CAJ’s podcast The Yarn won a bronze medal for best student documentary at the New York Festival Radio Awards 2023.

The Yarn, which won gold at the 2022 Australia Podcast Awards, is a student-produced podcast, featuring audio stories from “The Citizen” and coverage of guest talks and events.

Another of CAJ’s student podcasts, Uncurated, was a finalist in the same category in the prestigious international awards.

Senior lecturer Dr Louisa Lim, CAJ’s audio specialist who is executive producer of both The Yarn and Uncurated, said that former student Fia Walsh had started The Yarn, which features our students and graduates telling the stories behind their stories. CAJ took over to continue producing the series as a training ground for audio journalism students.

“It really helps them practice these skills,” Lim says. “Doing audio journalism before they get jobs.”

The podcast series Uncurated focuses on unpacking the hidden histories in various collections held by the University of Melbourne. Student reporters find inspiration by combing through often overlooked objects in the university’s 12 museums, unpacking their histories to explore and tell stories of colonisation, fame, fortune, sex and death. In 2022, Uncurated won silver in the New York award, which showcase the world’s best audio content.

“For us, we make these podcasts in class time, particularly on Uncurated. We have minimal funding. We’re not paying for fancy sound designers. It’s all student work,” Lim says.

“I think it just shows the wealth of student talent.”

A full list of winners can be found here. And, check out The Yarn and Uncurated.