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Marginalia Podcast

Marginalia – Opening Episode. The derivative is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Podcast Description

Marginalia is a literary podcast exploring memory, attention, and everyday experience. Inspired by Marcel Proust’s reflections on involuntary memory, this opening episode considers how quiet moments — a passing thought, the turn of a page — can subtly rearrange the present.

In this first episode, I reflect on the figure of the flâneuse (the feminine form of the French term flâneur), a woman who wanders city streets, observing urban life with an attentive yet independent perspective.

Sound Elements

Incorporates three sound categories:

  • Voice (Narration): Recorded by author.
  • Music: Introduction and Tarantelle (Op. 43) layered beneath narration.
  • Sound Effect (Original Recording): A live page-turn sound performed and recorded by the author while the music was playing, used as a transition immediately before the narration begins.

The page-turn signals entry into the reflective space of the episode.

Narration and Page Turn

Marginalia – Opening Narration and Page Turn
Author: Viviana Mendiola. License: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Music

Introduction and Tarantelle (Op. 43)
Written by Pablo de Sarasate (1844–1908)
Performed by Mischa Violin and Josef Adler
Recording date: Orange, N.J., 1921
Track URL: https://www.openmusicarchive.org/audio/Intro_And_Tarantelle.mp3
License: Public Domain

Podcast Cover Image – Marginalia
Image generated using ChatGPT (OpenAI image generation tool).
Prompt and final composition directed by author. Prompt used for image generation: “Vintage literary podcast cover titled ‘Marginalia’ featuring antique books, journal, warm amber lighting, Parisian atmosphere, nostalgic tone.”
Tool: ChatGPT . February 2026.

Booked Podcast

“Booked, Episode 17: Annotating Poster” by Jazmin Jimenez is a derivative of “Open Books on a Bed” By Book Hut, originally in the public domain per the Pexels Photo License. The derivative is licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). The image was downloaded 2/14/26 and edited using Canva.


“Booked, Episode 17: Annotating” by Jazmin Jimenez is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Booked is a weekly podcast for readers who want to be involved in all types of conversations centered on books and the book community. Tune in to stay in touch with the latest hot topics for readers everywhere. With frequent special guests and heated topics, we are diving headfirst into all conversations, debates, suggestions, and reflections!

The cover is meant to convey the podcast’s lightheartedness. I liked that the photo included earbuds, since a large portion of the book community is online and many topics are hot on BookTok, Bookstagram, Booktube, and so on. The background for the title is meant to bring in more of the podcast’s fun vibes, with a wavy feel and fun fonts to accompany it.

The podcast uses voice-overs, sound effects, and music. The podcast uses fun, bouncy music to match the fun topics and help offset the conversations that can be very polarizing. The music begins as soon as the podcast starts, but is kept low, with the voiceover as the main focus. This is done intentionally to keep the entire intro bubbly and fun. When the special guest is announced, a clapping sound effect is added and fades in to create excitement about who is joining the podcast. The voiceover is meant to be lighthearted and intriguing for anyone looking to tune in to what the book community is discussing. Our first narrator, the host, introduces the episode, and our second narrator, the special guest, adds a fun, personality-filled sneak peek toward the end.

Audio Credits

Photo Credits

Sleepy Time Stories

Sleepy Time Stories Episode 3 Poster by Ana Vega, derived from Henri-Edmond Cross Landscape with Stars (1905-1908), courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Public domain (CC0).

Sleepy Time Stories is a podcast designed to offer fun, whimsical bedtime tales that help listeners gently drift off to sleep. While the podcast can be soothing for listeners of all ages, it is especially geared toward children, given the playful tone. The featured “episode” includes a children’s bedtime story I originally created for an undergraduate writing course, narrated in my own voice. Whimsical, cartoon-like sound effects are thoughtfully incorporated to highlight key moments in the narrative, adding an extra layer of charm and engagement for young listeners.

For the poster, I cropped and slightly adjusted the coloring of Henri-Edmond Cross’s Landscape with Stars (1905-1908). I chose this artwork because its surreal depiction of the night sky beautifully complements the dreamy atmosphere of the podcast. Since the podcast is primarily geared toward younger children, I selected a whimsical, playful font for the title to reflect the imaginative and childlike tone of the stories.

Audio Credits:
Magic Sound Effect by AnnaBaX01Q CC0 1.0
magic_ding by MLaudio CC0 1.0
Good answer harp glissando.wav by oggraphics CC0 1.0
Nighttime In Suburbs by The_25_Times CC0 1.0
Cat Toy by aunrea CC0 1.0
Meow (isolated) by zxin CC0 1.0
17-Corriendo.wav by citeyo1 CC0 1.0
cartoon-sound-single-boing by sdroliasnick CC0 1.0

Audio edited with Movavi Eideo Editor 2023, Image edited with PaintToolSai2

The Ravenclaw Common Room

“Ravenclaw Common Room Podcast Art” by Amal Albaladejo is licensed under Canva’s Pro Content License.

The Ravenclaw Common Room is an imagined, fantastical podcast set within the world of Harry Potter. Broadcast from the Ravenclaw Common Room, as the series name suggests, it’s dedicated to the students of Hogwarts filled with curiosity, intelligence, and the pursuit of knowledge. Each episode explores magical theory, ancient runes, forgotten spells, and the deeper questions behind the wizarding world.

The combined sound elements present a tone of calmness, thoughtfulness, and slight mystery. The episode opens with soft and instrumental fantasy styled music, with an ambient wind effect playing underneath, to set the scene of being in a magical tower high above Hogwarts. The music quietly continues under my spoken narration, recorded by myself. Sound effects include a page turning and a quill writing to create the atmosphere of scholarly investigation. The music subtly swells towards the end of the intro to build excitement towards announcing this week’s topic before officially diving deep into it.

“The Ravenclaw Common Room Podcast” by Amal Albaladejo is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Sources

Audio:

Ethereal Magical Reverie” byViraMiller is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Wind at door howling 4.wav” byBosk1 is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Page Turn – 24” bySpaceJoe is licensed under CC0 1.0

psaní brkem 02.aif” by6polnic is licensed under CC BY 4.0

“Ravenclaw Common Room Narration” by Amal Albaladejo is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Visual:

“High Gloss Sparkles” by Trendify is licensed under Canva’s Free Content License

“Open books flying in the bright blue sky” by LuisPortugal from Getty Images Signature is licensed under Canva’s Pro Content License

“Wizard Holding Magic Wand On Black Background, Closeup” by Africa images is licensed under Canva’s Pro Content License

“Whole Body Aura Energy” by sparklestroke is licensed under Canva’s Free Content License


Reel Relics

Reel Relics Podcast Season 2 Episode 11 by Kenneth Jones is licensed under CC BY 4.0

For this post, the idea came from my love of independent and obscure films. The podcast concept is to explore older and lesser-known independent movies and talk about them in a way that reviews not only their entertainment value, but also their story ideas and the different types of nostalgia that surface when we revisit them. The podcast also reflects on the current state of the film industry and how these older works intertwine with contemporary cinema.

For the sound design, I decided to start with a classic movie-style intro and build from there. I wanted an opening that could be used universally for every episode, followed by a more specific background soundscape tailored to the film being discussed. I uploaded the track to SoundCloud because my original file was too large. When I tried using a compression website, an audible humming sound was now on the compressed version, so I just stuck with the original. I used Audacity to layer the audio tracks and a condenser mic to record the vocal narration.

Citations:

Audio:

Visual:

Stillness

Stillness: Main Poster by Emma Preston uses the image Morning at the Beach by Emma Preston (attributed under CC0), edited with Canva. This image is attributed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

This is Stillness, a podcast about slowing down and enjoying what truly matters. This podcast will discuss strategies for decluttering, digital minimalism, and finding rest in a non-stop world. In this audio, the sound of waves on the beach allow the listener to escape to a place of enjoying, while quiet music plays in the background, stimulating a feeling of peace and relaxation.

Stillness: Choosing Less So Life Can Feel Like More by Emma Preston is an audio podcast attributed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Audio Credits:

wave.mp3 by sanyimol (CC0)

Acoustic Meditation by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com (CC BY 4.0)

Infected by Fate

“Infected by Fate-Episode 6 Poster” by Lisa MacKay-Ring is a derivative of Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull (1756-1843) a work in the Public Domain. The derivative is licensed as CC BY-NC 4.0

I don’t really listen to podcasts much as I don’t have the time or bandwidth to discover them. However, the instruction to select something I am passionate about steered me in the direction of the impacts of disease is history; this topic is related to my all-consuming obsession, I mean, dissertation. Infected by Fate examines the ways in which the outcomes of historical events have been affected by the presence of disease.

The bell tolling is a reminder that throughout history, prior to the 20th century, infectious disease was a leading cause of mortality. The music is a funeral dirge. Together these evoke a sense of mourning and somber reflection. The mosquito is a shoutout to my monograph about yellow fever, although Cornwallis was motivated to surrender in part because his troops were afflicted with malaria, so it works for the photo as well. As a general comment, I was disappointed with how inferior the quality became in order to reduce the clip to a size that Word Press would accept. I think that it worth mentioning as a caution to consider in any projects going forward.

Audio Credits:

Sound Effect: [Re-Creation] Hells Bells, Tolling, 12 o clock, Processed by Noah Bangs is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Music: Coronach by MadGravityStudio is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Ambient: Mosquito 2 Edit.wav by IanFSA is licensed under CC by 0

Narration: Infected by Fate Introduction Narrative by Lisa MacKay-Ring is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

Photo Credits:

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull (1756-1843) a work in the Public Domain.

Alyssa’s Book Club

“Alyssa’s Book Club Poster” by Alyssa Mitchinson is a derivative of “Bookshelves filled with various books in a library.” by atelierbyvineeth … licensed by Unsplash. Originally downloaded on 02/17/26 and edited with Befunky photo editor. The derivative is licensed under the CC BY-NC 4.0.
“Alyssa’s Book Club Podcast” by Alyssa Mitchinson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Alyssa’s Book Club is a simple podcast recorded in my little apartment featuring various guests/friends, where we provide in-depth book recommendations while discussing each book we read together! The casual and homey atmosphere makes this podcast series a fun but relaxed experience for listeners who want to wind down and not have to focus too hard. Discussions will be intentionally curated so that readers can follow along without having to read the books we’re discussing if they don’t want to. Each episode will include a discussion (with as few spoilers as possible) of the book we previously read, as well as a brief summary of the book that will be featured next, for listeners who want to keep up with our reading.

I used music at the beginning for a fun start, followed by a page flipping sound effect as a transition (which is also used at the end, as well). In the background is a softer audio of a home environment, featuring the nostalgic sound of cicadas in the distance, to hopefully give a more intimate and calm feeling throughout. Recording vocal audio was tricky since I don’t have any formal equipment, but I managed with just my computer (and I even roped my friend into giving a very brief appearance in the podcast). Balancing the audio volumes was also a tricky endeavor.

Audio Credits:

Photo Credits:

Beneath the Stacks

My podcast will be a podcast about what goes on in the public library from patron interactions to job duties to dealing with other outside forces that affect the job. We would gather actual stories from real librarians that could be submitted anonymously and share them on the show. The sound elements used for this piece were the sound of pages being fanned through quickly, a mysterious sounding song, and a voice over done by me.

Photo Derivative: “Beneath the Stacks” by Savannah Whitby licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Photo adapted from: “trinity college library – dublin” by dan boss licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Audio adapted from:

mystery+puzzle music – piano version (drums)” by ZHRØ licensed under CC BY 4.0

Paging through book.wav” by ItsTheGoodstuff licensed under CC BY 4.0

“Beneath the Stacks (Voice)” by Savannah Whitby licensed under CC BY 4.0

Derivative: “Beneath the Stacks full intro” by Savannah Whitby licensed under CC BY 4.0

Stories That Stay With Us

This podcast series explores how read-aloud experiences shape classroom culture and student connection to stories. In this 30-second episode opener, narration is paired with a page-turn sound effect and soft piano background music to create a calm and inviting classroom atmosphere.

This podcast includes original narration recorded using an iPhone microphone and edited in Audacity. A page-turn sound effect was recorded to simulate the read-aloud experience. Ambient piano music sourced from Freesound was layered to create a calm classroom atmosphere. All elements were mixed to ensure balanced sound and smooth transitions.

Media Credits

Album Art:
AI image generated using the prompt: “cozy classroom reading space with warm lighting and an open book, calm storytelling atmosphere” by DALL·E (OpenAI) February 2026.

Narration:
Narration written and recorded by Jennifer Gayle. Licensed under the CC BY-NC 4.0.

Sound Effect (Page Turn):
Page turn sound recorded by Jennifer Gayle using iPhone Voice Memos and edited in Audacity. Licensed under the CC BY-NC 4.0.

Background Music:
Memories of a Sweet Summer Music Loop” by xkeril from Freesound.org. Licensed under Creative Commons 0 (CC0).

Overall Podcast License:
This podcast, Stories That Stay With Us, is licensed under the CC-BY-NC 4.0.