This teaching case study examines a podcasting journalism course at Toronto Metropolitan University that was redesigned through a curriculum co-creation lens to increase student engagement and enhance critical thinking skills. Curriculum co-creation involves students working in partnership with instructors. This course, “Advanced Podcasting/Radio Documentary,” includes undergraduate- and graduate-level students. It functions as a professional podcast production team, with the instructor as executive producer, the teaching assistant as senior producer, the staff audio specialist as director of audio, and the students as episode producers. This approach allowed the instructor to integrate critical thinking skills related to cultural competence with “radical collaboration” among all members of the production team. The results showed deep student engagement in learning, increased confidence, and a strong sense of pride in this collaborative work. Upon successful completion of this semester-long project, students are able to produce a 15-minute documentary-style podcast episode and begin to demonstrate cultural awareness as they consider journalistic care ethics and unconscious bias throughout the production process.

Key words: podcast audio documentary, journalism, ethics, bias, cultural competence, curriculum co-creation

We Met U When … podcast: Learning duty of care in journalism through radical collaboration

Author(s)

Shari Okeke and Leonor Carvalhal Dias

Year Published

2026

Publication Type

Journal Articles

Research Area

Digital Media, AI & Innovation, Equity, Diversity & Community, Journalism, Democracy & Ethics, Storytelling, Media Culture & Practice
Link to Publication
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