Sound School Podcast
The Backstory to Great Audio Storytelling, hosted by Rob Rosenthal, for Transom and PRX.
Tue, April 08, 2025
Champions of Old Radio
Take a short walk into deep radio history. Julia Barton and Sarah Montague join Rob to talk about two audio storytelling classics from the 1930s: "Seems Like Radio Is Here to Stay," an homage to radio by Norman Corwin, and the anti-fascist play "The Fall of the City," by Archibald MacLiesh. Old school radio at its best!
Wed, March 26, 2025
Beware the Chicken Bomb
The best way -- sometimes the *only* way -- to describe an element in a story that is disruptive and distracting for listeners is this: chicken bomb. This year, 2025, is the 20th anniversary of "chicken bomb" entering the lexicon of audio storytelling. What exactly is it? With help from Ira Glass, we'll explain.
Tue, March 18, 2025
Amen, Chenjerai (Bonus Episode)
In this bonus episode, Rob takes his conversation with Chenjerai Kumanyika one step further. He digs in a bit more to the big question from the last episode: Who is the "you" telling this story now?"
Tue, March 11, 2025
Amen, Chenjerai
Chenjerai Kumanyika delivered the goods. Rob interviewed Chenjerai on stage at the recent On Air Fest where Chenjraie was passionate, animated, and electric as he talked about a question he sees as essential for anyone in audio storytelling to consider. We're sure you'll be as transfixed as the audience.
Tue, February 25, 2025
Revisiting: The Longest Shortest Time
Just recently, Hillary Frank relaunched her popular podcast The Longest Shortest Time . This archive episode takes us back to Hillary's early days, when she was just finding her way in podcasting -- as we all were.
Tue, February 11, 2025
The Layered Approach - Interviewing for Scenes
You want scenes in your story. But, reporting in the field isn't an option. What then? Simon Adler, a senior producer at Radiolab has an answer: interview for scenes using "the layered approach."
Tue, January 28, 2025
The Backstory to "Our Ancestors Were Messy"
Nichole Hill pitched her show idea again and again. And, again and again, podcast companies said "no." But, that didn't stop Nichole. She said "I'm doing it myself!" Our Ancestors Were Messy , a podcast featuring hidden stories from the archives of historic, Black newspapers, launches February 5th. Sound School has the backstory to how Nichole dialed in the format for the show and why she chose a mix of chat and narrative styles.
Tue, January 14, 2025
All Hands On Deck - NPR and the Nixon White House
Just over 50 years ago, in 1974, NPR took to the airwaves for a 25-hour-broadcast that Rob thinks may be one of the most tedious recordings he's ever heard and one that was also an incredible broadcast service. What is it? You'll have to listen. Trust us. It's worth it.
Tue, December 31, 2024
Revisiting: First, Tell Them an Anecdote
Rob's interview with Misha Euceph is one of his favorites. As he says, she's very clear, engaging, and insightful about the craft of audio storytelling. On this archive episode of the show from 2019, they discuss why Misha believed it was important to start each episode of her podcast "Tell Them, I Am" with a personal anecdote.
Tue, December 17, 2024
Dissection - Daniel Alarcón's Writing Maneuvers
Let's state the obvious: Daniel Alarcón is a gifted writer. It's evident from the writing in "The Good Whale," the latest series from Serial that Daniel wrote and hosted. Rob put his writing under the microscope and heard a lot of satisfying maneuvers -- and a couple that weren't so satisfying.
Tue, December 03, 2024
Fingers Crossed, Twice
Nothing seems guaranteed these days for creative audio makers. "Short Cuts" was recently cancelled and "Pretendians" is seeking funding for a second season, two shows on this episode of Sound School that are high on Rob's must-listen list because they elevate the craft and deliver essential storytelling.
Tue, November 19, 2024
Please Keep WCAI Right Where It Is
WCAI, the public radio station for Cape Cod, has been told it needs to move -- to leave the home it broadcasts from. An actual home. A former captain's house. News that the house had been sold startled the station staff and the community. In this episode, Rob laments what would be a strike against the station's deep commitment to local service.
Tue, November 05, 2024
Keep the Universal in Mind for Local Stories
The story from Slovenia on this episode of Sound School is hyper-local -- so local, you might not catch all the cultural references. But, the reporter, Ajda Kus, says that's okay. The key to telling a great local story is to give weight to universal themes so that all listeners can still relate to the piece.
Tue, October 22, 2024
Revisiting: A Stranger With a Microphone
When should a reporter turn around a leave? At what point do should they say "I won't report on these people. They need their space, not a stranger with a microphone." Jay Nathan faced that exact situation some years ago reporting on a man who was dying of cancer and the friend taking care of him. But, instead of turning around and leaving, Jay stayed. Jay is still haunted by the decision.
Tue, October 08, 2024
Revisiting: Who Are You As a Storyteller?
Robert Krulwich, formerly of Radiolab, once said "how you write is basically who you are." It's a profound statement, a kind-of koan. It requires a little bit of thought. Krulwich can be that way. But, it leads to an essential question for anyone who writes: "Who are you as a storyteller?"
Tue, September 24, 2024
Retreat! And Make Stories with Friends
"To play and to fail and to get to know each other and to celebrate the craft of making audio... What's better than that," Jasmin Bauomy asks. When inspiration struck, Jasmin put together a four-day audio retreat for about a dozen producers from Berlin. She called the retreat "The Ecco" and it yielded some fantastic storytelling.
Tue, September 10, 2024
We Do It For the Ears, Right?
We tell stories in sound for many, many reasons. For our listener's hearts and minds. For community. For self-expression. For the democracy. For listener's ears. Yes. Their ears. On this episode of The Sound School Podcast , Rob relishes the ear catching qualities of work from Delia Derbyshire (BBC), Michel Martin (NPR), and the Making Gay History podcast.
Tue, August 27, 2024
To Swear or Not to Swear in Narration
Say you're listening to a great narrative podcast. The host has really grabbed your attention and you're pulled in. Then, out of nowhere, the narrator swears. Not once. Not twice. But three times. Including f-bombs. Is that a turn off for listeners? Should narrators swear? Dan Taberski defends his swears in his latest podcast.
Tue, August 13, 2024
Gaining Access While Preserving Anonymity in Medical Settings
Patient privacy in medical settings is essential. So, how does a reporter convince a facility to let them in with a microphone and assure anonymity of the patient? Selena Simmons-Duffin has answers. She is a health policy reporter at NPR who recently reported inside a primary care facility that provides standard medical care as well as abortions.
Tue, July 30, 2024
Revisiting: Robot Babies and Radio Luck
There are four kinds of luck. Unlucky. No luck. Lucky. And radio luck. On this archive episode of Sound School , Hillary Frank digs into the *incredible* radio luck she encountered reporting a story about teens and their "robot babies."
Tue, July 16, 2024
Revisiting: Magical Realism in Radio
David Weinberg pulls off a real radio feat mixing fantasy and reality in his documentary called "Grace of the Sea." In this archive episode, David explores the value of "magical realism" in audio storytelling.
Tue, July 02, 2024
An Audio Field Trip
Rob plays "Story DJ" on this episode "spinning" excerpts from several excellent stories you'll definitely want to hear. It's an audio field trip taking you around the world: Macon, Georgia, Wales, Madagascar, Kenya, and a closet at an undisclosed IKEA. Bring your best headphones for this one.
Tue, June 18, 2024
Structure Interviews Like a Good Story
Don't leave an interview entirely to chance. Structure it like a good story. On this episode, Rob dissects an interview on The Daily revealing its effective inner story structure.
Tue, June 04, 2024
Tips to Elevate Your Reporting and Storytelling from Ira Glass
Ira Glass of This American Life is a master audio storyteller. He's equally skillful at laying out the mechanics of creative storytelling and reporting, too. Rob unearthed a presentation Ira made back in 2001 at a radio conference that is signature Ira and brimming with incredibly helpful tips on writing, structure, reporting, and scoring. A good listen for audio
Tue, May 21, 2024
Safety First: Recording with Actors for an LGBTQ Story in Uganda
It's illegal to be queer in Uganda and incredibly unsafe. Queer people risk violence, eviction, harassment, and arrest. How then does a producer protect the identity of interviewees, especially when someone's voice might be recognized. British freelance producer Mary Goodhart solved this problem and many other safety issues while working on an LGBTQ story for the BBC World Service Podcast "The Comb."
Tue, May 07, 2024
Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative…and Ethical?
There's a moment in this episode when Rob is gasping and holding his hand to his chest. Why was he so astonished? Listen to his conversation with Jess Shane as they dissect the ethics of her Radiotopia documentary "Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative."
Tue, April 23, 2024
Introducing Sound Judgment
Deadlines, production meetings, staff management, show scheduling... in any given day, there's rarely time to pause and consider the craft of audio storytelling. Of course, PRX and Transom hope Sound School provides an easy opportunity to do that. On this episode, we'd like to introduce you to another podcast with the same mission: Sound Judgment hosted by Elaine Appleton Grant and featuring an interview with Jonathan Menjivar about his podcast Classy .
Tue, April 09, 2024
Thanks, NPR. That Was Satisfying.
Have NPR's news magazines occasionally been sounding more radiophonic lately? Rob thinks so. He's collected a handful of satisfying moments of writing, production, and reporting from several reporters: Daniel Estrin, Avery Keatley, Andrew Limbong, Barbara Moran, Ari Shapiro, and Andrea Shea.
Tue, March 26, 2024
The Um, A Deep Dive
"Ums." You're supposed to cut them out, right? But what if the "um" means something? Talia Augustidis noticed her boyfriend "ummed" when he was lying and she thought "radio story." Talia takes a deep dive into the importance of not cutting out all the "ums" as well as the backstory to her piece for the BBC's Short Cuts called "What's In An Um?"
Tue, March 12, 2024
Revisiting: Should I or Shouldn’t I — Recording in Stereo
One of the top three questions Rob often hears when he's teaching is, "Should I record in stereo?" Rob says mono is usually the way to go. But on this archive episode of Sound School , former NPR engineer Flawn Williams evangelizes about the value of stereo recordings, and he brought along several sound-rich examples.
Tue, February 27, 2024
Small, Random, and Meaningful
In the tsunami of serialized documentary making over the last decade, what happened to the short story? Where are the one-off curious and creative sound portraits or essays or found sound or audio postcards or.... ? Last year Transom commissioned a dozen short stories as part of "Small, Random, and Meaningful." Rob features his three favorites.
Tue, February 13, 2024
For the Love of Radio, Get Out of the Studio!
In honor of World Radio Day this week, The Sound School Podcast is celebrating with a story that exemplifies the power of radio to evoke striking images — a story reported from a remote hillside in Slovenia.
Tue, January 30, 2024
A Triple Whammy
Katz Laszlo says writing and tracking for herself is complicated enough. But it's an even greater challenge writing for and tracking with the two co-hosts of The Europeans podcast. Katz lays out how she and the hosts wrangle it all on the latest Sound School .
Tue, January 16, 2024
Tracking Partners
It's a brave thing to share the outtakes from a tracking session. All the blemishes are right there. But, Martine Powers and Rennie Svirnovsky from audio team at The Washington Post have graciously done just that. Hearing how they work as tracking partners is a real gift for anyone who wants to perform better in the mic booth.
Tue, January 02, 2024
Revisiting: Goldstein on Writing, Fonts, and The Goldstein
While there were many great podcasts released in 2023, no one will remember the year as a good one for the people who make podcasts. There were far too many layoffs and cancellations including a show dear to our radio hearts at Transom, Heavyweight , hosted by Jonathan Goldstein. In honor of the show and Jonathan's remarkable writing, Rob revisits his chat with Jonathan where they talked about process, fonts, and a writing maneuver they jokingly dubbed "The Goldstein."
Tue, December 19, 2023
Which Is the Better Open?
Rob takes himself to task on this episode. He felt the beginning of the last episode of Sound School was so boring, he rewrote it. Compare the old version with the new version be sure to tell us at Transom which is the better open.
Tue, December 05, 2023
Reporting Out at the Edge
Theo Greenly reports for a public radio station in the far-flung Aleutian Islands in Alaska. When he started, about two and a half years ago, he thought he'd hit the ground running reporting in-depth, documentary-style pieces. Instead, he learned he really needed to get his bearings first and just report the news. His stories about how to report -- and navigate all the transportation challenges -- in such a remote location are fun and insightful.
Tue, November 21, 2023
Mixing Fiction with Non-Fiction
Fiction should stay in its corner, non-fiction in its corner. Or so Rob thought until he heard producer Pippa Johnstone seamlessly and effectively mix the two in her memorable podcast "Expectant," where Pippa explores a remarkably uncomfortable question: In a time of climate change, is it okay to have children?
Tue, November 07, 2023
Interview Strangers on the Street, Make a Podcast
Catherine Carr has turned vox into artful conversation with a deceptively simple question: Where are you going? That's also the name of the podcast she makes (a recent British Podcast Award winner) where she interviews strangers about where they're going and so much more.
Tue, October 24, 2023
Revisiting: Remembering Studs
Studs Terkel is considered by many to be a patron saint of documentary radio journalism. It's been 15 years since his death. On this archive episode of Sound School from 2012, Rob talks to Syd Lewis who worked with Studs for 25 years. The show also includes a lengthy excerpt from "Working With Studs," a Transom Radio Special produced by Syd, Jay Allison, and Viki Merrick.
Tue, October 10, 2023
Pleasing to the Ear
Rob acts as a story DJ on this episode, featuring excerpts from stories he’s recently found pleasing to the ear. His "playlist" includes work from "More Perfect," the BBC Radio 4 podcast "Seriously," "The Shortwave Radio Archive," and "That Intimate Feeling." Drop a needle on the episode and press play.
Tue, September 26, 2023
Salt at 50!
What do radio producers Phoebe Judge (Criminal) , Zoe Chase (This American Life) , Greg Warner (Rough Translation) , Matt Kielty (Radiolab) , Emily Kwong (NPR) and dozens if not hundreds of others you've heard on your favorite podcasts and radio shows have in common? Salt. They're all graduates of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. Salt turns fifty this year! Isaac Kestenbaum, the director of the program, joins Rob to celebrate the occasion and talk about what makes the Salt experience so unique.
Tue, September 12, 2023
Revisiting: Dead Mom Talking
This year's Third Coast Festival winners and finalists produced incredible work. It got us thinking about winners from previous years. So, we dug up this fantastic interview with Rachel Matlow who won a "Best New Producer" award in 2016 for their thoughtful and creative story "Dead Mom Talking."
Tue, August 29, 2023
So You STILL Want to Start a Podcast, Eh?
It's unusual for a producer to share a work in progress. It's rarer still to do it twice. Nina Porzucki updates Rob on the progress of Bird Talk , her comedy podcast in-the-making and the steps it took to make her second pilot funnier and more engaging.
Tue, August 15, 2023
Going Behind the Mic On Climate Change Reporting
Rebecca Hersher, a climate science reporter at NPR, offers excellent tips on reporting on climate change. But, at the heart of Rob's interview with her is something more philosophical: the role of hope in climate change reporting.
Tue, August 01, 2023
Revisiting: Sound Art Meets Poetry Meets Cicadas
Summer means cicadas. Those crackly, buzzy bugs that drone and drone in the heat like a live electrical wire spewing sparks. Mair Bosworth and Fiona Benson took that sound and crafted "Magicicada," a stunning "sound poem," as they called it, marrying Mair's stellar recordings and sound design and Fiona's nuanced poetry.
Tue, July 18, 2023
Next-level Scoring
Get your headphones on for this episode! Rob dives into three remarkable examples of scoring. He features examples from the Serial/NYT series "The Retrievals," scored by Phoebe Wang, "My Mother Made Me" from PRX's Radiotopia Presents scored by Ian Coss, and The Atlantic's "Holy Week," scored by David Herman.
Wed, July 05, 2023
Lean In and Listen Like It’s Music
Rob's a fan of the "radio art" style of audio storytelling from Europe but often, after listening, he finds himself scratching his head. "What was that about?!" He wonders if the problem isn't the storytelling but his American ears and the way he listens. Alan Hall, of Falling Tree, the English production company, helps him listen in a new way.
Tue, June 20, 2023
Revisiting: Avoiding Pesky Sound Problems
No matter how good you are recording in the field, you're going to encounter challenges. Rob Byers does an incredible job explaining how to avoid and fix those problems on this archive episode of Sound School from 2017. At the time, Rob worked at NPR. He's now the Technical Director at Criminal . His recording tips are invaluable. And so are the resources we used on the episode from NPR's "Ear Training Guide for Audio Producers.” You'll make better recordings after listening to this episode.
Tue, June 06, 2023
The Best Audio Storytelling According to Pushkin
Pushkin Industries released a "Best Of Audio Storytelling: 2022" but instead of putting it out as a podcast series, it's an audiobook. Does it matter? Julia Barton at Pushkin says no. On the latest Sound School , Julia talks about tearing down audio silos, and discusses a handful of stories from the collection, including selections from Radiotopia, NPR, Rumble Strip , and more.
Tue, May 23, 2023
Happy 15th Sound School!
The Sound School Podcast launched 15 years ago this month. But it was called Saltcast back then. And for the first episode, Rob featured once of his absolute favorite student-produced stories - one that he played in classes for years as an excellent example of documentary audio storytelling. To celebrate the show's 15th anniversary, Rob dusted off the very first Saltcast and this incredible story about a motivational speaker who can't talk.
Tue, May 09, 2023
What's Grabbed Antonia's Ears?
Antonia Cereijido has her ear to the ground. It's her job as Executive Producer at LAist to listen to what everyone is putting out. Rob asks her what grabbed her ears lately? She tells us about two recent series: the second season of LaBrega , the Puerto Rican experience in eight songs, and Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong .
Tue, April 25, 2023
The Fingerprint of Chris Brookes
A light went out recently. The bright light of Chris Brookes — a sorcerer of audio documentary and sound art. When Rob heard the news, he immediately started work on this remembrance featuring excerpts from several of Chris' distinctive productions — stories where Chris' clear, authorial voice, his fingerprint, is evident and inspiring.
Tue, April 11, 2023
Producing a Non-narrated Obituary
What's the value of a non-narrated story for the listener? "It's direct," says NPR's Quil Lawrence. The characters in the story are "talking straight to the listener." He says this is especially important in an audio obituary. So, in a recent remembrance he produced, he made sure to get out of the way of the tape.
Tue, March 28, 2023
What’s Next for Munira?
Munira Kaoneka first started as a blogger in Tanzania. But she says sometimes you need to shout so she started a podcast, “The Kaya Sessions." A couple of years later, after taking a workshop on narrative audio storytelling and reporting, she's at a crossroads: continue her path to engineering ("the sensible choice for a proper African child," she says) or make the leap into podcasting. Hear Munira's story, and the piece she produced at the workshop, in this episode of The Sound School Podcast.
Tue, March 14, 2023
Still More Darts and Laurels
Rob takes a hard listen to three podcasts -- You Didn't See Nothin' , Lights Out , and Noble Champions . He then tosses out darts for work that caused him to ask "Why'd you do that?!" and laurels for work that's just plain crushing it. Rob opens this episode with a note about Transom.org. Transom is dreaming up a new project and could really use your input. If you have a minute, head on over to the Transom homepage and click the link to take a short survey.
Tue, February 28, 2023
Think of a Radio Station (or Podcast) as a Musical Instrument
Steve Junker says he thinks of a radio station as a musical instrument -- a pipe organ, to be specific. It's capable of making all kinds kinds of sounds. But, he thinks public radio stations tend to only play a couple of notes - including WCAI in Falmouth, Massachusetts where he's the Managing Editor for News. In an effort to play a couple of other notes, he produced "Falmouth to Falmouth" a collaboration with another radio station in Falmouth -- Falmouth, England that is.
Tue, February 14, 2023
Dear Birth Mother
In this episode, Rob turns the mic on himself to mark the 10th anniversary of meeting his birth mother for the first time. He also features the positively stunning portrait of an adopting mom in "Dear Birth Mother," a Third Coast award-winning doc from Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister at Long Haul Productions.
Tue, January 31, 2023
Studs Terkel Meets Brian Eno in the Woods
It's good to look beyond your borders for inspiration. That's what this episode is about. Brian Harnetty is a sound ethnographer. And quite a bit of what he does resembles the work of radio and podcast producers. But he departs from us with his unique approach to audio storytelling. A meld of composition, fieldwork, oral history, and archive recordings coupled with listening events -- in the woods.
Tue, January 17, 2023
This is Good, But I Have a Question
Three great new podcasts raised production questions for Rob. Why use sound effects in All There Is With Anderson Cooper? Why were the interviews for Bjork’s Sonic Symbolism podcast recorded so poorly? Those questions and more on the latest Sound School Podcast .
Tue, January 03, 2023
Recording Sound Design in the Field
John Scott Dryden takes a very unique approach to sound design for the fiction podcasts he produces -- he records on location. For "Q&A," the first season of Mumbai Crime from Radiotopia, everything was recorded in Mumbai. The result is a podcast that sounds more organic, less manufactured in a studio. John explains why on this episode of Sound School .
Tue, December 20, 2022
Why Two Narrators When One Will Suffice?
The vast majority of stories are told by one narrator. But not at NPR's Planet Money . They regularly have co-narrators. Why? Why have two narrators when one will suffice? Reporters Erika Beras and Sarah Gonzalez have the answer.
Tue, December 06, 2022
Caves and Bears and Neanderthal Flutes - Stories from Slovenia
What's the best way for reporters to break out of their boxes and think creatively? Give them an unusual assignment and send them out into the world with microphones. That's just what happened during a week-long workshop Rob taught with 10 reporters in Slovenia. Hear the results on this episode of Sound School .
Tue, November 22, 2022
Writing An Audio Essay
Rarely do reporters turn the mic on themselves to divulge the challenges in their own lives. So, when they do, it’s surprising — and refreshing. Stephanie Foo's personal essay, "The Favorite" is an excellent example. In this archive episode, Stephanie provides sage advice for anyone thinking of turning a mic toward themselves.
Tue, November 08, 2022
Story Dissection: When the Lede Gives It All Away
The opening to a story, especially a long series, requires a dance. How much do you give away? How much do you hold on to? On this episode of the Sound School Podcast, I offer two examples: one that didn't hook me because it gave away too much, another that made me eager to hear the whole story. Find out what I think works and what doesn't.
Tue, October 25, 2022
We Need More Words To Describe Audio Stories
When you limit language, you limit thinking. When you limit thinking, you limit creativity. When you limit creativity, audio storytellers wind up making the same thing over and over and over again and that's not good. That's why producer James T. Green says we need new language to describe our work. And we can start by borrowing from art and architecture.
Tue, October 11, 2022
Hand Over the Cash?
Reporter David Weinberg knows the rule: don't pay sources. For fifteen years, he never did – until he reported on Phoenix Jones for the podcast “The Superhero Complex.” What impact did that have on his reporting? David lays it out.
Tue, September 27, 2022
Getting Honest —The Editor, Producer Relationship
Typically, what happens between an editor and a producer is private. In this archive episode of the Sound School Podcast from 2014, editor Viki Merrick and producer Will Coley offer listeners a gift taking us behind the scenes for the production of Will's first-person documentary "Southern Flight 242: Bringing My Father Home." As Viki put it, she had to coach Will through "the emotional ditch" to fully tell the story.
Tue, September 13, 2022
Darts and Laurels Minus the Darts
In another installment of Sound School’s occasional episodes offering darts and laurels for exceptional and not-so-exceptional work, Rob is offering nothing but laurels. Two for This American Life's episode "Name. Age. Detail." Another for a piece reported in Poland by NPR's Ari Shapiro which used translation to great effect.
Tue, August 30, 2022
Two Years of Reporting Whittled Down to Fourteen Minutes – Elissa Nadworny
This is the first episode of the Sound School Podcast (formerly HowSound ). It's still from PRX and Transom. Rob's still the host. And the show is still committed to digging deep on the backstory to great audio storytelling. Our first episode features NPR's education reporter Elissa Nadworny dissecting how she kept everything straight -- all the files, the notes, the story -- while reporting a two-part series about education in prison. Her insight is super helpful regardless of topic and length of time reporting.
Tue, August 16, 2022
Wolves, Horses, Boars, Birds, and Bugs
Field recordist Melissa Pons says one of the most important elements of recording soundscapes isn't the gear -- it's you. If you're humble and connect to how the landscape makes you feel, your recordings will benefit. Recording sounds around the world on this episode of HowSound .
Tue, August 02, 2022
Tips For Interviewing Shy People (Especially Nuns)
Some interviewees are shy. Others guarded. Yet, you need to talk to them for a story. How do you help them open up? Erika Lantz and Elin Lantz Lesser have a lot of ideas. They spent the better part of a year interviewing former nuns in Mother Teresa's order, the Missionaries of Charity, for The Turning: The Sisters Who Left . Their approach offers valuable lessons for any interviewer.
Tue, July 19, 2022
Nausea, Forehead Mics, and Immersion
Almost every reporting trip has its pitfalls. Andrew Leland's recent story for Radiolab had more than most: He reported people with disabilities participating in tests for travel in space. Along with the nausea and recording challenges in zero gravity, Andrew has lost much of his sight. On this HowSound , Andrew lays out how he navigated it all.
Tue, July 05, 2022
Share the Script?
For more than twenty years, radio journalist Laurel Morales followed the rules: Don't share scripts with sources. Laurel now produces the podcast "2 Lives" and she's tossed that rule out the window. She explains why on this episode of HowSound .
Tue, June 21, 2022
Delicately Revealing Your Identity in the Story
Ben Calhoun, formerly of This American Life, sat for two hours staring at a Google doc trying to figure out what to say. It was a delicate piece of writing about race and his own identity. Ben unpacks what he wrote on this episode of HowSound .
Tue, June 07, 2022
Who Am I To Be Here?
Back in 2007, when Andrea Silenzi was a rookie reporter just learning the craft as a student, she reported a story about a woman dying of ALS. It was not easy to report and she regularly wondered "Who am I to be here?" That's a vital question for all journalists. How do you answer it?
Tue, May 24, 2022
Producing YA Fiction
Hillary Frank says middle school can be brutal. The bullying, the harassment, the homophobia, the racism, the sexism... it's all there, along with the complicated emotions of pre-teens. "Here Lies Me," a podcast Hillary wrote, directed, and produced, tackles it all and then some. Hillary lays out what made this podcast one of the best of last year — and maybe this year, too.
Tue, May 10, 2022
Collaboration Is the Only Way Forward
Davia Nelson, one half of the legendary Kitchen Sisters, shares the pair's incredible news: The Library of Congress will acquire the Kitchen Sisters' archive, decades of innovative audio work. Davia also talks with Rob about collaborating with performance artist Laurie Anderson on "The Great Amish Pandemic Sewing Frolic," a story about the power of working together.
Tue, April 26, 2022
More Darts And Laurels
Rob doles out another collection of darts and laurels on this episode. Darts for missing credits and superfluous sound effects. Laurels for stupendous production values, character development, and just plain weirdness. Featured work is from The BBC, Vice, Wonder Media, and others.
Tue, April 12, 2022
Thinking in Scenes
One of the most helpful tools for organizing a story is a "scene chart." Think of it as an outline for the "chapters" in an audio story. Rob dissects one of his favorite audio stories, one he's used in workshops for years, to help explain the idea of thinking in scenes and outlining stories.
Tue, March 29, 2022
Remember to Breathe!
A breath may seem like the most insignificant detail in an audio story. But, Rob says breaths are incredibly important when you're editing. All you have to do is listen to stories where the breaths are cut out. They sound weird and off-kilter. Rob offers suggestions for preventing that problem, starting with, "remember to breathe!"
Tue, March 15, 2022
Engage Listeners To Build Trust
Vermont Public Radio reporter Angela Evancie says with the decline in trust of the media, the best way to build back that trust is with listener engagement and podcasts like the one she produces: Brave Little State.
Tue, March 01, 2022
Radio Silence (Rerun)
Silence is often viewed as a no-no on the radio and in podcasts. Silence sounds like something's wrong — the radio station went off the air, the podcast paused. But, what if a story is about silence?
Tue, February 15, 2022
Audio Message in a Bottle
Audio producer and sound artist Kristina Loring was walking the beach with her dog when she stumbled across an actual message in a bottle. That moment led to an unusual audio installation involving bottles, and a telephone hotline with messages for a Covid-weary world.
Tue, February 01, 2022
Al Letson’s Covenant with Listeners About True Crime Stories
Al Letson set his sights on true crime storytelling in an unusual way — with a covenant for listeners in the true crime series he reported for Reveal, "Mississippi Goddam: The Ballad of Billey Joe." Rob asks "Why go after true crime like that?"
Tue, January 18, 2022
Navigating Tricky Story Dynamics
When the story is about a family (and also not about a family), but the parents are divorced, and the kids and their father haven't spoken for years, how do you, as a reporter, navigate those tricky waters? Aviva DeKornfeld of This American Life artfully made it work.
Tue, January 04, 2022
So You Want To Start A Podcast, Eh?
Producer Nina Porzucki is giving audio producers a gift on this episode — she's sharing a work in progress, a first-draft pilot for a podcast. Nina lays out how she got to the pilot stage and now, what needs to happen next.
Tue, December 21, 2021
Exquisitely Challenging: Reporting on Suicide
Erica Heilman's story "Finn and the Bell" is the best I’ve heard this year. It's a painful, graceful story about a young man's suicide in rural Vermont. Erica's heart is in the piece; you can hear it in every production and editorial choice. The story of how she made those choices is enlightening.
Tue, December 07, 2021
Darts and Laurels
Rob offers darts and laurels for stories he's recently heard — what's good, what's not so good. On the list, productions from "Kids Short Stories," "Nice Try," "Demented," "The Skewer," and others.
Tue, November 23, 2021
House Of Pod Closes The House
Cat Jaffee and her team put community first and foremost at House of Pod, a local podcast hub in Denver. But, after four years, House of Pod will be without a house — a loss for Denver and podcasting in general as community-based podcast facilities are few and far between. Cat explains what happened on this episode of HowSound .
Tue, November 09, 2021
A Sonic Conjuring (Rerun)
On this archive episode, a fascinating minute of audio — the sound of war and peace reconstructed from the exact end of World War I. Even more fascinating, the producers conjured the sound using audio shadows captured on film.
Tue, October 26, 2021
The World Orchestra Is Always Playing
Headphones on for this one. Rob marks the passing of the groundbreaking composer and sound ecologist R. Murray Schafer with his colleague and fellow composer, Hildegard Westerkamp. This episode will crack open your ears and, hopefully, spark new ways of thinking about the sonic environment and your work as an audio storyteller and producer.
Tue, October 12, 2021
From Memoir to Radio Story
Ruby Schwartz pitched a story to Snap Judgement based on a memoir. They gave her the green light. And then she had to figure out how she was going to squeeze a 320-page book into a short radio documentary. How Ruby did it on this episode of HowSound .
Tue, September 28, 2021
Interviewing for Story
Don't just interview to grab a bunch of information, interview for story and make your work a whole lot stronger. Alix Spiegel of Invisibilia and This American Life explains how.
Tue, September 14, 2021
The Megan Tan Way
Megan Tan produced a story about dating during Covid but she didn't record any of the dates. So, what did she do to create scenes? The answer is an unusual production choice that worked incredibly well.
Tue, August 31, 2021
Sounds Easy, But...
Good producers hide the difficulties. They make it all sound easy. Cariad Harmon's "Record Booth" is an excellent example. She seamlessly weaves together narration, interviews, scene tape, music, and archive tape -- like it’s no big thing. Wellllll, not so fast. Cariad shares the backstory on this HowSound .
Tue, August 17, 2021
Goldstein on Writing, Fonts, and “The Goldstein”
On this episode of HowSound , a wide-ranging chat about writing for audio with one of the masters: Jonathan Goldstein of the Heavyweight podcast from Gimlet. From the importance of feeling what you write to Jonathan's penchant for courier font and a maneuver we jokingly dubbed "The Goldstein," you're bound to pick up a solid tip or three about writing.
Tue, August 03, 2021
Stand-Ups (Rerun)
Narrating a stand-up on location as events unfold in front of your mic is no easy thing but reporter Robert Smith makes it sound like it is. He's a master of the stand-up and he explains how he makes them work oh-so-well on this rerun episode from the HowSound archives.
Tue, July 20, 2021
Fireworks
Rob Rosenthal has stepped away from teaching the Transom Story Workshop on Cape Cod. To mark the occasion, Rob's put together a fireworks show of great stories from Transom students over the years. Wear headphones!
Tue, July 06, 2021
Narrative Justice
Shapearl Wells says the truest form of journalism lets others speak their own truth. And that's just what she did as host and the main character for "Somebody," a podcast that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. "Somebody" traces Shapearl's search for the truth in the murder of her 22-year old son. On this “HowSound,” she recounts what it took to produce “Somebody” as a distraught mother with a (sometimes hidden) microphone.
Tue, June 22, 2021
The Kids Will Have Their Say
The CBC's Mic Drop is a small but mighty podcast amplifying young people's voices "without any adult interruptions," as the kids put it. On this HowSound , Shari Okeke, the show's founder and producer, tells us how it all works.
Tue, June 08, 2021
When Anthropology Meets Audio Storytelling
Creative audio journalism and storytelling is sometimes influenced by film, avant-garde music, and literature. But what about anthropology? Nanna Hauge Kristensen is a radio producer with an anthropology degree — a background and approach that influences her storytelling in fascinating ways.
Tue, May 25, 2021
Wrangling Stories With A Focus Sentence
One of the most difficult tasks in writing is keeping a story on target. One way to wrangle an unruly story — or any story, really — is with a focus sentence.
Tue, May 11, 2021
Tape-Driven Storytelling
There's an old maxim in radio: the tape rules. "According to Need" by Katie Mingle and 99% Invisible is proof that good tape can drive a story. However, Katie says she wasn’t very practiced in producing tape-driven stories. It took her two years and, as she put it, the work "tested all my skills and then some."
Tue, April 27, 2021
Dissecting a Good Story, Well Told
One of the best ways to learn how to improve at the craft of audio storytelling is to take a deep listen to good work and dissect it. On this HowSound , I point out some of the best parts of a story about vaccinations from “The Experiment” podcast. You'll want to take notes
Tue, April 13, 2021
Who Are Those People in Podcast Credits?
The list of names at the end of some podcasts is mind-boggling. Who are these people? What do they do? Antonia Cereijido, Sophia Paliza-Carre, and Audrey Quinn of the "Norco 80" podcast have an answer and a few surprising observations about their production process.
Tue, March 30, 2021
Thoughts On Trailers
Rob's been puzzling over one particular question about trailers for serialized podcasts: What should the relationship, the handshake, if you will, be between the trailer and the top to the first episode? Rob explores an answer with clips from The Piketon Massacre , The Realness , Nice White Parents , and The Sink .
Tue, March 16, 2021
Schwartz Is A Verb
You should lie down with your eyes closed for this one! That's because the interviewees in the stories I feature were -- lying down, eyes closed, lights off, candle lit, answering questions. They were being interviewed by producers using the Schwartz Technique, Stephen Schwartz’ celebrated method for getting people to talk in pictures.
Tue, March 02, 2021
Audio Playground
A friend once said "What feels like a groove might actually be a rut." So, how do you get out of your rut? Sarah Geis has an answer: Audio Playground.
Tue, February 16, 2021
Gas Mask? Check. Bullet Proof Vest? Check...What to Wear When the Reporting Gets Dangerous
When the reporting gets violent, the reporter suits up. Casey Martin of KUOW tells stories about staying safe on the front lines of reporting during the violence of the BLM and far-right protests of the last year.
Tue, February 02, 2021
Eavesdropping on the Insurrection
There are a lot of photographs and incredible footage from the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. But wait until you hear the startling, unguarded conversations between the rioters that day. Micah Loewinger of On the Media gives the backstory on how he acquired the recordings.
Tue, January 19, 2021
Perk Up Your Ears!
If Dr. Suess was going to write a book about podcasting, he'd probably call it "Oh, The Sounds You'll Hear!" That's what's in store for you on this episode of HowSound . From an Inuit oral history project to prisoners in Darwin, Australia, to the sound of a wife's broken heart and more. It'll perk up your ears!
Tue, January 05, 2021
Bow Glacier Asserting Its Existence
What's the sound of climate change? Walk down 7th Avenue in Calgary and you just might hear it thanks to "Herald/Harbinger," a sound installation from data artist Ben Rubin.
Tue, December 22, 2020
How Do You Know a Story is Worthy of a Podcast Series?
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone says, "I think that story would make a great podcast series." In my head I usually think, "Nope. Wouldn't work." But why? How do you know you have a story worthy of a podcast series? Emily Guerin of Southern California’s KPCC has a few answers. She produced a five-and-a-half-minute feature and turned it into a 9-part series called "California City: The Dark Side of the American Dream."
Tue, December 08, 2020
Show, Don't Tell
It's always good to be reminded of the best writing practices. That's why we dusted off this old episode of HowSound with This American Life's Brian Reed about the writing maxim "show, don't tell."
Tue, November 24, 2020
Nancy Was Here
Raise a mic in the air with Rob in honor of " Nancy ," the now-cancelled podcast from WNYC about the LGBTQ experience.
Tue, November 10, 2020
Things I Like
Cleaning out the "closet" of audio stories and found a few choice cuts to share from podcasts like Resistance , Louder Than A Riot , and Latino USA .
Tue, October 27, 2020
Portraying Character
Chana Joffe-Walt is one of my fav writers. She excels at portraying character. Chana and I listen to some of her ninja moves from "Nice White Parents," the podcast she reported and produced for Serial and The New York Times.
Tue, October 13, 2020
Why So Chatty, Alex Blumberg?
If you were producing a podcast on climate change, what tone would you choose to approach the topic? Serious, right? Well, there's a lot of serious reporting in Gimlet's "How to Save a Planet." And there's also a light, "chatcast" feel woven throughout the show. Gimlet co-founder and co-host of the podcast, Alex Blumberg, explains why in this episode.
Tue, September 29, 2020
A Night of Ear Candy
Step 1: Find a comfortable place to sit. Step 2: Make sure you’re free from interruption. Step 3: Put on headphones. Step 4: Place a mask over your eyes (or just close them). Step 5: Listen to Sam Harnett and Chris Hoff of The World According to Sound take you behind the scenes of the online audio event they produced during the pandemic.
Tue, September 15, 2020
The Intersection of Folklore, Radio Journalism and a Pear
What do you get when you mix folklore, radio journalism, and a pear? An award-winning story from Canadian producer Rebecca Nolan that brings it all together in an unexpected way.
Tue, September 01, 2020
The Squirm Test
From time to time, you might learn something unfavorable about a character when reporting a story. Inevitably you ask yourself: should I include this detail or not? To help answer that question, take the squirm test.
Tue, August 18, 2020
Effective Sound Effects
History podcasts face a serious problem: sound. So much documentation from the past lacks audio. The Last Archive solved the problem in a very unique way: Produce the podcast like it's a radio drama from the 1930s. But, how do you do that? Producers Ben Naddaff-Hafrey and Sophie McKibben have the answer on this episode of HowSound .
Tue, August 04, 2020
Pandemic Diary
There needs to be a radio and podcasting merit badge: reporters and producers earn one when they stretch above and beyond for a story. If there was one, I would present it to Lauren Chooljian of New Hampshire Public Radio for a pandemic diary she produced.
Tue, July 21, 2020
Sound Art Meets Poetry Meets Cicadas
Rob's secret hope with every HowSound is that you'll hear creative storytelling and production and think "Oh wait! I wanna do that!" He has no doubt that Fiona Benson's and Mair Bosworth's sound poem about 17-year cicadas will do just that.
Tue, July 07, 2020
Walking In The Margins Of Journalism Ethics
Emily Green says she "walked in the margins" of journalism ethics to report a story on kidnapping at the US/Mexico border for This American Life. Emily and producer Lina Misitzis join me on this episode of HowSound to parse out how they navigated the reporting and how TAL addressed it in the story. This story was part of a Pulitzer Prize winning episode -- the first for audio journalism.
Tue, June 23, 2020
Leave In The Question
This American Life's Sean Cole is the guest on this episode of HowSound. Rob dug this one out of the HowSound archive from 2010. It features a fantastic story Sean produced in '05 as well as a discussion about the value of including a reporter's question in a story.
Tue, June 09, 2020
A Feast For Your Ears
This episode is aptly named: “A Feast For Your Ears”. Rob features a handful of ear-catching clips. From a psychedelic road trip in Australia in the 1970s to a crowd-sourced poem produced by NPR to.... well, you'll have to listen!
Tue, May 26, 2020
The Recesses Of Jay's Mind
You may know Jay Allison for his work on the Moth Radio Hour and in his role as the founder and executive editor of Transom. But, back in the day, Jay produced a trove of strange and ear-catching pieces about dog's dreams, talking horses, and freaky neighbors. Headphones on, people.
Tue, May 12, 2020
AfroQueer And Podcasting In Kenya
Selly Thiam says producing an LGBTQ podcast in Kenya is incredibly challenging. There's homophobia, government censorship, and a potential audience that still doesn't quite know what a podcast is. And, yet, AfroQueer, the podcast Selly hosts and produces, is winning major awards for the reporting.
Tue, April 28, 2020
What Do You Stand For?
Why do you report a story or produce a podcast and send it out into the world? What gives you purpose? What do you stand for? Rob finds meaning from the original NPR mission statement. He talks to Bill Siemering about writing the statement in 1970, the first broadcast of All Things Considered, and what inspires Bill to work in radio for several decades -- the power of the human voice.
Tue, April 14, 2020
Gathering Scene Tape While Reporting From A Closet
Because of COVID 19, Reporters are scrambling to figure out how to report from home given social distancing guidelines and shelter in place orders. In response, reporters are devising clever ways to record and keep their stories sound-rich and engaging even though they're reporting from a closet at home.
Tue, March 31, 2020
Take A Walk With Your Mic
This historic moment may be a good time to reconnect to the sonic environment. The latest episode of HowSound provides inspiration to do just that.
Tue, March 17, 2020
Poetry As Narration
Narration in stories is usually just that - narration. Someone in a booth reading or ad-libing a script. But, "Borders Between Us" is different. Producer, Saidu Tejan-Thomas, uses poetry to tell the story. HowSound's Rob Rosenthal can't think of another piece like it.
Tue, March 03, 2020
Two Student Stories About Music
Two stories, produced in a week by Transom Traveling Workshop students. The first, by Georgia Walker at our workshop at WPLN in Nashville. And the second, by Maribeth Romslo at our workshop in Seattle at KUOW. Both about music. Both impressive for first-time radio producers.
Tue, February 18, 2020
Being Present With A Microphone
The first time Rob listened to "A Cow a Day" he thought "What the??!" But then he listened again and was hooked. Rob talks to Pejk Malinovsky, the producer of the doc, about his two wildly different interpretations.
Tue, February 04, 2020
Got Your Ears On?
Got your ears on? You'll want them as Rob threads his way through a wide variety of clips that caught his attention over the last few months. A man injects Fentenyl into his neck... Toni Morrison speaks about beauty... Jad Abamrad waxes about the power of radio... and more.
Tue, January 21, 2020
Shereen Goes Quiet
Shereen Marisol Meraji of Code Switch told me she's sick of her voice -- the authoritative narrator. In response, Shereen recently experimented getting out of the way and letting the tape do the talking for a shocking documentary about a lynching in the 1930s. "A Strange and Bitter Crop" was her first non-narrated story in fifteen years and she can't wait to make more.
Tue, January 07, 2020
When The Story Is About You But Not About You
Let's face it: Use of the pronoun "I" has gotten out of hand. There's much too much navel gazing and self-indulgence in so many podcasts. And yet, sometimes using the first person as a reporter is the best approach for a story. Leila Day of The Stoop podcast relates how she and her co-host Hana Baba navigate those waters.
Tue, December 24, 2019
Pigeons and Octopuses – Two Transom Story Workshop Stories
Two treats for your ears. Stories produced by graduates of the Transom Story Workshop -- Ruby Schwartz and Cariad Harmon. They're well worth a listen if for no other reason than their stories are about octopuses and homing pigeons.
Tue, December 10, 2019
Reporting On The Reverse Freedom Riders
The backstory to WGBH's Gabrielle Emanuel's reporting on a hidden past is fascinating. How she found people connected to the Reverse Freedom Riders… How she communicated with them by hand-written note… the discussion in the newsroom about connecting the story of the Reverse Freedom Rider’s to President Donald Trump’s plan to send undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities… all that on this episode of HowSound.
Tue, November 26, 2019
Staying The Course In A Tough Interview
When you're yelled at. Called a prostitute. Told you're a liar and shameless and malicious... How do you stay the course and keep interviewing? Brazilian journalist Leticia Duarte explains her approach on this episode of HowSound.
Tue, November 12, 2019
Navigating Mongolia With Fixers
Emily Kwong had never been to Mongolia. She doesn't speak the language. She didn't know her way around. It was winter and very cold. She was in-country alone -- no fellow producer. The only way she was able to successfully report on climate change and migration was to hire incredible fixers.
Tue, October 29, 2019
Scoring Stories: Part 2
Rob talks specifically about how to bring music in and out of a story. And, then, he takes a stab at the impossible: explaining one aspect of how to select music to use for scoring.
Tue, October 15, 2019
Scoring Stories: Part 1
How do you score a story with music is one of the most frequent questions, HowSound's Rob Rosenthal is asked. Up now, the first of two episodes on the fundamentals of using music in stories.
Tue, October 01, 2019
Interviewing For Emotions
HowSound listeners always seem to want tips on interviewing. Liz Mak of Snap Judgement delivers on this episode with her approach to interviewing for emotions.
Tue, September 17, 2019
Jaw-Dropping Clips
Get your ears on for this episode. Rob presents clips from podcasts that made his jaw drop including Love + Radio, The Ballad of Billy Balls, and Have You Heard George's Podcast.
Tue, September 03, 2019
Anything Can Happen. That's The Best Part.
Reporting in the field can be chaos. Anything can happen. NPR host Noel King says that's the best part of being a journalist -- chasing a story that's ever-shifting.
Wed, August 21, 2019
Bellwether's Speculative Journalism
In 2017, producer Sam Greenspan took a leap. He left his producing job at 99% Invisible for... well, he wasn't exactly sure at the time. Now, two years later, Sam's launched Bellwether, a podcast employing speculative journalism to tell stories about the future. The show is a unique mix of reporting, science fiction, and radio drama.
Tue, August 06, 2019
HowSound Reviews "Song Exploder"
In an effort to try something new, Rob offers another podcast review. This time, "Song Exploder" from Radiotopia.
Tue, July 23, 2019
HowSound Reviews "Stay Free: The Story Of The Clash"
Despite hours of great material, there are a couple things about Spotify's "Stay Free: The Story of the Clash" that really make Rob cranky.
Tue, July 09, 2019
The Hidden Work Of An Associate Producer
Who are all those people at the end of an episode of Reply All, given credit for putting it together? One of them is Jessica Yung. She's an Associate Producer. On this episode of HowSound we shine a light on Jessica's hidden work as an AP.
Tue, June 25, 2019
First, Tell Them An Anecdote
When you have guests as famous and interesting at Tan France, Ramy Youseff, Wazina Zondon, Ryan Harris, and Alia Shawkat, why does the host of Tell Them I Am start each episode talking about herself? Misha Euceph has the answer.
Tue, June 11, 2019
When The Going Gets Tough, Keep Asking Questions
NPR reporter Uri Berliner breaks from his usual approach to storytelling and finds interviewing his dad about growing up in Berlin in the 1930s to be incredibly difficult and rewarding.
Wed, May 29, 2019
Some Fav And Not-So-Fav Sounds
Sewage pipes, a radio crime, and sound designing inner thoughts.... Must be another episode of Rob's fav sounds but this time with a twist -- a sound that annoyed Rob to no end. Clips from BBC 3 and Nathanial Mann, Bodies by KCRW, and No Feeling Is Final from ABC Radio.
Tue, May 14, 2019
Getting Inside Someone Else’s Skin
Every once in a while, I think HowSound should focus solely on interviewing. To heck with sound design, writing, ethics, tracking, and the like. Just focus on “the backstory to great radio interviewing.” Why? Because interviewing is how radio producers mine. It’s how we collect the raw material for our work. The better the interviewing, the better the tape. The better the tape, the better the story. I mean, sure sloppy writing can kill stellar interview tape. Same with bad production. Conversely a bad interview can be saved by rock solid writing. But really, if you nail your interview, the rest will come easy. Okay. Not easy, but easier. And the story the tape is based on will likely be more satisfying. Put another way, interviewing is the keystone of audio storytelling. That’s why it’s important to examine the work of the best practitioners and Cathy FitzGerald is just that — one of the best. She possesses an uncanny ability to capture “humans being” in her interviews. And she approaches it in unusual ways with her penchant for recording interviews in scene ; her use of participant observation, which is a fancy way of saying she doesn’t just ask questions, she gets involved; and her use of props to prompt conversation. On this episode of HowSound, Cathy chats about those approaches and we hear extended examples of her work. As a bonus, during our chat, Cathy turned the tables and asked me questions about interviewing. And that led us to talk about our weaknesses and what we both would like to improve and to this positively lovely analogy for interviewing — weeping with one eye.
Tue, April 30, 2019
Eight Things I Like About 10 Things That Scare Me
On this episode, the convention-busting production choices of "10 Things That Scare Me."
Tue, April 16, 2019
Nuggets
Sometimes, there's just too much good work to feature on HowSound. To solve the problem, from time to time I feature a slew of ear-catching clips on one episode. On this episode, work from Believed, 99% Invisible, This American Life, and Threshold.
Tue, April 02, 2019
How Sruthi Tracks
At a school where I taught radio, in the mic booth, there was a photo of Studs Terkel hanging on the wall. Under it, someone wrote “Talk to Studs.” The picture was there to help with tracking. Narration will sound more conversational if you pretend you’re talking to Studs, the thinking went. After all, that’s the goal, right? To track like you’re just talking to someone. Hanging up a picture and talking to it may be a good (and slightly weird) first step toward tracking naturally, Sruthi Pinnemaneni of R eply All takes things a whole lot further because she’s driven to avoid sounding like she’s reading something written. She very much wants listeners to fall into a story because her voice sounds unaffected and genuine. “(At Reply All) we try to track in a way that is closer to ‘I’m telling a story to somebody,'” she says. “When we’re tracking, we almost always have a producer or someone in the room where we’re trying to recreate that feeling of ‘I’m here and I’m feeling the excitement and joy that I know exists in this story.'” She says it’s not just a matter of talking to that person in the room. They help, too. They offer feedback, of course. But, they also play tape. Sruthi listens to a quote in her story then, right as it finishes, she narrates. “The tape always carries a certain kind of emotion,” she explained to me. “Either you’re surprised by what the person is saying or what the person is saying makes you laugh. And so you want the tracking, the line that you’re saying out of it, to carry that emotion.” What else does she do? Sruthi lays it out in this episode of HowSound.
Tue, March 19, 2019
An Editor’s Fingerprints
Since 2009, Julia Barton's edited a lot of radio and podcasts you probably listen to including Revisionist History. On this HowSound, Julia talks shop about her approach to editing.
Tue, March 05, 2019
All The Sound We Can Not Hear
Jeff Emtmen pulled an audio sleight of hand in an episode of Hear Be Monsters about Mexican free-tail bats. It's a delight to listen to. To understand Jeff's trick, Rob offers a primer on sound and hearing.
Tue, February 19, 2019
Two From The Road In Nashville
Why do students at Transom's Traveling Workshops produce such solid work on very little sleep? Because they're driven to learn? Yup. Because they want to leave the workshop with something they're proud of? Absolutely. But, it may also be because they want to do justice to the people they profile in their stories -- to get it right. You can definitely hear that effort on this HowSound.
Tue, February 05, 2019
A Sonic Conjuring
On this episode, a fascinating minute of audio - the sound of war and peace reconstructed from the exact end of World War I. Even more fascinating, the producers - Will Worsley and Sam Britton - conjured the sound using audio shadows captured on film.
Tue, January 22, 2019
Twitter Vox
Back in September, Barrie Hardymon and Dana Cronin produced a short, sharp, shock of a story. One that featured tweets recorded by listeners including a tweet that had to be approved by NPR legal before broadcast. And they did it all in about eighteen hours.
Tue, January 08, 2019
Taking Control Of The Music
Jim Briggs and Fernando Arruda compose music for stories at Reveal. HowSound's Rob Rosenthal talks with them about the way they think about music and scoring. We think you’ll find it instructive, even if your music comes from a library.
Wed, December 26, 2018
Your Skull Is An Ear
Up now on HowSound, a recent doc from BBC 3 called "Right Between the Ears" features ear-catching sound design and reveals how ears aren't the only part of the body involved in hearing.
Tue, December 11, 2018
Making Sense Of A Pile Of Tape
A pile of tape just might be a treasure trove of radio gold. But how do you go manage it? Bianca Giaever has answers and a touching documentary called “Two Years with Franz” produced with Jay Allison here at Transom.
Tue, November 27, 2018
Enticing Listeners To Press Play Again
That feeling you have at the end of a serialized podcast where all you want to do is press play again -- what causes that? Rob talks to Leah Sottlile and Ryan Haas from Bundyville about episode endings that entice listeners to press play again.
Tue, November 13, 2018
These Are A Few Of My Favorite (Recent) Clips
A student once asked me “How do you find the stories you feature on HowSound?” I’m asked that a lot, actually. And, I’m sorry to say, I don’t have any secrets to reveal. I probably find stories and podcasts the same way everyone else does. Here’s my very quick and cursory list. * I listen to the radio. A lot. * I ask people “What are you listening to that was really interesting? Or that pissed you off?” * I pick the brains of my students. They often get out their phones and rifle through what they subscribe to. * I’m always scouring newsletters and emails on radio listserves I belong to: a. The list for the Association of Independents in Radio b. The Transom Story Workshop Alumni listserve c. The list for the Sonic Soiree, a local listening group in Boston (I bet there’s a group near you). d. The newsletter from the Bello Collective e. The newsletter from Hot Pod f. Sam Greenspan’s occasional newsletter YSLTF: You Should Listen to Fridays . * I’m a member of a couple of Facebook groups: a. The Podcasters Support Group b. The BEA Teaching Audio Production Group * I subscribe to podcasts that feature work from a lot of different producers: a. Short Cuts from the BBC b. Unfictional from KCRW c. The BBC’s Between the Ears podcast * I search for subject matter I’m personally interested in. For instance, I might search for “Arctic” and “podcasts.” Or, “podcasts on the environment.” I’m sure I’ve left something out. (What would you add?) Perhaps the short answer is: my ear radar is always on; I’m constantly on the hunt. I should mention, too, that as I’m listening, I look for a way into the story for a HowSound episode. Is there a “teachable moment” in the piece? Did the producer do something unusual and notable? Do I find myself wondering “How the heck did they do that?!” Sometimes it’s just a matter of being satisfied by the story or a production technique. That’s what this episode of HowSound is about. On a recent road trip, I listened to several hours of stories and made a mental list of segments from those stor
Wed, October 31, 2018
You Just Won’t Know If You Don’t Ask
Jennifer Kingsley was so nervous when she started "Humans of the Arctic" she didn't eat for a week. But, she stepped off the boat in Svalbard with her mic and recording gear and learned a valuable lesson - you just won't know if you don't ask.
Tue, October 16, 2018
Fictional Sounds For A Fictional Story
Producer Morgan Givens lays out his elaborate thinking behind a few sound effects he recorded for a historical fiction story he produced about an escaped slave.
Tue, October 02, 2018
The Podcast Mindset: Part 2
It's a hackneyed idea, but it bears repeating: you can have all the right gear and marketing and everything else to make your podcast successful, but the most important asset is you. On this second episode of two, Vanessa Lowe of Nocturne lays out her podcast mindset.
Tue, September 18, 2018
The Podcast Mindset: Part 1
Recording equipment? Check. Marketing plan? Check. Theme music? Check. Mindset?..... You can have all the technical and logistical aspects of podcasting in place but if you don't have the right outlook, your effort may fall short. What is that mindset? On this first of two episodes, Phoebe Judge of Criminal answers that question.
Wed, September 05, 2018
Color Notes
Often, sound brings to light the visuals in a radio story. But, narration can paint pictures, too. NPR's John Burnett talks "color notes" in radio storytelling.
Tue, August 21, 2018
Three Stories, Marfa Style
For some radio inspiration, make sure to listen to these three stories produced in a week by students at a recent Transom Traveling Workshop in Marfa, Texas. Then, sign up for a workshop yourself!
Tue, August 07, 2018
Story Endings
The narrative arc in recent story about the drug epidemic by NPR's Rachel Martin was like being taken down into a basement and having the light turned off. The piece was bleak and the ending was, perhaps, the darkest point in the story. Rachel talks about that choice and offers other thoughts about story endings on this episode of HowSound.
Tue, July 24, 2018
Anatomy Of A Scene
Radio producers talk about the scenes in their stories all the time. "What are the scenes in your story?" "Oh, I got some great scene tape today." But what is a scene? On this episode, Rob dissects one of the best scenes he's heard in a while.
Tue, July 10, 2018
A Rockin’ Start
It's possible I love David Weinberg's "Louie Louie" doc because I love the song. It's "Louie Louie" for God's sake. But, really, what hooked me was David's writing. Especially the opening.
Tue, June 26, 2018
Three Student Stories Produced In Only A Week
Three students. Three stories. One week. Hear what can be accomplished in a very short period of time with barely any sleep.
Tue, June 12, 2018
Hang A Picture In Front Of The Mic
Select telling details... Mete out descriptions... Cast surprising characters... and other tips for dynamic and visual reporting on the arts from the legendary Susan Stamberg.
Tue, May 29, 2018
25th Anniversary Of “Ghetto Life 101”
This year marks the 25th anniversary of one of the best -- if not the best -- radio documentary: Ghetto Life 101. Producer David Isay and editor Gary Covino recall their landmark work on this episode of HowSound.
Tue, May 15, 2018
Recording Binaurally
All you need to know for this episode is this: Listen with your best headphones!
Tue, May 01, 2018
Finding Chenjerai The Storyteller
A few years ago, Chenjerai Kumanyika went to record his narration for his first-ever radio story. And he discovered a problem: "What should I sound like?" Several years later, Chenjerai found his voice on the Peabody Award-winning podcast "Uncivil."
Tue, April 17, 2018
Police Ride-Alongs
How can you be fair during an interview with a suspect when a police officer is standing right there? Over the years as a law enforcement reporter for NPR, Martin Kaste has developed an approach to navigate this and several other challenges.
Tue, April 03, 2018
The Value Of A Sympathetic Character
What do you do when the main character in a story is strange, bizarre, and weird? So crazy listeners might tune out? One answer is to find a sympathetic character, someone the audience can relate to. Producer Ann Heppermann explains how Glynn Washington was the perfect sympathetic character as the narrator of the "Heaven's Gate" podcast, the series about the cult that committed the largest mass suicide in the United States.
Tue, March 20, 2018
Sports Stories That Work
Bradley Campbell couldn't believe it when I told him I'd like to interview him about sports stories. He knows how much I hate them. But, a sports story he produced and other episodes of Gamebreaker are well worth the listen. Bradley explains why.
Tue, March 06, 2018
Stopping A Podcast
Megan Tan pulled the plug. She stopped producing Millennial at the height of the podcast boom. Her inspiring yet cautionary tale on this episode of HowSound.
Wed, February 21, 2018
A Question To Start A Story?
One way to start a story is with a question -- one that focuses and animates the piece. Annie Minoff and Elah Feder of the "Undiscovered" podcast use focus questions as story starters to great effect. But, I had some questions about their questions.
Tue, February 06, 2018
Journalism Of Empathy
"The Promise," a podcast from WPLN in Nashville, is an inspiring example of the journalism of empathy. And, it's easily some of the best local reporting I've heard in a long time. Meribah Knight explores this approach to reporting on this HowSound.
Tue, January 23, 2018
Reporting On Traumatic Events
A shooter guns down twenty-six people in a church. Soon after, Debbie Elliott from NPR shows up, a stranger with a microphone. She says it's hard not to feel like a pariah when reporting in traumatic situations. So, how do you avoid that?
Tue, January 09, 2018
Don’t Write, Tell
Planet Money's Noel King says the best way to write for radio is to not write. Instead? Tell.
Tue, December 26, 2017
Two Traveling Workshop Stories
Two solidly produced, fun stories from students at the Transom Traveling Workshop in Marfa, Texas. Both are well worth your listen.
Tue, December 12, 2017
Radio Is A Visual Medium
"Radio is the most visual medium." Aviva DeKornfeld's story "After the Storm" is proof. So much so, it's just as much a photo essay as it is a radio story.
Tue, November 28, 2017
Avoiding Cheesy Sound Design
Jad Abumrad of Radiolab delivers the goods on sound design in radio stories. A must listen if you're thinking of sound designing your next radio story.
Tue, October 31, 2017
Stepping In With The Facts
A recent story on NPR about the Confederate flag got Rob wondering about the practice of correcting interviewees in narration. Producer Zach Hirsch produced the story and he explains why he felt challenging the interviewee's viewpoints was necessary.
Tue, October 17, 2017
The Broken Narrative
Greg Warner is one of Rob Rosenthal's favorite radio writers. He deftly put the "broken narrative" to good use in an episode of his NPR podcast "Rough Translation." In fact he's so good at it, you'd have no idea he was using it. What is the broken narrative? You'll have to listen.
Tue, October 03, 2017
Sounding Like Yourself
Why is it so hard to sound like yourself when reading narration for radio stories? Transom's Viki Merrick offers some voicing coaching gold. You'll wanna take notes.
Tue, September 19, 2017
Sound Design Basics
After teaching documentary storytelling for seventeen years, I feel confident in the advice I give students, most of the time. But, as soon as someone brings up sound design, I’m flummoxed. I feel like my advice is next to useless. Typically, what happens is this: a student feels like their story is boring so they want to throw some sound in — something from a sound effects library. They think it will make the story more dynamic. And, typically, I respond by saying, “If your story is boring, write better. Or, play around with the structure. Or, find better quotes. Don’t expect to solve a problem by tossing in some sound. It will end up sounding cheesy.” I do think that’s solid advice. But, in reality, there are times when a bit of sound design might actually help a story. Not to make it less boring, but to drive home a point or help the story be more visual. That’s when I return to my problem as an instructor: I don’t know how to help. But here’s the good news. I produce a podcast about audio storytelling and I can actually ask people for advice! And so, I did. My first stop was Matthew Boll . Matt works at Gimlet as a lead producer and music composer. Of particular interest to me was his work on Crimetown , a podcast on crime and politics in Providence, Rhode Island, that uses a lot of sound design. Matt and I covered quite a bit of ground but I feel like I’ve only started to understand how sound design works. So, consider this the first in an ongoing, from time-to-time, set of episodes on sound design that will appear over the next few months.
Tue, September 05, 2017
Making First-Person Stories Stand Out
With the glut of first-person stories these days, how do you make yours stand out? Neil Sandell has some ideas.
Tue, August 22, 2017
Fact-Checking “A Life Sentence”
Producer Samantha Broun and This American Life's Christopher Swetala join me to talk about fact-checking "A Life Sentence" on this episode of HowSound.
Tue, August 08, 2017
Ready, Set, Radio Race!
If you have one day to produce a story for KCRW's 24-Hour Radio Race, reach for low hanging fruit, right? Not if your Esther Honig. On this episode, Esther recounts how she and her team produced an emotionally difficult story for the race in 2015 -- and won! An inspiration to sign up for this year's race.
Tue, July 25, 2017
Let The Tape Sing And Other Lessons From A Filmmaker Turned Podcaster
Filmmaker Tally Abecassis learned a lot about audio storytelling when she jumped in the deep end & started producing "First Day Back." The lessons she learned are useful for filmmakers thinking of producing audio stories -- & radio producers, too.
Tue, July 11, 2017
A Few Of My Favorite Things
Irish radio producer Ronan Kelly has a great ear for compelling radio. He plays story DJ on this archive episode of HowSound from 2010.
Tue, June 27, 2017
Ask Uncomfortable Questions
I was so nervous talking to Ashley Ahearn the producer of KUOW's new podcast about the environment "terrestrial." I should have been. I asked her about her appearance.
Tue, June 13, 2017
Improvisation And Structure
Sook-Yin Lee describes the combination of improvisation and structure that informs the production of Sleepover, a hit podcast from the CBC.
Tue, May 30, 2017
Stories That Are Impossible To Pitch
Sometimes, pitching a story is the last thing you want to do. Just press record and see what happens. Jay Allison is the guest on this episode of HowSound.
Tue, May 16, 2017
On Interviewing A Racist
"Live like the truth is true and go where love has not yet arrived." Words Al Letson of Reveal lives by, especially when interviewing a racist.
Tue, May 02, 2017
When A Good Idea For A Podcast Is A Bad Idea For A Podcast
Heed Arwen Nicks' warnings. Arwen explains when a good idea for a podcast is really a terrible idea for a podcast.
Tue, April 18, 2017
Avoiding Pesky Recording Problems
Never say to yourself: "I'll fix it in the mix." Fixing recording mistakes in the studio can lead to more problems. Instead, prevent issues before they happen. Rob Byers, from NPR's Training Team has tips for avoiding basic, pesky recording problems.
Tue, April 04, 2017
Dead Mom Talking
Rachel Matlow had a head slappingly simple idea: make a conversation out of the interviews she recorded with her mom after her mom died. But, simple it was not. Rachel explains the backstory on her Third Coast award-winning doc.
Tue, March 21, 2017
Reporting On Whiteness
The series "Seeing White" is essential listening. John Biewen reports on whiteness and white people for his podcast "Scene on Radio."
Tue, March 07, 2017
Intimate Interviewing
How does Lu Olkowski get such intimate interview tape? She shares some of her approaches including a couple that are a bit unorthodox, I'd say.
Tue, February 21, 2017
Rethinking A Podcast Top To Bottom
After 5 years producing a successful podcast, Aaron Hendkin & Wendel Jenkins of WYPR's "Out of the Blocks" have decided to remake the show. On this first of 2 episodes, they introduce us to the podcast and the process they're using to make change.
Tue, February 07, 2017
Sound As The Protagonist
Take a deep sonic dive as we listen to "Jump Blue," by Nicolas Jackson and Afonica. Remember to hold your breath.
Tue, January 24, 2017
Shaking Up Storytelling Formulas
Did Robert Smith of Planet Money go to far to make the uninteresting interesting? Robert talks about using "Oblique Strategies" for reporting an arcane topic in economics.
Tue, January 10, 2017
Buried Treasures, Again
Get your headphones ready and listen! Two buried treasures from Transom students. A story about domestic violence. Another about eels.
Tue, December 27, 2016
Morphing Print Essays Into Radio
Some print essays make great radio. Jay Cowit, Technical Director for The Takeaway, tells us how they recently did it.
Tue, December 13, 2016
Composing Music For Stories On This American Life
A lot of the music This American Life uses to score stories is composed for the program. Producer Jonathan Menjivar and musician Matthias Bossi of Stellwagen Symphonette talk about the music that works and doesn't work for the show.
Tue, November 29, 2016
On Your Mark. Get Set. Start Your Story.
There are no rules about starting a story but, there are some common approaches. Jessica Terrell dissects several story-starting tricks she used in the first episode of Offshore, the podcast about the off-beat side of Hawaii.
Tue, November 15, 2016
The Blindsiding Twist
Story twists are the hallmark of Love + Radio. Nick van der Kolk dissects the blind-siding reveal in "A Girl of Ivory."
Tue, November 01, 2016
Story Structure: The ‘e’
Rob dissects an episode of 99% Invisible to reveal a common but effective story structure -- the 'e.'
Tue, October 18, 2016
Narrating To An Audience
Outside/In host Sam Evans Brown narrated the first few minutes of an episode of the podcast just fine -- really well, in fact. Then he switched gears and brought two colleagues into the studio to tell them a portion of the story. Why?
Tue, October 04, 2016
The Evolution Of A Story
A son. A father. And an alien abduction. What more do you need to know?!
Tue, September 20, 2016
Doorstepping: The Uninvited Interview
Approaching a stranger on the street for an interview, pretty easy. "Doorstepping," knocking on the door of a house or entering a business for an interview uninvited, not so easy. Producer Nina Perry on her "doorstepping" interview for More Perfect.
Tue, September 06, 2016
Subjective Reporting
I dare you to listen to this story from Ryan Sweikert and not be moved. A perfect example of what he calls "subjective reporting."
Tue, August 23, 2016
How Not To Write For Radio
There's blood on the floor. Rob skewers the writing in one of his first-ever radio stories to reveal how not to write.
Tue, August 09, 2016
Sound Matters
Not everything has to sound the same. British/Danish producer Tim Hinman, of Third Ear, talks about tone and his podcast Sound Matters.
Tue, July 26, 2016
Hiroshima Revisited
If you want to re-broadcast a doc from 20 years ago but don't like a lot of the writing, the mix, and the voicing, what do you do? If you're John Biewen, you re-do it! On this episode--the old and the new version of John's "Hiroshima Remembered."
Tue, July 12, 2016
Radio Silence
Silence is a radio no-no. But what if you want to produce a story where the central focus is silence? Some answers on this HowSound.
Tue, June 28, 2016
Short Is Beautiful
Podcasters are free to produce without the confines of the public radio clock. So, why go so long? Short is beautiful.
Tue, June 14, 2016
Should Stations Produce Podcasts?
A lot of public radio stations are wringing their hands these days about podcasting. "Should we or shouldn't we," they wonder? Wyoming Public Radio's Caroline Ballard says "Yes!"
Tue, May 31, 2016
The Ethics Of Trespassing And Secret Recording
When is it okay to trespass and use secretly recorded phone calls while producing a story? Not often. But, producer Jack Rodolico remained ethical while skirting the edges of what's appropriate for his documentary "A Mountain of Discontent."
Tue, May 17, 2016
Show The Girls The Snakes
Three early pieces from The Kitchen Sisters circa 1980, stories sparked by mistakes and chance encounters. Their DIY approach is inspired.
Tue, April 19, 2016
First-Person Reporting
Sean Corcoran is a reporter's reporter. Straight-forward. Unbiased. Ethical. So why did he break some of his own rules on a story about opiate addiction?
Tue, April 05, 2016
Still More Buried Treasures: Student Work
Two more classics from Rob's vault of student-produced stories including one from 2003 by NPR's Gregory Warner, long before he became the network's east Africa correspondent.
Tue, March 22, 2016
Tinkering With Sound Design
How does your brain react when you drive through an intersection? Martine Powers answers that question and explains her clever sound design in her story "Driving In Circles."
Tue, March 08, 2016
Producing Personal Pieces
It's rare when a reporter turns the mic on themselves. Stephanie Foo's essay "The Favorite" for This American Life is an excellent example of why it should happen more often.
Tue, February 23, 2016
What Do You Do When The Rooster Dies?
When an interviewee is too nice, getting what you need as a reporter can be a challenge. Monika Blackwell relates how she navigated the "reporter/subject relationship" (& death of a rooster) during a Transom Traveling Workshop in the Virgin Islands.
Tue, February 09, 2016
Should I Or Shouldn’t I: Recording In Stereo
Rob and his guest, audio engineer Flawn Williams, attempt to answer the question: Should I record in stereo?
Tue, January 26, 2016
Magical Realism In Radio
Here's something you don't hear very often when talking about radio documentaries: magical realism. Producer David Weinberg talks about how he used magical realism in his doc "Grace of the Sea."
Tue, January 12, 2016
Interviewing With Your Skeptical Brain
Transom Story Workshop student Sally Helm talks with Rob Rosenthal about learning the value of being skeptical and pushing back during interviews. Also featured in this episode, her excellent story about the 1977 Martha's Vineyard secession movement.
Tue, December 29, 2015
Frank Langfitt’s Unusual Voicing Method
Reporter Frank Langfitt shares a surprising trick for sounding natural while narrating radio stories.
Wed, December 16, 2015
What’s Changed?: The Power Of Follow-Up Stories
Put time to work for you. The power of follow-up stories.
Tue, December 01, 2015
More Buried Treasures: Two Student Stories
Two excellent student stories from years ago prove that radio is the most visual medium.
Tue, November 17, 2015
The Biggest Story In The World
The Guardian has proven that podcasts from newspapers can be ear-catching -- great sound design and narrative. Producer Francesca Panetta talks about "The Biggest Story in the World."
Tue, November 03, 2015
Small Is Beautiful
Want to learn how to write an essay? Study "The Memory Palace." Nate DiMeo, the host, is my guest on HowSound.
Tue, October 20, 2015
Writing Out Of Tape
Writing into tape is a necessity. Narration needs to lead to a quote. But, what about writing out of tape? Mose Buchele of KUT-FM in Austin has an uncommon approach.
Tue, October 06, 2015
Frustrated Artist Finds Way To Make Art
Al Letson is fully dedicated to the journalistic work he produces at State of the Re:Union and Reveal, but deep down, he's still an artist. That's why he produces Errthang, a podcast.
Tue, September 22, 2015
Father Cares: The Last of Jonestown with Deb Amos and Noah Adams
NPR's Deborah Amos and Noah Adams recall their haunting, must-hear documentary from 1981 about mass suicide at "Jonestown," Guyana.
Tue, September 08, 2015
Buried Treasures: Four Student Pieces
Rob digs into an archive of good stories, well told, and features four by his former students.
Tue, August 25, 2015
Story Dissection: Dead Animal Man
Rob Rosenthal combs through Ira Glass's piece "Dead Animal Man" minute by minute pointing out all of its radio goodness.
Tue, August 11, 2015
Finding The Story When You Know Too Much
How do you find the story when know too much and have hours and hours of tape? Reporter Karen Duffin and Radiolab producer Kelsey Padgett trace the path to "Nazi Summer Camp."
Tue, July 28, 2015
Producing Science Stories With A Scientist
Producer Kerry Donahue pulls back the curtain on producing science stories with a scientist for PRX's podcast "Transistor."
Tue, July 14, 2015
Remixing The Music
HowSound's Rob Rosenthal remixes a story from Latino USA by producer Neena Pathak to reveal a different way to score a piece.
Tue, June 30, 2015
A Mom, A Transgender Daughter, And A Podcast
Producer Marlo Mack on the impulse to pick up a microphone and record her transgender daughter for her podcast “How to Be a Girl.”
Tue, June 16, 2015
A Matter Of Ethics
In 2008, student producer Jamie Yuenger recorded a remarkably private moment during a moose hunt. How she got that recording may cause you to raise your "ethics eyebrow."
Tue, June 02, 2015
Radio Luck And The Gift Of Character Change
In a character driven story, producer Hillary Frank says the story will be more satisfying if the character changes, evolves. Hillary got "radio lucky" when the kids in her story "Real Teens, Fake Babies" shifted 180 degrees.
Tue, May 19, 2015
Foils And Other First Person Tricks
Neenah Ellis talks with Rob Rosenthal about her series "One Hundred Years of Stories" and she shares some of her tips for first-person stories.
Tue, May 05, 2015
The Path To Primary Care
In this episode of HowSound, Rob Rosenthal talks with producer Karen Brown about her piece, "The Path to Primary Care: Who Will Be the Next Generation of Frontline Doctors." A local piece with national appeal.
Tue, April 21, 2015
Radio Writing With Alex Chadwick
On this edition of HowSound, Alex Chadwick and Rob Rosenthal trade tips on writing for radio that new producers will find invaluable.
Tue, April 07, 2015
Concerning Breakfast
This week on HowSound, Rob Rosenthal shares one of his favorite pieces of all time, "Concerning Breakfast" produced by Annie Cheney and Jay Allison for the series, “Life Stories,” (Associate Producer, Christina Egloff).
Tue, March 24, 2015
Death, Sex And Money With Anna Sale
Anna Sale, the host of the podcast "Death, Sex and Money" talks with Rob Rosenthal in front of a live audience about the art of interviewing and getting people to talk about difficult things.
Tue, March 10, 2015
Teenage Diaries Revisited: Melissa’s Story
This episode of HowSound features Joe Richman of Radio Diaries talking about his Third Coast Award winning piece, Teenage Diaries Revisited: Melissa's Story.
Tue, February 24, 2015
Reporting Dark Matters
A live interview with 2014 Third Coast International Audio Festival Award winners, Luke Malone and Pat Walters.
Tue, February 10, 2015
Barf Draft With An iPhone
Rob Rosenthal talks with producer Bradley Campbell about "barf drafts." A technique for producing radio stories that Bradley swears by. Especially when he's on a tight deadline.
Tue, January 27, 2015
Revisiting Criminal
The podcast, “Criminal” has enjoyed a big jump in popularity. Rob Rosenthal talks with “Criminal’s” host Phoebe Judge about growth—how good press and partnership helps, how doing good work helps, and the “Serial” effect.
Tue, January 13, 2015
Burroughs at 100
"Burroughs at 100" with Iggy Pop. What's not to like? A HowSound recorded live at the Third Coast International Audio Festival with award winning producer Colin McNulty.
Tue, December 30, 2014
Australia!
An Australian radio sampler with Julie Shapiro, Executive Producer for the Creative Radio Unit at Australian Public Broadcasting.
Tue, December 16, 2014
Here I Am And Here Be Danger
Producer Annie McEwen talks about her award winning piece, "Here I Am and Here Be Danger."
Wed, December 03, 2014
Tandem
On this HowSound, how a story about a skydiving accident nearly drove Anna Rose MacArthur away from radio and what brought her back.
Wed, November 19, 2014
Bionic Pancreas
Rob Stein and Rebecca Davis reveal the backstory to their working relationship as reporter and producer.
Wed, November 05, 2014
Strangers
Lea Thau, host of the "Strangers" podcast on podcasting, journalism, and turning the mic toward yourself.
Wed, October 15, 2014
Early Bloom
On this edition, we follow the path from script to a produced story about plant communication with Peter Frick-Wright and Robbie Carver.
Thu, October 02, 2014
HowSound Live!
A HowSound first: a live recording in front of an audience. The guest is Michael May who talks about his story "Death of a Bangalore Law Student."
Wed, September 17, 2014
Compassionate Release
Natasha Haverty talks about her path from reporting on dairy princess pageants to award-winning investigative stories on prisons for North Country Public Radio in upstate New York.
Wed, September 03, 2014
The Hitchhiker
On this HowSound, Scott Carrier, Alex Chadwick, and the legendary story behind Scott's first radio piece "The Hitchhiker," produced in 1983.
Wed, August 27, 2014
Hard To Say
On this episode, a 2004 "Best New Producer" award-winner from Third Coast and a real tearjerker produced by Bente Birkeland.
Wed, August 06, 2014
Set the Wayback Machine for 1914
The staff at Studio 360 dissects the production, writing, and voicing of their recent broadcast from 1914.
Wed, July 23, 2014
3rd Grade Audio
Stories about drawing, getting old, stuffed animals, and what to do when you get a magnet stuck up your nose. It must be David Green's "Third Grade Audio."
Wed, July 09, 2014
Five Things
If I had to pick a story for a "Top Ten Favorite Student Features," "Five Things" by Matt Largey would be one of them because of the incredible intimacy.
Wed, June 25, 2014
Walking with the Voses
Producer Jakob Lewis on "parachuting in" to produce a story about a funeral and a grieving family.
Wed, June 11, 2014
Love Is A Battlefield
Interviewing tricks and tips from NPR science reporter Alix Spiegel. You'll want to take notes.
Wed, May 28, 2014
Look At Me, Did I Find True Love?
Transom Story Workshop student, Alex Kapelman, with the story of a drummer with a hook for a hand and a 50-year old rock and roll mystery.
Wed, May 14, 2014
Criminal
The new podcast "Criminal," is well worth a listen. Find out what it's all about from the program's host, Phoebe Judge.
Thu, April 24, 2014
Risky Reporting at Fukushima
NPR foreign correspondent Anthony Kuhn on the risks involved reporting at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Wed, April 09, 2014
Typewriters Are Unpleasant
Michael Raphael of Rabbit Ears Audio talks sound effects recording: winter scenes, rockets, cityscapes, and the soul destroying typewriter.
Wed, March 26, 2014
Getting Honest: The Editor, Producer Relationship
Producer Will Coley and editor Viki Merrick offer HowSound listeners a gift by talking about their editorial process, a working relationship that is usually not shared publicly.
Wed, March 12, 2014
Baking Tape
A painful reminiscence about preserving old reel-to-reel tapes by baking them. No, that's not a typo. Baking.
Wed, February 26, 2014
To Scene or Not To Scene
NPR's legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg finds on-scene narration canned and phoney and she says ambient sound often gets in the way of a story. Yet, her recent report on buffer zones around health clinics proves otherwise.
Wed, February 12, 2014
Dear Birth Mother
On this edition of HowSound, a 2005 Third Coast Festival award-winner from Long Haul Productions about a transracial adoption.
Wed, January 29, 2014
Recording Not By The Book
Tight budgets, technological advances, and the impulse to experiment are leading some producers to record "not by the book." Does it work?
Thu, January 16, 2014
The Hospital Always Wins
Laura Starecheski should win a radio endurance award. Laura tells the story of her decade -- ten years! -- of research and production on "The Hospital Always Wins."
Thu, January 02, 2014
Hark! The Acoustic World of Elizabethan England
Three radio greats -- Chris Brookes, Paolo Pietropaolo, and Alan Hall -- explore the sound of England 400 years ago along with our modern soundscape.
Wed, December 18, 2013
The Last of the Iron Lungs
Julia Scott says "participant observation" is a valuable reporting tool, even if it means climbing into an "iron lung" which looks like something only Dracula would lay in.
Wed, December 04, 2013
The New New Sheriff in Town
Headphones are mandatory for this episode of HowSound. Kathy Tu's second radio story ever will set your ears ablaze.
Wed, November 20, 2013
Just Plumb Gone
Mary Helen Miller encourages station-based producers to "Sneak out the back door with the tape recorder and make something good."
Wed, November 06, 2013
The Elusive Digital Stradivarius
David Schulman usually produces non-narrated stories on music. Recently, he stepped out of his usual style to produce a narrated science story focused on the acoustics of reproducing the sound of a Stradivarius electronically.
Thu, October 24, 2013
This Story May Be Recorded… To Save Your Life
Yowei Shaw amassed 325 pages of transcripts for her This American Life story on Eritrean hostages and the reporter who uncovered the story. And that was just the beginning of Yowei's long, grueling production process assembling the story.
Wed, October 09, 2013
Hafid is Free
"Hafid is Free" is a solid example of what a story needs when it doesn't have a narrative hook.
Wed, September 25, 2013
Heyoon
A recent episode of "99% Invisible" employed a dramatic recreation to bring the past to life. Producers Alex Goldman and Sam Greenspan explain how they did it.
Wed, September 11, 2013
Nodding Syndrome
Producer Matt Kielty wonders about "objectification" and advancing a career reporting on the suffering of others.
Wed, August 28, 2013
Autism Grows Up
Capital Public Radio's Catherine Stifter and jesikah maria ross (no caps) are tasked with changing the sound of the station's documentary unit.
Wed, August 14, 2013
Stylus
New producers Conor Gillies and Zack Ezor get it right, right out of the gate with their documentary "Stylus" on music and sound.
Wed, July 31, 2013
Reporting Trauma After the Boston Marathon
Interviewing traumatized people is no easy task. Zach Hirsch, a radio producer, and Bruce Shapiro, Director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, offer suggestions for treating victims with respect.
Wed, July 17, 2013
Just Another Fish Story
Molly Menschel's radio story about a beached whale in Lubec, Maine is so good, you'll be jealous of her storytelling and production skills. In fact, you might not want to listen.
Wed, July 03, 2013
Love + Radio
Nick van der Kolk on "auteurship" and the incredibly unique sound of the "Love + Radio" podcast.
Thu, June 20, 2013
Witness to an Execution
"Witness to an Execution," another addition to my Top 10 list of radio documentaries. "Witness" was produced by Stacy Abromson and Dave Isay in 2000. The prison warden and staff of a prison in Texas recount their experiences and the process of putting people to death in Texas.
Wed, June 05, 2013
52hz
Lilly Sullivan relates the curious tale of "52 Hertz," the whale who sings at the "wrong" frequency.
Wed, May 22, 2013
Balance and The Minnesota Marriage Amendment
Reporter Sasha Aslanian on balanced reporting during Minnesota's gay marriage debate.
Wed, May 08, 2013
Josh: Growing Up With Tourette’s
Happy Birthday to Teenage Diaries! To mark the occasion and the production of five updated stories, HowSound features a story dissection with producer Joe Richman recorded in 2009.
Wed, April 10, 2013
Recording in Remote Locations
Headed out to report in a faraway place? Dan Grossman says "Be prepared." Dan shares intriguing sounds and important field preparation tips on this HowSound.
Wed, March 27, 2013
My Kingdom For Some Structure
Producer Bradley Campbell says story structure is a like a map, it shows you were to go. For this episode of HowSound, Bradley drew story structures on napkins (really) and we dissect his drawings.
Wed, March 13, 2013
Generation Putin
International reporting is an order of magnitude more challenging than local reporting. Producers Sarah Partnow & Sarah Stuteville talk about the travails of overseas reporting in the former Soviet Union for their latest doc, Generation Putin.
Wed, February 27, 2013
What If There Was No Destiny?
If only there was a quadratic equation for ethics, right? Plug in the variables and the equation spits out the answers. No such luck which means we've got to talk it through, like we do on this episode of HowSound with Radiolab reporter Pat Walters.
Wed, February 13, 2013
Curious City
"Curious City" loves the local. Hear how this project at WBEZ brings listeners into the making of radio and on-line content.
Wed, January 30, 2013
Three Records from Sundown
Producer Charles Maynes crafted the perfect tone for his documentary on singer Nick Drake called "Three Records from Sundown." It's almost as though Drake and his producer, Joe Boyd, were in the studio recording a Nick Drake documentary like it was a Nick Drake song.
Wed, January 16, 2013
Tiny Spark
"Tiny Spark" is an impressive new podcast from Amy Costello. Amy produces in-depth investigative stories about non-profits and foundations.
Wed, January 02, 2013
The Tale of Lot 180
WLRN reporter Kenny Malone offers his strategy for creative storytelling: a clever central question, story motion, and place. This episode features Kenny's ear catching story about Florida's Unclaimed Property Auction, "The Tale of Lot 180."
Wed, December 19, 2012
‘Til Death Do Us Part
Producers Sara Archambault and Heather Radke talk about how they responded when characters in stories they produced died.
Wed, December 05, 2012
Dear Craigslist: I Have A Small Swastika Tattoo and I Want It Off
On the radio, why don't we hear more conversations with interesting people? Emily Hsiao's radio story, "Leaving A Mark," is just that. You'll want to listen twice.
Wed, November 21, 2012
The Burning Question
The interview may be the core of what we do as radio producers. Who better to talk about interviewing than Audie Cornish who says she conducts fifteen interviews a week for NPR's All Things Considered. Take notes on her tips.
Wed, November 07, 2012
Jad’s Brain
We're goin' in! Grab your earbuds and don your spelunking light. Our destination? Jad Abumrad's brain. Jad's a co-host and the producer of Radiolab, a science (and more) program produced at WNYC. This could get weird.
Thu, October 25, 2012
The Seance
Boo! Here's your Halloween edition of HowSound featuring "The Seance" by Bob Carlson.
Wed, October 10, 2012
The Green Lawns of Texas
Avoiding the pitfalls of "parachute journalism" with Marketplace reporter Krissy Clark.
Wed, September 26, 2012
A Trip to the Dentist
You'll probably get dizzy listening to "A Trip to the Dentist," a legendary, psychedelic story from Larry Massett.
Wed, September 12, 2012
Alleged Illegal Searches
Criminal justice reporter Ailsa Chang on her duPont-Columbia award winning story for WNYC.
Wed, September 05, 2012
Passing Stranger: The East Village Poetry Walk
Pejk Malinovksy on producing audio tours including Passing Stranger: The East Village Poetry Walk
Wed, August 22, 2012
She Sees Your Every Move
Finally. A LONG overdue HowSound on scoring --- using music in a story. I dissect Jonathan Mitchell's use of scoring in his provocative story "She Sees Your Every Move."
Wed, August 08, 2012
Dissecting Joanne Rosser, Papermaker
I hope you're not squeamish. On this HowSound, I take a scalpel to a profile on papermaker Joanne Rosser. Let's peel back the surface of the story to reveal its narrative and production innards.
Wed, July 25, 2012
One Species at a Time
Imagine spending 5 years working on your PhD studying killer whale vocalization. Then imagine deciding you don’t want to be an ocean biologist. That's how Ari Daniel got into radio. Hear his secret to clear and understandable science reporting.
Wed, July 11, 2012
The Secret
Initially, "The Secret" by Carma Jolly seems like it might be a story about Carma's brother and his near-death experience. Then, suddenly, story takes a sharp turn. In that moment, I was hooked by the story and Carma as a producer.
Wed, June 27, 2012
Stand-Ups
If NPR reporter Robert Smith isn't the king of the stand-up, he surely is the prince. Robert lays out his methodology for solid stand-ups.
Wed, June 13, 2012
Two Cape Cods
A few years ago, right around the time newspaper readership plummeted and papers shut-down one after another, Reporter Sean Corcoran left newspaper reporting for radio. He talks about how reporting differs in the two media.
Wed, May 30, 2012
The Gift That Was Brought To Us
There's a compelling story to be found in every day life, even a ukulele orchestra.
Wed, May 16, 2012
Happy Birthday Studs!
Studs Terkel, America's interviewer, would be 100 today! Happy Birthday Studs!! Syd Lewis worked with Studs for a 25 years. I chat with Syd about Studs and her documentary Working With Studs, produced by Atlantic Public Media.
Wed, May 02, 2012
Fact Check This
Seek the truth and report it. That's the core of journalism. But the truth needs to be checked -- fact checked. And when you don't.....well, just ask the folks at This American Life. Columbia University's John Dinges talks about fact checking.
Wed, March 07, 2012
Krulwich on Gorilla Cage Drama
Robert Krulwich's stories are always ear-catching and dramatic whether they're on radio, television, or in person at conferences. He practically forces you to want to know what happens next. How the heck does he do that?! I asked him.
Wed, February 22, 2012
A Dual Narrative
Radio stories usually aren't very complicated. Generally, you can place stories into two categories--the argument story and the narrative story. Whitney Jones produced a somewhat different story last fall while he was at the Transom Story Workshop.
Wed, February 08, 2012
Chorus of Refuge
Once you've finished producing a story, what are you supposed to do with all the tape? Just let it sit on a shelf? This HowSound will stretch your ears with a sound art piece by Kara Oehler, Jason Cady, and Ann Heppermann.
Wed, January 25, 2012
The Pirate
Kelly McEvers is a mic-slinger. Draws from the hip. Records with precision. Not afraid. (Okay, maybe a little afraid.) On this HowSound, she is unabashed about her adrenaline addiction, her critique of the NPR sound, & her approach to radio stories.
Wed, January 11, 2012
Different, Not Disabled
Radio storytelling is an excellent teaching tool for young people in practically any classroom. Here's a quick primer on youth radio and a commentary about Aspbergers syndrome by seventeen year old Ian Kathen.
Wed, December 28, 2011
99% Invisible
99% Invisible is my new favorite podcast. A little bit RadioLab, a touch of This American Life, and a lot of Roman Mars, the producer. Roman talks about a bit about the design of the podcast and podcasting writ large.
Wed, December 14, 2011
The Longest, Shortest Time
Hillary Frank launched a decade-long career in radio with an answering machine as a tape recorder. Hillary talks about microcassettes, boomboxes, podcasting, and motherhood.
Wed, November 30, 2011
A No Story Story
Imagine this: You've met a total character. She's kind of eccentric. She has forty-one animals in her backyard and it's not a farm. And, just about every time she talks, she says something amazing. But, there's no story. What do you do?
Wed, November 16, 2011
The Plane That Flew Into the Empire State Building
Listen to the audio in this video. It's perfect for radio. With some editing, narration, & other content, you could easily turn this into a radio story. Joe Richman on the power and pleasure of storytelling with archive tape.
Wed, November 02, 2011
Kohn
There seems to be a trend afoot in documentary radio -- working directly with musicians to compose music for a story. Andy Mills won "Best New Artist" at the 2011 Third Coast Filmless Festival. Well deserved. Have a listen.
Wed, October 19, 2011
Edward Stephenson, Tobacco Auctioneer
Keys to good storytelling: strong, simple writing; solid voicing; professional recording & mixing; compelling characters; a seductive narrative; visuals.....What else? John Biewen describes "sure-handedness" in radio storytelling.
Wed, October 05, 2011
Seizure’s Lament
The Third Coast International Audio Festival is 3 days of ear candy. On this HowSound, I present one of the stories featured at this year's Filmless Festival, "Seizure's Lament" by producer Carma Jolly. You might want headphones for this one.
Thu, September 22, 2011
The Natural State
It's good to hear constructive (and, sometimes, not-so-constructive) feedback. However, a LOT of criticism, especially if it's pointed, well....is hard to take. Dan Collison & Elizabeth Meister talk about how to handle tough reviews from listeners.
Wed, September 07, 2011
Inner-City Reality Check
Katie Davis doesn't look very far for the stories she produces. In fact, they often come to her.... on her front porch. We feature Katie's essay produced in the aftermath of 9/11 -- An Inner-City Reality Check.
Wed, August 24, 2011
The Five Percent Rule
The amount of effort Sally Herships put into her first investigative journalism piece….. well, it’s enough to drive you to smoke! “The Five Percent Rule” is Sally’s 10-month-long foray into investigative reporting, a story on the under-pricing of tobacco on military bases. The piece aired on Marketplace in June of 2011 as part of a series on tobacco . On this edition of HowSound, Sally talks about some of her behind-the-scenes work on the project. It’s a bit startling, actually. Huge spreadsheets, hundreds of phone calls…. even a new pair of special glasses to prevent the headaches she was getting from looking at a computer screen too long. Sally says she received assistance from I.R.E. — Investigative Reporters and Editors . They were a tremendous help for this kind of deep reporting and exacting work. Have a listen then let us know about your investigative work. Here’s Sally’s blog for “The Five Percent Rule.” And, no, Sally doesn’t smoke. This edition of HowSound was produced on Hindenburg software rather than ProTools, my usual audio editor of choice for a good dozen years. I haven’t switched to Hindenburg, but I sure like it a lot.
Wed, August 10, 2011
Fighting With My Dad
"I can’t think of anything more fraught than doing a story that explores intimate things about your relationship with your parents." On this HowSound, Richard Paul talks about interviewing his dad and the epiphany that lead to breaking all ties.
Tue, July 26, 2011
Four Feet Under
Here it is, the first HowSound, the backstory to great radio storytelling. We kick things off in a graveyard -- hopefully, that's not foreshadowing! Producer Clay Bolton digs deep for the universal in a story about gravediggers. (Pun intended.)
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