Same Difference: a podcast about belonging in all of its many meanings

Students from the Ryerson School of Journalism’s advanced podcasting and radio documentary course from the Fall 2020 semester have put out a podcast series. 

The podcast, called “Same Difference,” began its release on Jan. 18. “Same Difference” features a collection of stories about belonging. 

Amanda Cupido, an RSJ grad and contract lecturer, taught advanced podcasting and radio documentary. Cupido said throughout the semester, her class learned about podcasting best practices, such as trailer creation and music scoring. 

“Creating this series gave my students a chance to put together everything they learned and produce a podcast that would be available to the public, on players like Spotify and Apple Podcasts,” said Cupido. “I provided guidance for the show, but the creative for the series was driven by my students. It was inspiring to see how they came together to create the series.” 

Each student was in charge of one episode of “Same Difference.” Students pitched their ideas at the beginning of the semester. 

Cupido helped students hone their angle, determine guests, and develop a story arc. Each story has a different format, but they worked together to determine what would be the best way to tell the story they had chosen. 

The first episode of the podcast is called “Welcome Home.” “Welcome Home” is about a couple where one partner converts to Judaism, which is the other partner’s religion. 

Emily Morantz, a second-year master’s student at the RSJ, worked as the executive producer of “Same Difference.” Morantz also created “Welcome Home,” and the couple she interviewed were her best friend and her partner. 

“In my opinion, the best part of being a journalist is you get to ask people these nosey questions that you would never get to ask them otherwise,” said Morantz. “It’s particularly fun when you’re interviewing your friends.” 

She said she wanted to interview her friends because she thought it would be great to learn what this experience was like for this couple. 

Some of the future episodes deal with mental health, feminism, reality shows, and sports. 

Cupido said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, her class took on the challenge with optimism and enthusiasm. This series proved strong journalists are able to travel to the heart of a story, even while social distancing. 

She said she thinks everyone in her class did a fantastic job on the podcast. 

“It's important that students get the chance to produce work that they're going to be proud of, beyond their days at Ryerson,” she said. “I think this series is an example of that.”