Sound School Podcast

The ethics of a show about documentary ethics

Here's another great show about the craft of audio storytelling!

NPR has been crushing it lately.

"Ums." You're supposed to cut them out, right?

Stereo, yes or no?

Is anyone making short stories anymore?

It's World Radio Day! Let's get out of the studio!

Producer Katz Laszlo of "The Europeans" crushes a trifecta of writing hurdles.

Martine Powers and Rennie Svirnovsky will help you track like a pro

Audio is ours to win.

A Sound School episode makeover

Think logistics are tough where you are?

Can fiction and nonfiction work together in the same piece?

Catherine Carr has turned vox into artful conversation using a deceptively simple question.

Remembering Studs Terkel in this archive episode.

Rob acts as a story DJ on this episode, featuring excerpts from stories he’s recently found pleasing to the ear.

What makes the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies so special?

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."

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.

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.

A summertime sound poem

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.

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.

No matter how good you are recording in the field, sometimes things go wrong. Here's how to fix them.

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.

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. 

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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."

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

This is the first episode of the Sound School Podcast (formerly HowSound)

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.” 

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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? 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!"

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.

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?

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.

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?"

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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."

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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."

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."

Raise a mic in the air with Rob in honor of "Nancy," the now-cancelled podcast from WNYC about the LGBTQ experience.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This episode is aptly named: A Feast for the 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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In an effort to try something new, Rob offers another podcast review. This time, "Song Exploder" from Radiotopia.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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?

On this episode, the convention-busting production choices of "10 Things That Scare Me."

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.

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...

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.

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.

Up now on HowSound, two examples of how students at our week-long Traveling Workshops work hard to get their stories right.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Three students. Three stories. One week. Hear what can be accomplished in a very short period of time with barely any sleep.

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.

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.

All you need to know for this episode is this: Listen with your best headphones!

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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?

Planet Money's Noel King says the best way to write for radio is to not write. Instead? Tell.

Two solidly produced, fun stories from students at the Transom Traveling Workshop in Marfa, Texas. Both are well worth your listen.

"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.

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.

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.

What is the broken narrative? You'll have to listen to this episode of HowSound with Greg Warner and Rob Rosenthal to find out.

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.

How do you craft sound design that doesn't sound cheesy? HowSound's Rob Rosenthal has no idea. To start figuring it out, he talked with Matt Boll who worked on the sound design for Crimetown.

With the glut of first-person stories these days, how do you make yours stand out? Neil Sandell has some ideas.

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.

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 -- an...

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.

Irish radio producer Ronan Kelly has a great ear for compelling radio. He plays story DJ on this archive episode of HowSound from 2010.

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.

Sook-Yin Lee describes the combination of improvisation and structure that informs the production of Sleepover, a hit podcast from the CBC.

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.

"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.

Heed Arwen Nicks' warnings. Arwen explains when a good idea for a podcast is really a terrible idea for a podcast.

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.

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.

The series "Seeing White" is essential listening. John Biewen reports on whiteness and white people for his podcast "Scene on Radio."

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.

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.

Take a deep sonic dive as we listen to "Jump Blue," by Nicolas Jackson and Afonica. Remember to hold your breath.

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.

Get your headphones ready and listen! Two buried treasures from Transom students. A story about domestic violence. Another about eels.

Some print essays make great radio. Jay Cowit, Technical Director for The Takeaway, tells us how they recently did it.

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.

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.

Story twists are the hallmark of Love + Radio. Nick van der Kolk dissects the blind-siding reveal in "A Girl of Ivory."

Rob dissects an episode of 99% Invisible to reveal a common but effective story structure -- the 'e.'

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?

A son. A father. And an alien abduction. What more do you need to know?!

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.

I dare you to listen to this story from Ryan Sweikert and not be moved. A perfect example of what he calls "subjective reporting."

There's blood on the floor. Rob skewers the writing in one of his first-ever radio stories to reveal how not to write.

Not everything has to sound the same. British/Danish producer Tim Hinman, of Third Ear, talks about tone and his podcast Sound Matters.

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."

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.

Podcasters are free to produce without the confines of the public radio clock. So, why go so long? Short is beautiful.

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!"

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."

Three early pieces from The Kitchen Sisters circa 1980, stories sparked by mistakes and chance encounters. Their DIY approach is inspired.

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?

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.

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."

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.

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.

Rob and his guest, audio engineer Flawn Williams, attempt to answer the question: Should I record in stereo?

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."

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.

Reporter Frank Langfitt shares a surprising trick for sounding natural while narrating radio stories.

Put time to work for you. The power of follow-up stories.

Two excellent student stories from years ago prove that radio is the most visual medium.

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."

Want to learn how to write an essay? Study "The Memory Palace." Nate DiMeo, the host, is my guest on HowSound.

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.

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.

NPR's Deborah Amos and Noah Adams recall their haunting, must-hear documentary from 1981 about mass suicide at "Jonestown," Guyana.

Rob digs into an archive of good stories, well told, and features four by his former students.

Rob Rosenthal combs through Ira Glass's piece "Dead Animal Man" minute by minute pointing out all of its radio goodness.

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."

Producer Kerry Donahue pulls back the curtain on producing science stories with a scientist for PRX's podcast "Transistor."

HowSound's Rob Rosenthal remixes a story from Latino USA by producer Neena Pathak to reveal a different way to score a piece.

Producer Marlo Mack on the impulse to pick up a microphone and record her transgender daughter for her podcast “How to Be a Girl.”

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."

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.

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.

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.

On this edition of HowSound, Alex Chadwick and Rob Rosenthal trade tips on writing for radio that new producers will find invaluable.

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).

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.

This episode of HowSound features Joe Richman of Radio Diaries talking about his Third Coast Award winning piece, Teenage Diaries Revisited: Melissa's Story.

A live interview with 2014 Third Coast International Audio Festival Award winners, Luke Malone and Pat Walters.

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.

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.

"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.

An Australian radio sampler with Julie Shapiro, Executive Producer for the Creative Radio Unit at Australian Public Broadcasting.

Producer Annie McEwen talks about her award winning piece, "Here I Am and Here Be Danger."

On this HowSound, how a story about a skydiving accident nearly drove Anna Rose MacArthur away from radio and what brought her back.

Rob Stein and Rebecca Davis reveal the backstory to their working relationship as reporter and producer.

Lea Thau, host of the "Strangers" podcast on podcasting, journalism, and turning the mic toward yourself.

On this edition, we follow the path from script to a produced story about plant communication with Peter Frick-Wright and Robbie Carver.

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."

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.

On this HowSound, Scott Carrier, Alex Chadwick, and the legendary story behind Scott's first radio piece "The Hitchhiker," produced in 1983.

On this episode, a 2004 "Best New Producer" award-winner from Third Coast and a real tearjerOn this episode, a 2004 "Best New Producer" award-winner from Third Coast and a real tearjerker produced by Bente Birkeland. ker produced by Bente Birkland.

The staff at Studio 360 dissects the production, writing, and voicing of their recent broadcast from 1914.

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."

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.

Producer Jakob Lewis on "parachuting in" to produce a story about a funeral and a grieving family.

Interviewing tricks and tips from NPR science reporter Alix Spiegel. You'll want to take notes.

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.

The new podcast "Criminal," is well worth a listen. Find out what it's all about from the program's host, Phoebe Judge.

NPR foreign correspondent Anthony Kuhn on the risks involved reporting at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Michael Raphael of Rabbit Ears Audio talks sound effects recording: winter scenes, rockets, cityscapes, and the soul destroying typewriter.

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.

A painful reminiscence about preserving old reel-to-reel tapes by baking them. No, that's not a typo. Baking.

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.

On this edition of HowSound, a 2005 Third Coast Festival award-winner from Long Haul Productions about a transracial adoption.

Tight budgets, technological advances, and the impulse to experiment are leading some producers to record "not by the book." Does it work?

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."

Three radio greats -- Chris Brookes, Paolo Pietropaolo, and Alan Hall -- explore the sound of England 400 years ago along with our modern soundscape.

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.

Headphones are mandatory for this episode of HowSound. Kathy Tu's second radio story ever will set your ears ablaze.

Mary Helen Miller encourages station-based producers to "Sneak out the back door with the tape recorder and make something good."

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.

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.

"Hafid is Free" is a solid example of what a story needs when it doesn't have a narrative hook.

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.

Producer Matt Kielty wonders about "objectification" and advancing a career reporting on the suffering of others.

Capital Public Radio's Catherine Stifter and jesikah maria ross (no caps) are tasked with changing the sound of the station's documentary unit.

New producers Conor Gillies and Zack Ezor get it right, right out of the gate with their documentary "Stylus" on music and sound.

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.

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.

Nick van der Kolk on "auteurship" and the incredibly unique sound of the "Love + Radio" podcast.

"Witness to an Execution," another addition to my Top 10 list of radio documentaries.

Lilly Sullivan relates the curious tale of "52 Hertz," the whale who sings at the "wrong" frequency.

Reporter Sasha Aslanian on balanced reporting during Minnesota's gay marriage debate.

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.

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.

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.