Podcastakademie: Oral History Interviewen

Some stories live only in the mind of a single person. Oral history is the art of bringing those stories to the surface.

Over the course of two Saturdays, you will learn how to conduct an in-depth interview and how to help people delve into their memories in order to retrieve recollections of specific moments or significant events as accurately as possible.

Annegriet Wietsma is an independent documentary and television maker. In her widely acclaimed podcast De Deventer Mediazaak (VPRO/HUMAN for NPO Radio 1), she explores the media circus surrounding the Deventer murder case. She previously spoke about the important role oral history played in this podcast at the Podcastclub, as well as how we could all make use of oral history in our daily lives. In 2023, her podcast De zwembadclub (NTR) was released. In this podcast, the reliability of oral history plays a major role.

Programme and sessions

Session 1: Introduction & Oral History Techniques (Saturday, 7 November)

The first session focuses on exploring the concept of oral history (OH). What is oral history? What is the difference between an oral history interview and a journalistic interview? We will also discuss the qualities of a good oral history interviewer, how to get people talking naturally and how to deal with the (un)reliability of memory. And how do you verify the information you obtain and assess its accuracy?

In the afternoon, we will work with techniques that can be used during an oral history interview. How do you activate someone's memory? How can you delve as deeply as possible into someone's memories? What tools and techniques can you use? We will also discuss how to prepare for an interview, how to deal with the interviewee's emotions, common pitfalls and traps, and the do's and don'ts. The session also includes several practical exercises.

Session 2: Putting It into Practice (Saturday, 14 November)

In the second and final session, you will learn about conducting and following up on an oral history interview. Using practical examples, we will discuss how to prepare, including creating a checklist of points to consider, choosing an appropriate location and setting, and handling your equipment during an oral history interview. What agreements should you make regarding publication rights and quitclaims? Finally, we will cover how to process the interview and the value of verbatim transcripts.

What do you need?

No special equipment is required for this course.

De eerste bijeenkomst, zaterdag 7 november, vind plaats in de ArthurStaal-kamer. De tweede bijeenkomst, zaterdag 14 november, vind plaats in het Tuinhuis.

Podcastnetwerk zet zich in voor het bevorderen van de podcastcultuur in Nederland waarbij de maker centraal staat.