Podcasts by Sound School Podcast
Further podcasts by Rob Rosenthal/PRX/Transom.org
Podcast on the topic So geht’s
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Reporting Out at the Edge from 2023-12-05T15:27:24
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-...
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Mixing Fiction with Non-Fiction from 2023-11-21T14:46:36
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 "E...
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Interview Strangers on the Street, Make a Podcast from 2023-11-07T14:44:28
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 winn...
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Revisiting: Remembering Studs from 2023-10-24T14:06:43
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 L...
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Pleasing to the Ear from 2023-10-10T14:17:52
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...
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Salt at 50! from 2023-09-26T15:39:33
What do radio producers Phoebe Judge (Criminal), Zoe Chase (This American Life), Greg Warner (Rough Translation), Matt Kielty (Radiolab), Emily Kwong (NPR...
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Revisiting: Dead Mom Talking from 2023-09-12T16:02:07
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 w...
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So You STILL Want to Start a Podcast, Eh? from 2023-08-29T14:00
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 th...
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Going Behind the Mic On Climate Change Reporting from 2023-08-15T14:00
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 ...
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Revisiting: Sound Art Meets Poetry Meets Cicadas from 2023-08-01T13:45:04
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 "Magicicad...
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Next-level Scoring from 2023-07-18T14:02:29
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 ...
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Lean In and Listen Like It’s Music from 2023-07-05T11:58:47
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 t...
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Revisiting: Avoiding Pesky Sound Problems from 2023-06-20T14:18:16
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 o...
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The Best Audio Storytelling According to Pushkin from 2023-06-06T14:15:58
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...
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Happy 15th Sound School! from 2023-05-23T12:30
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-p...
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What's Grabbed Antonia's Ears? from 2023-05-09T14:00
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 ...
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The Fingerprint of Chris Brookes from 2023-04-25T14:32:08
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 e...
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Producing a Non-narrated Obituary from 2023-04-11T13:39:02
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...
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What’s Next for Munira? from 2023-03-28T14:29:49
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...
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Still More Darts and Laurels from 2023-03-14T14:00
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 y...
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Think of a Radio Station (or Podcast) as a Musical Instrument from 2023-02-28T15:10:36
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 ten...
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Thinking in Scenes from 2022-04-12T14:00
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 ...
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Remember to Breathe! from 2022-03-29T14:00
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 brea...
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Engage Listeners To Build Trust from 2022-03-15T14:19:10
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...
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Radio Silence (Rerun) from 2022-03-01T16:11:25
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 sil...
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Audio Message in a Bottle from 2022-02-15T16:05:59
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 invol...
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Al Letson’s Covenant with Listeners About True Crime Stories from 2022-02-01T15:10:22
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 J...
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Navigating Tricky Story Dynamics from 2022-01-18T15:49:42
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 tr...
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So You Want To Start A Podcast, Eh? from 2022-01-04T15:35:44
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 no...
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Exquisitely Challenging: Reporting on Suicide from 2021-12-21T15:28:25
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 he...
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Darts and Laurels from 2021-12-07T16:40:32
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 othe...
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House Of Pod Closes The House from 2021-11-23T15:15:52
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 podca...
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A Sonic Conjuring (Rerun) from 2021-11-09T15:06:39
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...
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The World Orchestra Is Always Playing from 2021-10-26T14:36:54
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 ...
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From Memoir to Radio Story from 2021-10-12T15:00:57
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 shor...
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Interviewing for Story from 2021-09-28T15:30:12
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 ho...
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The Megan Tan Way from 2021-09-14T13:09:51
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 incredib...
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Sounds Easy, But... from 2021-08-31T15:14:05
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...
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Goldstein on Writing, Fonts, and “The Goldstein” from 2021-08-17T14:24:01
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...
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Stand-Ups (Rerun) from 2021-08-03T15:13:12
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 ...
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Narrative Justice from 2021-07-06T15:45:42
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 Pri...
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The Kids Will Have Their Say from 2021-06-22T13:26:26
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...
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When Anthropology Meets Audio Storytelling from 2021-06-08T15:05
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 ant...
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Wrangling Stories With A Focus Sentence from 2021-05-25T14:12:27
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.
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Tape-Driven Storytelling from 2021-05-11T14:51:26
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 pract...
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Dissecting a Good Story, Well Told from 2021-04-27T14:37:12
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 part...
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Who Are Those People in Podcast Credits? from 2021-04-13T15:21:38
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 ...
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Thoughts On Trailers from 2021-03-30T16:04:08
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...
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Schwartz Is A Verb from 2021-03-16T17:03:54
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. The...
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Audio Playground from 2021-03-02T17:59:07
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.
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Gas Mask? Check. Bullet Proof Vest? Check...What to Wear When the Reporting Gets Dangerous from 2021-02-16T15:51:44
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 protest...
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Eavesdropping on the Insurrection from 2021-02-02T17:21:05
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...
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Perk Up Your Ears! from 2021-01-19T14:16:46
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 or...
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Bow Glacier Asserting Its Existence from 2021-01-05T17:36:13
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.
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How Do You Know a Story is Worthy of a Podcast Series? from 2020-12-22T15:12:23
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 ...
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Show, Don't Tell from 2020-12-08T16:25:39
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 maxi...
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Nancy Was Here from 2020-11-24T15:24:24
Raise a mic in the air with Rob in honor of "Nancy," the now-cancelled podcast from WNYC about the LGBTQ experience.
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Things I Like from 2020-11-10T17:14:39
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.
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Portraying Character from 2020-10-27T15:50:42
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 ...
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Why So Chatty, Alex Blumberg? from 2020-10-13T14:33:46
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." ...
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A Night of Ear Candy from 2020-09-29T14:43:59
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 S...
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The Intersection of Folklore, Radio Journalism and a Pear from 2020-09-15T14:49:59
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.
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The Squirm Test from 2020-09-01T15:35:34
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,...
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Effective Sound Effects from 2020-08-18T17:14:49
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 d...
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Pandemic Diary from 2020-08-04T13:54:11
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...
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Sound Art Meets Poetry Meets Cicadas from 2020-07-21T15:09:28
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...
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Walking In The Margins Of Journalism Ethics from 2020-07-07T15:11:53
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...
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Leave In The Question from 2020-06-23T14:11:38
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 d...
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A Feast For Your Ears from 2020-06-09T15:23:32
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...
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The Recesses Of Jay's Mind from 2020-05-26T15:13:30
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-catchin...
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AfroQueer And Podcasting In Kenya from 2020-05-12T20:31:05
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 i...
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What Do You Stand For? from 2020-04-28T15:38:22
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 ...
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Gathering Scene Tape While Reporting From A Closet from 2020-04-14T15:52:41
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 way...
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Take A Walk With Your Mic from 2020-03-31T15:02:51
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.
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Poetry As Narration from 2020-03-17T15:08:49
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...
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Two Student Stories About Music from 2020-03-03T16:13:28
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 ...
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Being Present With A Microphone from 2020-02-18T14:24:01
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 diffe...
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Got Your Ears On? from 2020-02-04T14:04:06
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 Morris...
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Shereen Goes Quiet from 2020-01-21T15:58:27
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...
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When The Story Is About You But Not About You from 2020-01-07T16:39:56
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 ...
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Pigeons and Octopuses – Two Transom Story Workshop Stories from 2019-12-24T15:52:18
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Reporting On The Reverse Freedom Riders from 2019-12-10T17:10:53
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Staying The Course In A Tough Interview from 2019-11-26T15:34:29
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Navigating Mongolia With Fixers from 2019-11-12T15:39:41
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Scoring Stories: Part 2 from 2019-10-29T16:05:23
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Scoring Stories: Part 1 from 2019-10-15T18:14:17
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Interviewing For Emotions from 2019-10-01T14:12:44
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Jaw-Dropping Clips from 2019-09-17T19:45:34
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Anything Can Happen. That's The Best Part. from 2019-09-03T16:09:25
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Bellwether's Speculative Journalism from 2019-08-21T15:46:54
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HowSound Reviews "Song Exploder" from 2019-08-06T16:07:52
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HowSound Reviews "Stay Free: The Story Of The Clash" from 2019-07-23T14:05:06
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The Hidden Work Of An Associate Producer from 2019-07-09T16:00:11
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 shi...
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First, Tell Them An Anecdote from 2019-06-25T14:03:43
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...
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When The Going Gets Tough, Keep Asking Questions from 2019-06-11T19:43:37
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.
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Some Fav And Not-So-Fav Sounds from 2019-05-29T16:09:58
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...
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Getting Inside Someone Else’s Skin from 2019-05-14T16:26:39
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 inter...
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Eight Things I Like About 10 Things That Scare Me from 2019-04-30T11:06:21
On this episode, the convention-busting production choices of "10 Things That Scare Me."
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How Sruthi Tracks from 2019-04-02T15:39:03
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 ...
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An Editor’s Fingerprints from 2019-03-19T16:40:17
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.
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All The Sound We Can Not Hear from 2019-03-05T16:38:54
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 ...
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Two From The Road In Nashville from 2019-02-19T16:57:10
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'r...
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A Sonic Conjuring from 2019-02-05T16:27:42
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 -...
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Twitter Vox from 2019-01-22T15:39:28
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 lega...
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Taking Control Of The Music from 2019-01-08T17:26:03
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...
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Your Skull Is An Ear from 2018-12-26T17:20:54
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.
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Making Sense Of A Pile Of Tape from 2018-12-11T16:55:37
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 Al...
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Enticing Listeners To Press Play Again from 2018-11-27T19:43:43
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 ...
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These Are A Few Of My Favorite (Recent) Clips from 2018-11-13T19:59:26
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 ...
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You Just Won’t Know If You Don’t Ask from 2018-10-31T15:42:23
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 valuab...
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Fictional Sounds For A Fictional Story from 2018-10-16T15:23:34
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.
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The Podcast Mindset: Part 2 from 2018-10-02T16:06:29
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 sec...
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The Podcast Mindset: Part 1 from 2018-09-18T16:27:10
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 ...
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Color Notes from 2018-09-05T15:46:55
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.
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Three Stories, Marfa Style from 2018-08-21T14:50:13
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 yoursel...
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Story Endings from 2018-08-07T17:52:26
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...
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Anatomy Of A Scene from 2018-07-24T16:34:39
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 disse...
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A Rockin’ Start from 2018-07-10T15:32:29
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.
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Three Student Stories Produced In Only A Week from 2018-06-26T14:32:03
Three students. Three stories. One week. Hear what can be accomplished in a very short period of time with barely any sleep.
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Hang A Picture In Front Of The Mic from 2018-06-12T16:47:51
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.
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25th Anniversary Of “Ghetto Life 101” from 2018-05-29T15:45:30
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 ep...
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Recording Binaurally from 2018-05-15T16:14:36
All you need to know for this episode is this: Listen with your best headphones!
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Finding Chenjerai The Storyteller from 2018-05-01T16:11:52
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 hi...
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Police Ride-Alongs from 2018-04-17T17:04:14
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...
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The Value Of A Sympathetic Character from 2018-04-03T16:51:14
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 relat...
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Sports Stories That Work from 2018-03-20T16:19:33
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 Gamebrea...
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Stopping A Podcast from 2018-03-06T17:02:06
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.
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A Question To Start A Story? from 2018-02-21T16:08:32
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 e...
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Journalism Of Empathy from 2018-02-06T16:55:07
"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...
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Reporting On Traumatic Events from 2018-01-23T17:01:54
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 trau...
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Don’t Write, Tell from 2018-01-09T19:19:17
Planet Money's Noel King says the best way to write for radio is to not write. Instead? Tell.
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Two Traveling Workshop Stories from 2017-12-26T16:52:51
Two solidly produced, fun stories from students at the Transom Traveling Workshop in Marfa, Texas. Both are well worth your listen.
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Radio Is A Visual Medium from 2017-12-12T11:53:24
"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.
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Avoiding Cheesy Sound Design from 2017-11-28T16:55:39
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.
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Stepping In With The Facts from 2017-10-31T18:34:13
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...
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The Broken Narrative from 2017-10-17T16:09:56
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, y...
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Sounding Like Yourself from 2017-10-03T14:39:10
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.
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Sound Design Basics from 2017-09-19T15:29:13
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 fe...
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Making First-Person Stories Stand Out from 2017-09-05T16:02:32
With the glut of first-person stories these days, how do you make yours stand out? Neil Sandell has some ideas.
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Fact-Checking “A Life Sentence” from 2017-08-22T16:49:49
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.
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Ready, Set, Radio Race! from 2017-08-08T17:03:16
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...
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Let The Tape Sing And Other Lessons From A Filmmaker Turned Podcaster from 2017-07-25T15:36:42
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 think...
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A Few Of My Favorite Things from 2017-07-11T16:20:24
Irish radio producer Ronan Kelly has a great ear for compelling radio. He plays story DJ on this archive episode of HowSound from 2010.
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Ask Uncomfortable Questions from 2017-06-27T16:44:45
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.
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Improvisation And Structure from 2017-06-13T14:07:34
Sook-Yin Lee describes the combination of improvisation and structure that informs the production of Sleepover, a hit podcast from the CBC.
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Stories That Are Impossible To Pitch from 2017-05-30T16:26:43
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.
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On Interviewing A Racist from 2017-05-16T15:33:50
"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.
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When A Good Idea For A Podcast Is A Bad Idea For A Podcast from 2017-05-02T16:19:06
Heed Arwen Nicks' warnings. Arwen explains when a good idea for a podcast is really a terrible idea for a podcast.
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Avoiding Pesky Recording Problems from 2017-04-18T16:26:56
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 Tea...
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Dead Mom Talking from 2017-04-04T16:43:03
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 ...
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Reporting On Whiteness from 2017-03-21T14:54:39
The series "Seeing White" is essential listening. John Biewen reports on whiteness and white people for his podcast "Scene on Radio."
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Intimate Interviewing from 2017-03-07T21:39:15
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.
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Rethinking A Podcast Top To Bottom from 2017-02-21T16:49:16
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 ...
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Sound As The Protagonist from 2017-02-07T18:37:29
Take a deep sonic dive as we listen to "Jump Blue," by Nicolas Jackson and Afonica. Remember to hold your breath.
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Shaking Up Storytelling Formulas from 2017-01-24T16:14:31
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.
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Buried Treasures, Again from 2017-01-10T17:01:03
Get your headphones ready and listen! Two buried treasures from Transom students. A story about domestic violence. Another about eels.
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Morphing Print Essays Into Radio from 2016-12-27T15:32
Some print essays make great radio. Jay Cowit, Technical Director for The Takeaway, tells us how they recently did it.
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Composing Music For Stories On This American Life from 2016-12-13T17:47:53
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 tha...
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On Your Mark. Get Set. Start Your Story. from 2016-11-29T18:24:51
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 abo...
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The Blindsiding Twist from 2016-11-15T17:30:43
Story twists are the hallmark of Love + Radio. Nick van der Kolk dissects the blind-siding reveal in "A Girl of Ivory."
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Story Structure: The ‘e’ from 2016-11-01T21:44:05
Rob dissects an episode of 99% Invisible to reveal a common but effective story structure -- the 'e.'
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Narrating To An Audience from 2016-10-18T17:16:15
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 t...
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The Evolution Of A Story from 2016-10-04T14:00:51
A son. A father. And an alien abduction. What more do you need to know?!
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Doorstepping: The Uninvited Interview from 2016-09-20T16:49:35
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 ...
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Subjective Reporting from 2016-09-06T15:30:29
I dare you to listen to this story from Ryan Sweikert and not be moved. A perfect example of what he calls "subjective reporting."
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How Not To Write For Radio from 2016-08-23T15:11:27
There's blood on the floor. Rob skewers the writing in one of his first-ever radio stories to reveal how not to write.
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Sound Matters from 2016-08-09T15:02:18
Not everything has to sound the same. British/Danish producer Tim Hinman, of Third Ear, talks about tone and his podcast Sound Matters.
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Hiroshima Revisited from 2016-07-26T10:17:31
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 a...
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Radio Silence from 2016-07-12T16:27:04
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.
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Short Is Beautiful from 2016-06-28T15:27:39
Podcasters are free to produce without the confines of the public radio clock. So, why go so long? Short is beautiful.
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Should Stations Produce Podcasts? from 2016-06-14T17:32:41
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!"
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The Ethics Of Trespassing And Secret Recording from 2016-05-31T19:10:11
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 ...
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Show The Girls The Snakes from 2016-05-17T15:30
Three early pieces from The Kitchen Sisters circa 1980, stories sparked by mistakes and chance encounters. Their DIY approach is inspired.
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First-Person Reporting from 2016-04-19T15:38:18
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?
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Still More Buried Treasures: Student Work from 2016-04-05T15:28:23
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.
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Tinkering With Sound Design from 2016-03-22T15:58:02
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."
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Producing Personal Pieces from 2016-03-08T16:26:20
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.
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What Do You Do When The Rooster Dies? from 2016-02-23T16:09:46
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)...
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Should I Or Shouldn’t I: Recording In Stereo from 2016-02-09T15:34:50
Rob and his guest, audio engineer Flawn Williams, attempt to answer the question: Should I record in stereo?
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Magical Realism In Radio from 2016-01-26T16:20:20
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."...
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Interviewing With Your Skeptical Brain from 2016-01-12T17:12:26
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 st...
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Frank Langfitt’s Unusual Voicing Method from 2015-12-29T17:45:18
Reporter Frank Langfitt shares a surprising trick for sounding natural while narrating radio stories.
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What’s Changed?: The Power Of Follow-Up Stories from 2015-12-16T18:58:42
Put time to work for you. The power of follow-up stories.
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More Buried Treasures: Two Student Stories from 2015-12-01T14:13:11
Two excellent student stories from years ago prove that radio is the most visual medium.
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The Biggest Story In The World from 2015-11-17T14:34:42
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."
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Small Is Beautiful from 2015-11-03T16:24:10
Want to learn how to write an essay? Study "The Memory Palace." Nate DiMeo, the host, is my guest on HowSound.
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Writing Out Of Tape from 2015-10-20T14:43:34
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.
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Frustrated Artist Finds Way To Make Art from 2015-10-06T15:03:14
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.
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Father Cares: The Last of Jonestown with Deb Amos and Noah Adams from 2015-09-22T15:29:51
NPR's Deborah Amos and Noah Adams recall their haunting, must-hear documentary from 1981 about mass suicide at "Jonestown," Guyana.
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Buried Treasures: Four Student Pieces from 2015-09-08T14:52:35
Rob digs into an archive of good stories, well told, and features four by his former students.
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Story Dissection: Dead Animal Man from 2015-08-25T15:05:28
Rob Rosenthal combs through Ira Glass's piece "Dead Animal Man" minute by minute pointing out all of its radio goodness.
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Finding The Story When You Know Too Much from 2015-08-11T14:42:41
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."
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Producing Science Stories With A Scientist from 2015-07-28T09:53:11
Producer Kerry Donahue pulls back the curtain on producing science stories with a scientist for PRX's podcast "Transistor."
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Remixing The Music from 2015-07-14T22:22:44
HowSound's Rob Rosenthal remixes a story from Latino USA by producer Neena Pathak to reveal a different way to score a piece.
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A Mom, A Transgender Daughter, And A Podcast from 2015-06-30T16:18:10
Producer Marlo Mack on the impulse to pick up a microphone and record her transgender daughter for her podcast “How to Be a Girl.”
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A Matter Of Ethics from 2015-06-16T18:45:44
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."
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Radio Luck And The Gift Of Character Change from 2015-06-02T16:06:40
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, Fa...
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Foils And Other First Person Tricks from 2015-05-19T15:18:20
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.
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The Path To Primary Care from 2015-05-05T19:13:37
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 n...
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Radio Writing With Alex Chadwick from 2015-04-21T15:29:09
On this edition of HowSound, Alex Chadwick and Rob Rosenthal trade tips on writing for radio that new producers will find invaluable.
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Concerning Breakfast from 2015-04-07T14:31:49
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 Pro...
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Death, Sex And Money With Anna Sale from 2015-03-24T14:15:47
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.
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Teenage Diaries Revisited: Melissa’s Story from 2015-03-10T07:19:41
This episode of HowSound features Joe Richman of Radio Diaries talking about his Third Coast Award winning piece, Teenage Diaries Revisited: Melissa's Story.
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Reporting Dark Matters from 2015-02-24T15:18:44
A live interview with 2014 Third Coast International Audio Festival Award winners, Luke Malone and Pat Walters.
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Barf Draft With An iPhone from 2015-02-10T14:51:59
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.
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Revisiting Criminal from 2015-01-27T18:53:50
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...
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Burroughs at 100 from 2015-01-13T17:54:11
"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.
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Australia! from 2014-12-30T12:17:15
An Australian radio sampler with Julie Shapiro, Executive Producer for the Creative Radio Unit at Australian Public Broadcasting.
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Here I Am And Here Be Danger from 2014-12-16T17:31:12
Producer Annie McEwen talks about her award winning piece, "Here I Am and Here Be Danger."
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Bionic Pancreas from 2014-11-19T19:04:14
Rob Stein and Rebecca Davis reveal the backstory to their working relationship as reporter and producer.
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Early Bloom from 2014-10-15T14:24:53
On this edition, we follow the path from script to a produced story about plant communication with Peter Frick-Wright and Robbie Carver.
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HowSound Live! from 2014-10-02T03:27
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."
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Compassionate Release from 2014-09-17T17:58:22
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.
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The Hitchhiker from 2014-09-03T21:05:22
On this HowSound, Scott Carrier, Alex Chadwick, and the legendary story behind Scott's first radio piece "The Hitchhiker," produced in 1983.
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Hard To Say from 2014-08-27T11:56:35
On this episode, a 2004 "Best New Producer" award-winner from Third Coast and a real tearjerker produced by Bente Birkeland.
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Set the Wayback Machine for 1914 from 2014-08-06T16:02:43
The staff at Studio 360 dissects the production, writing, and voicing of their recent broadcast from 1914.
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3rd Grade Audio from 2014-07-23T16:34:20
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."
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Five Things from 2014-07-09T14:47:42
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.
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Walking with the Voses from 2014-06-25T16:51:44
Producer Jakob Lewis on "parachuting in" to produce a story about a funeral and a grieving family.
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Love Is A Battlefield from 2014-06-11T13:40:43
Interviewing tricks and tips from NPR science reporter Alix Spiegel. You'll want to take notes.
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Look At Me, Did I Find True Love? from 2014-05-28T20:49:08
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.
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Risky Reporting at Fukushima from 2014-04-24T03:14:50
NPR foreign correspondent Anthony Kuhn on the risks involved reporting at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
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Typewriters Are Unpleasant from 2014-04-09T15:57:55
Michael Raphael of Rabbit Ears Audio talks sound effects recording: winter scenes, rockets, cityscapes, and the soul destroying typewriter.
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Getting Honest: The Editor, Producer Relationship from 2014-03-26T18:59:56
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.
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Baking Tape from 2014-03-12T21:16:58
A painful reminiscence about preserving old reel-to-reel tapes by baking them. No, that's not a typo. Baking.
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To Scene or Not To Scene from 2014-02-26T22:31:34
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 ar...
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Dear Birth Mother from 2014-02-12T17:30:48
On this edition of HowSound, a 2005 Third Coast Festival award-winner from Long Haul Productions about a transracial adoption.
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Recording Not By The Book from 2014-01-29T15:56:53
Tight budgets, technological advances, and the impulse to experiment are leading some producers to record "not by the book." Does it work?
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The Hospital Always Wins from 2014-01-16T02:59:55
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."
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Hark! The Acoustic World of Elizabethan England from 2014-01-02T03:31:05
Three radio greats -- Chris Brookes, Paolo Pietropaolo, and Alan Hall -- explore the sound of England 400 years ago along with our modern soundscape.
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The Last of the Iron Lungs from 2013-12-18T20:32:20
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.
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The New New Sheriff in Town from 2013-12-04T16:58:42
Headphones are mandatory for this episode of HowSound. Kathy Tu's second radio story ever will set your ears ablaze.
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Just Plumb Gone from 2013-11-20T22:19:19
Mary Helen Miller encourages station-based producers to "Sneak out the back door with the tape recorder and make something good."
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The Elusive Digital Stradivarius from 2013-11-06T14:10:40
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 o...
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This Story May Be Recorded… To Save Your Life from 2013-10-24T02:50:46
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, gruel...
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Hafid is Free from 2013-10-09T11:55:27
"Hafid is Free" is a solid example of what a story needs when it doesn't have a narrative hook.
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Nodding Syndrome from 2013-09-11T03:17:23
Producer Matt Kielty wonders about "objectification" and advancing a career reporting on the suffering of others.
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Autism Grows Up from 2013-08-28T11:01:32
Capital Public Radio's Catherine Stifter and jesikah maria ross (no caps) are tasked with changing the sound of the station's documentary unit.
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Reporting Trauma After the Boston Marathon from 2013-07-31T12:30:33
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 w...
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Just Another Fish Story from 2013-07-17T22:57:25
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.
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Love + Radio from 2013-07-03T15:51:29
Nick van der Kolk on "auteurship" and the incredibly unique sound of the "Love + Radio" podcast.
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Witness to an Execution from 2013-06-20T05:53:01
"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 T...
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Balance and The Minnesota Marriage Amendment from 2013-05-22T16:56:24
Reporter Sasha Aslanian on balanced reporting during Minnesota's gay marriage debate.
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Josh: Growing Up With Tourette’s from 2013-05-08T17:40:43
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.
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The Vietnam Tapes of Lance Corporal Michael A. Baronowski from 2013-04-24T17:52:35
A tip for figuring out your top ten radio documentaries: Start with "The Vietnam Tapes of Lance Corporal Michael A. Baronowski" by Christina Egloff with Jay Allison.
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Recording in Remote Locations from 2013-04-10T14:17:40
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.
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My Kingdom For Some Structure from 2013-03-27T14:21
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 drawin...
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Generation Putin from 2013-03-13T18:38:18
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...
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What If There Was No Destiny? from 2013-02-27T18:15:31
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 ...
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Curious City from 2013-02-13T15:41:22
"Curious City" loves the local. Hear how this project at WBEZ brings listeners into the making of radio and on-line content.
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Three Records from Sundown from 2013-01-30T17:17:40
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...
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Tiny Spark from 2013-01-16T15:26:38
"Tiny Spark" is an impressive new podcast from Amy Costello. Amy produces in-depth investigative stories about non-profits and foundations.
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The Tale of Lot 180 from 2013-01-02T09:33:19
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 Unc...
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‘Til Death Do Us Part from 2012-12-19T16:46:01
Producers Sara Archambault and Heather Radke talk about how they responded when characters in stories they produced died.
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Dear Craigslist: I Have A Small Swastika Tattoo and I Want It Off from 2012-12-05T16:14:09
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.
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The Burning Question from 2012-11-21T13:46:12
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 Cons...
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Jad’s Brain from 2012-11-07T16:55:39
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...
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The Seance from 2012-10-25T02:27:07
Boo! Here's your Halloween edition of HowSound featuring "The Seance" by Bob Carlson.
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The Green Lawns of Texas from 2012-10-10T22:34:14
Avoiding the pitfalls of "parachute journalism" with Marketplace reporter Krissy Clark.
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A Trip to the Dentist from 2012-09-26T15:37:26
You'll probably get dizzy listening to "A Trip to the Dentist," a legendary, psychedelic story from Larry Massett.
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Alleged Illegal Searches from 2012-09-12T12:14:48
Criminal justice reporter Ailsa Chang on her duPont-Columbia award winning story for WNYC.
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Passing Stranger: The East Village Poetry Walk from 2012-09-05T14:55:40
Pejk Malinovksy on producing audio tours including Passing Stranger: The East Village Poetry Walk
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She Sees Your Every Move from 2012-08-22T18:51:56
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."
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Dissecting Joanne Rosser, Papermaker from 2012-08-08T12:52:20
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....
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One Species at a Time from 2012-07-25T14:10:47
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 sec...
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The Secret from 2012-07-11T17:41:32
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 ...
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Two Cape Cods from 2012-06-13T18:04:09
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 report...
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The Gift That Was Brought To Us from 2012-05-30T12:45:08
There's a compelling story to be found in every day life, even a ukulele orchestra.
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Happy Birthday Studs! from 2012-05-16T13:34:57
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, pr...
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Fact Check This from 2012-05-02T16:47:06
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 Un...
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Krulwich on Gorilla Cage Drama from 2012-03-07T14:25:49
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...
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A Dual Narrative from 2012-02-22T14:12:22
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...
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Chorus of Refuge from 2012-02-08T14:09:11
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, Jas...
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The Pirate from 2012-01-25T13:50:22
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 crit...
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Different, Not Disabled from 2012-01-11T14:30:24
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 ...
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99% Invisible from 2011-12-28T12:32:12
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...
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The Longest, Shortest Time from 2011-12-14T12:59:27
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.
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A No Story Story from 2011-11-30T12:51:32
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 amazi...
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The Plane That Flew Into the Empire State Building from 2011-11-16T15:53:20
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...
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Edward Stephenson, Tobacco Auctioneer from 2011-10-19T13:46:47
Keys to good storytelling: strong, simple writing; solid voicing; professional recording & mixing; compelling characters; a seductive narrative; visuals.....What else? John Biewen describes ...
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Seizure’s Lament from 2011-10-05T12:40:36
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 Carm...
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The Natural State from 2011-09-22T00:56
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 Meis...
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Inner-City Reality Check from 2011-09-07T17:59:45
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-Cit...
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The Five Percent Rule from 2011-08-24T19:18:43
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 i...
Fighting With My Dad from 2011-08-10T11:33:33
"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 d...
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Four Feet Under from 2011-07-26T17:00:09
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 univer...
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