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
You Just Won’t Know If You Don’t Ask
Jennifer Kingsley was so nervous when she started "Humans of the Arctic" she didn't eat for a week. But, she stepped off the boat in Svalbard with her mic and recording gear and learned a valuable le…
00:18:41 |
Wed 31 Oct 2018
Fictional Sounds For A Fictional Story
Producer Morgan Givens lays out his elaborate thinking behind a few sound effects he recorded for a historical fiction story he produced about an escaped slave.
00:22:06 |
Tue 16 Oct 2018
The Podcast Mindset: Part 2
It's a hackneyed idea, but it bears repeating: you can have all the right gear and marketing and everything else to make your podcast successful, but the most important asset is you. On this second e…
00:20:34 |
Tue 02 Oct 2018
The Podcast Mindset: Part 1
Recording equipment? Check. Marketing plan? Check. Theme music? Check. Mindset?..... You can have all the technical and logistical aspects of podcasting in place but if you don't have the right outlo…
00:28:42 |
Tue 18 Sep 2018
Color Notes
Often, sound brings to light the visuals in a radio story. But, narration can paint pictures, too. NPR's John Burnett talks "color notes" in radio storytelling.
00:12:40 |
Wed 05 Sep 2018
Three Stories, Marfa Style
For some radio inspiration, make sure to listen to these three stories produced in a week by students at a recent Transom Traveling Workshop in Marfa, Texas. Then, sign up for a workshop yourself!
00:29:13 |
Tue 21 Aug 2018
Story Endings
The narrative arc in recent story about the drug epidemic by NPR's Rachel Martin was like being taken down into a basement and having the light turned off. The piece was bleak and the ending was, per…
00:12:39 |
Tue 07 Aug 2018
Anatomy Of A Scene
Radio producers talk about the scenes in their stories all the time. "What are the scenes in your story?" "Oh, I got some great scene tape today." But what is a scene? On this episode, Rob dissects o…
00:20:00 |
Tue 24 Jul 2018
A Rockin’ Start
It's possible I love David Weinberg's "Louie Louie" doc because I love the song. It's "Louie Louie" for God's sake. But, really, what hooked me was David's writing. Especially the opening.
00:14:29 |
Tue 10 Jul 2018
Three Student Stories Produced In Only A Week
Three students. Three stories. One week. Hear what can be accomplished in a very short period of time with barely any sleep.
00:21:37 |
Tue 26 Jun 2018
Hang A Picture In Front Of The Mic
Select telling details... Mete out descriptions... Cast surprising characters... and other tips for dynamic and visual reporting on the arts from the legendary Susan Stamberg.
00:13:58 |
Tue 12 Jun 2018
25th Anniversary Of “Ghetto Life 101”
This year marks the 25th anniversary of one of the best -- if not the best -- radio documentary: Ghetto Life 101. Producer David Isay and editor Gary Covino recall their landmark work on this episode…
00:43:32 |
Tue 29 May 2018
Recording Binaurally
All you need to know for this episode is this: Listen with your best headphones!
00:18:59 |
Tue 15 May 2018
Finding Chenjerai The Storyteller
A few years ago, Chenjerai Kumanyika went to record his narration for his first-ever radio story. And he discovered a problem: "What should I sound like?" Several years later, Chenjerai found his voi…
00:22:00 |
Tue 01 May 2018
Police Ride-Alongs
How can you be fair during an interview with a suspect when a police officer is standing right there? Over the years as a law enforcement reporter for NPR, Martin Kaste has developed an approach to n…
00:14:58 |
Tue 17 Apr 2018
The Value Of A Sympathetic Character
What do you do when the main character in a story is strange, bizarre, and weird? So crazy listeners might tune out? One answer is to find a sympathetic character, someone the audience can relate to.…
00:21:57 |
Tue 03 Apr 2018
Sports Stories That Work
Bradley Campbell couldn't believe it when I told him I'd like to interview him about sports stories. He knows how much I hate them. But, a sports story he produced and other episodes of Gamebreaker a…
00:19:00 |
Tue 20 Mar 2018
Stopping A Podcast
Megan Tan pulled the plug. She stopped producing Millennial at the height of the podcast boom. Her inspiring yet cautionary tale on this episode of HowSound.
00:22:53 |
Tue 06 Mar 2018
A Question To Start A Story?
One way to start a story is with a question -- one that focuses and animates the piece. Annie Minoff and Elah Feder of the "Undiscovered" podcast use focus questions as story starters to great effect…
00:24:49 |
Wed 21 Feb 2018
Journalism Of Empathy
"The Promise," a podcast from WPLN in Nashville, is an inspiring example of the journalism of empathy. And, it's easily some of the best local reporting I've heard in a long time. Meribah Knight expl…
00:18:01 |
Tue 06 Feb 2018
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