary confinement., Credit: Terry Foss

When is the sound of a slamming door not a slamming door? When it’s designed. On this Saltcast, we feature Claire Schoen’s story "Survivors: Soli...

Bought by Radio Newark and PRX Remix

#35 - A Jew Grows in Rockland

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling

Caption: Rabbi Amita Jarmon lights a menorah., Credit: Hannah Fox courtesy of the Salt archive

Humor ain’t easy. And, on the radio, I think it’s particularly difficult. You have only your voice to make the point. And, on top of that, the audi...

Bought by Radio Newark and PRX Remix

	Amy O'Leary Editor
	Sarah Buckingham
	Jamie Yuenger Independent Producer
	Selena Simmons-Duffin Production Assistant at NPR's Morning Edition
	Shane Perry
	donna galluzzo Executive Director, the Salt Institute
	Christine Heinz
	Anna Pinkert
	Alix Blair
	Emily Baer
	Salt Staff
	Isaac Kestenbaum (Admin)

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