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On the first day of his Crime Waves Podcast honors course, Declan Hill, D.Phil., asked for a volunteer to take the lead on an episode with , the undercover agent who helped to take down Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel.

鈥淚 said, 鈥榶ou鈥檒l have to read Robert Mazur鈥檚 two books (The Infiltrator and The Betrayal), watch the two films based on the books, and review every interview he has done,鈥� Dr. Hill recounted. 鈥溾�橝nd you鈥檒l have three days to do it.鈥欌��

Arianna Timmins 鈥�25, a criminal justice major, immediately raised her hand, and, over the next 36 hours, she read Mazur鈥檚 books, watched the movies, and pored over the interviews. When the podcast date was postponed to late September, she didn鈥檛 miss a beat and was more than ready to co-produce the episode.

鈥淚鈥檝e never had a class like this in my whole academic 黑料社,鈥� Timmins says. 鈥淢y goal is to be in the FBI one day. To be able to learn from the people who have caught some of the most infamous criminals in the world, to learn their 黑料社s, their techniques, it鈥檚 such a great 黑料社.鈥�

鈥楨verything he said had value to me.鈥�

Producing the episode was everything she鈥檇 imagined. 鈥淚 was nervous going into the interview, but from the moment Mr. Mazur started talking, it felt like I was talking to any normal person, not an undercover DEA agent who took down two cartels,鈥� Timmins says. 鈥淓verything he said had value to me, and I will keep all of it in mind as I enter my career. The most interesting part was when he discussed how he creates an undercover identity. It must be solid and unbreakable, or else your cover will be blown in the field.鈥�

The honors course draws criminal justice, forensic science, and communications students who work on , a popular podcast across all platforms, with 12,000 to 15,000 listeners.

"He teaches us how to use the sound board, how to edit audio 鈥� everything about podcasting."Arianna Timmins 鈥�25

They learn about criminal investigations from Dr. Hill, one of the world鈥檚 foremost experts on match fixing and corruption in international sports, as well as the guests, who鈥檝e included some of the biggest gets in the field 鈥� such as Mazur and Donnie Brasco, 鈥渢he most successful undercover agent in U.S. law enforcement鈥� who infiltrated the Colombo and Bonanno crime families, leading to hundreds of convictions 鈥� and from University faculty, renowned experts in criminal investigations and forensic science.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to teach our students to be the best investigators in the world,鈥� Dr. Hill says. 鈥淲hat better way to do that than by bringing in great investigators and saying, 鈥榟ere鈥檚 how you do undercover work.鈥欌��

鈥楾his class is an extremely unique, out-of-the-box 黑料社鈥�

As Olivia Hall, 鈥�25, a criminal justice major with a concentration in investigative services, notes, 鈥淭his class is an extremely unique, out-of-the-box 黑料社, and, upon starting the class, you immediately get thrown into the deep end of the world of podcasting.鈥�

They learn the art of it from Bruce Barber, a professor-in-residence, general manager of 88.7 WNHU, the University鈥檚 award-winning radio station, and executive producer of Crime Waves.

鈥淗e teaches us how to use the sound board, how to edit audio 鈥� everything about podcasting,鈥� Timmins says. She says she loves working in a relatively new medium and in true crime 鈥渨hich my generation is really into.鈥�

鈥楾hese are essential communications skills鈥�

Dr. Hill says the students have made an immediate impact on the podcast. For one of the first assignments, he asked them to watch five earlier episodes and present ideas on what could be done better. 鈥淥livia Hall had ideas that we are already incorporating into this season,鈥� Dr. Hill says.

Hall noticed that while the podcasts were gripping and interesting, assumptions were sometimes made regarding the background knowledge listeners might have.

鈥淒r. Hill is a well-informed expert in this area and, while he has all kinds of previous knowledge about criminal enterprises and cases, the average listener does not,鈥� Hall says. 鈥淎s an average listener myself, I was sometimes lost in the middle of an episode because I wasn鈥檛 sure how the dots connected. It is important to provide the listener with every detail possible, so they can establish an understanding of the case at hand.鈥�

That led to the creation of a 鈥渃lean ears鈥� producer 鈥� a student in the class who doesn鈥檛 know 鈥渁ny information about the episode, who the guest is, what the topic is, or the specific case,鈥� Hall explains. That person listens as the podcast is being produced to 鈥渕ake sure that everything is making sense and staying on track.鈥�

As the semester moves on, students are researching criminal investigators and pitching episode ideas to Dr. Hill, and the class and will produce and even host episodes. Says Hall, 鈥淭hese are essential communication skills that I will carry with me throughout my career and life.鈥�