Join USC alum, Paola Mardo (Proximity Media, Long Distance Radio), for a workshop and conversation with Consortium director Karen Tongson about the elements of good audio storytelling, along with an insider’s take on the podcast industry. The two will also discuss entry points for scholars and students interested in podcasting.

Paola Mardo is a host, writer, director, and producer based in Los Angeles. She is SVP Head of Audio at Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media and the host, director, and producer of their Webby Award-winning flagship podcast IN PROXIMITY. She has hosted, directed, and produced special series about Proximity projects including SINNERS, IRONHEART, and WAKANDA FOREVER: THE OFFICIAL BLACK PANTHER PODCAST, written and hosted by Ta-Nehisi Coates and winner of the 2024 NAACP Image Award and Webby Award. Born in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown and raised in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and the San Francisco Bay Area, Paola adapted her personal experiences as a teenage immigrant into LONG DISTANCE, a podcast and short documentary series about stories in the Filipino diaspora and winner of the inaugural Google Podcasts Creator Program.