Dr. Neil Verma

Biography

Neil Verma is an Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Arts in Sound Arts and Industries at Northwestern University. His current research focuses on the history and form of narrative podcasting, while his artistic work explores forms of drama storytelling rooted in extended field recording techniques. Verma is an expert in the history of audio fiction, sound studies, and media history more broadly. His landmark 2012 book, 'Theater of the Mind: Imagination, Aesthetics, and American Radio Drama', won the Book Award from the Society for Cinema and Media Studies. Recently, his book 'Narrative Podcasting in the Age of Obsession' was published by the University of Michigan Press in 2024. He has co-edited notable books including 'Indian Sound Cultures' and 'Anatomy of Sound: Norman Corwin and Media Authorship', which won the Kraszna-Krausz Moving Image Book Award. Verma has consulted on various radio and film projects, including Martin Scorsese’s film 'Killers of the Flower Moon' (2023). In addition to research, he has created experimental sound recordings that have been broadcast and selected for radio art festivals worldwide, receiving an honorable mention from the Sound Year Awards in the U.K. in 2020. He currently co-edits the volume 'Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Sound Studies' and is developing a digital audio project tentatively titled 'Weirdvoice'. Verma founded the Great Lakes Association for Sound Studies and serves on the Radio Preservation Task Force at the Library of Congress. He is also an Editor for RadioDoc Review and a Board Member of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies.

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Courses