In the first semester of NYU's Podcasting and Audioreportage MA students were assigned to produce a sound-rich cultural reporting audio feature about someone's enthusiasm for something. 

In this feature my friend Marika talks about her passion for studying physics as a hobby. She spends hours learning about the topic for no other reason than her curiosity and because quantum physics are just too damn fascinating.

2023 by Laura Bachmann

Enthusiast: Marika Loves Physics

In the second semester in NYU's Podcasting and Audio Reportage MA students were assigned to produce a non-narrated profile. We followed a character for a few weeks, documenting their life, conducting in-depth interviews, recording scenes, and mixing all the elements into a cohesive and artful character study with a narrative arc. 

This profile is about the Secaucus Doll and Teddy Bear Hospital in New Jersey. A Hospital dedicated to the restoration of teddy bears and other stuffed animals. The family business is practicing a dying art form that demands precision, secret tricks and a lot of heart. 

2024 by Laura Bachmann

Non-Narrated Profile: Doll Hospital

What would you do if you lost the most important thing you ever owned? When Safia was 14, she was gifted with a special family necklace. She loved that piece of jewelry, like nothing else she ever owned. When she lost it, Safias life came to a screeching halt. She could not bear the loss, she could not move on from it. It felt like she lost a part of herself. And she didn't know how to get that part back. 

This piece is an exploration of loss, the meaning we attach to things we own and the challenges of connecting with one's immigrant identity, while growing up in the diaspora. It's also about Tony, the patron saint of lost things. 

2023 by Laura Bachmann 