Sound School Podcast
The Backstory to Great Audio Storytelling, hosted by Rob Rosenthal, for Transom and PRX.
- Update frequency
- every 14 days
- Average duration
- 22 minutes
- Episodes
- 364
- Years Active
- 2011 - 2025
Writing Like TV in a Podcast
Writing like it's a television drama complete with instructions for a camera operator. That's an unusual maneuver for a podcast. One I'd never heard before. Neither had Susan Burton until she wrote t…
00:28:05 |
Tue 09 Sep 2025
Fill Your Pockets With Endings
NPR's Robert Smith says when he's writing and gets to the end of a story he has empty pockets. He's used all the good stuff and left nothing for the end. To combat that problem, Robert studied ending…
00:22:01 |
Tue 26 Aug 2025
Sound Design - Don't Say Rabbit, See Rabbit
"Don't say rabbit, see rabbit." Write it on a sticky note and post it where you can see it at all times. It's a mantra that will save you from cheesy sound design.
00:16:08 |
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Revisiting: Interviewing Shy People
A constant piece of advice for producers is "Find a good talker." But what about shy people? Given their reticence, they may not be great talkers but they may have a good story to tell. The question …
00:33:10 |
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Asking Dad Dicey Questions
Zach Mack really put it to his father. For "Alternate Realities," a series from NPR's "Embedded" podcast, Zach asked his dad pointed questions about the conspiracy theories he believes in that are dr…
00:30:13 |
Tue 15 Jul 2025
Revisiting - Think of a Radio Station (or Podcast) as a Musical Instrument
"I think of radio stations as musical instruments." That's what Steve Junker, the managing editor at WCAI said to Rob over a couple of drinks one night. Soon after, Rob put Steve in front of a mic an…
00:28:43 |
Tue 01 Jul 2025
Writing Makes All the Difference - Beautifully Braiding Scenes, Stand-Ups, and Narration
It's time for Leila Fadel at NPR to receive another award for her reporting. Last December, her stories from Syria after the fall of Assad were essential listening. And, as Rob notes in this episode …
00:09:10 |
Tue 17 Jun 2025
Writing Makes All the Difference: The Episode Handshake
There's a reason why serialized podcast episodes often start with "Last time on (insert name of podcast)" followed by a montage of quotes. It works. It's an effective way to help bring a listener bac…
00:14:04 |
Tue 03 Jun 2025
Revisiting - A Trip to the Dentist
A dear friend of Transom and all creative audio producers passed way last month -- Larry Massett. This episode of Sound School joins the chorus of voices on Transom marking Larry's passing. Rob prese…
00:22:50 |
Tue 20 May 2025
Writing Makes All the Difference, Part 1
I don't care how much good tape you have. I don't care if the scoring and mixing are superlative. I don't care if the narrator is a solid storyteller. If a story lacks strong writing, the story will …
00:17:22 |
Tue 06 May 2025
Revisiting: My Kingdom for Some Structure
You've got all the good tape you need. Now what? How do you structure the story? Bradley Campbell has a few suggestions. He sketched them -- on cocktail napkins!
00:21:46 |
Tue 22 Apr 2025
Champions of Old Radio
Take a short walk into deep radio history. Julia Barton and Sarah Montague join Rob to talk about two audio storytelling classics from the 1930s: "Seems Like Radio Is Here to Stay," an homage to radi…
00:26:11 |
Tue 08 Apr 2025
Beware the Chicken Bomb
The best way -- sometimes the *only* way -- to describe an element in a story that is disruptive and distracting for listeners is this: chicken bomb. This year, 2025, is the 20th anniversary of "chic…
00:13:15 |
Wed 26 Mar 2025
Amen, Chenjerai (Bonus Episode)
In this bonus episode, Rob takes his conversation with Chenjerai Kumanyika one step further. He digs in a bit more to the big question from the last episode: Who is the "you" telling this story now?"
00:06:38 |
Tue 18 Mar 2025
Amen, Chenjerai
Chenjerai Kumanyika delivered the goods. Rob interviewed Chenjerai on stage at the recent On Air Fest where Chenjraie was passionate, animated, and electric as he talked about a question he sees as e…
00:42:05 |
Tue 11 Mar 2025
Revisiting: The Longest Shortest Time
Just recently, Hillary Frank relaunched her popular podcast The Longest Shortest Time. This archive episode takes us back to Hillary's early days, when she was just finding her way in podcasting -- a…
00:30:04 |
Tue 25 Feb 2025
The Layered Approach - Interviewing for Scenes
You want scenes in your story. But, reporting in the field isn't an option. What then? Simon Adler, a senior producer at Radiolab has an answer: interview for scenes using "the layered approach."
00:17:44 |
Tue 11 Feb 2025
The Backstory to "Our Ancestors Were Messy"
Nichole Hill pitched her show idea again and again. And, again and again, podcast companies said "no." But, that didn't stop Nichole. She said "I'm doing it myself!" Our Ancestors Were Messy, a podca…
00:28:21 |
Tue 28 Jan 2025
All Hands On Deck - NPR and the Nixon White House
Just over 50 years ago, in 1974, NPR took to the airwaves for a 25-hour-broadcast that Rob thinks may be one of the most tedious recordings he's ever heard and one that was also an incredible broadca…
00:20:54 |
Tue 14 Jan 2025
Revisiting: First, Tell Them an Anecdote
Rob's interview with Misha Euceph is one of his favorites. As he says, she's very clear, engaging, and insightful about the craft of audio storytelling. On this archive episode of the show from 2019,…
00:24:04 |
Tue 31 Dec 2024
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