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
Reporting On Traumatic Events
A shooter guns down twenty-six people in a church. Soon after, Debbie Elliott from NPR shows up, a stranger with a microphone. She says it's hard not to feel like a pariah when reporting in traumatic…
00:15:20 |
Tue 23 Jan 2018
Don’t Write, Tell
Planet Money's Noel King says the best way to write for radio is to not write. Instead? Tell.
00:12:01 |
Tue 09 Jan 2018
Two Traveling Workshop Stories
Two solidly produced, fun stories from students at the Transom Traveling Workshop in Marfa, Texas. Both are well worth your listen.
00:17:36 |
Tue 26 Dec 2017
Radio Is A Visual Medium
"Radio is the most visual medium." Aviva DeKornfeld's story "After the Storm" is proof. So much so, it's just as much a photo essay as it is a radio story.
00:14:16 |
Tue 12 Dec 2017
Avoiding Cheesy Sound Design
Jad Abumrad of Radiolab delivers the goods on sound design in radio stories. A must listen if you're thinking of sound designing your next radio story.
00:21:50 |
Tue 28 Nov 2017
Stepping In With The Facts
A recent story on NPR about the Confederate flag got Rob wondering about the practice of correcting interviewees in narration. Producer Zach Hirsch produced the story and he explains why he felt chal…
00:18:04 |
Tue 31 Oct 2017
The Broken Narrative
Greg Warner is one of Rob Rosenthal's favorite radio writers. He deftly put the "broken narrative" to good use in an episode of his NPR podcast "Rough Translation." In fact he's so good at it, you'd …
00:20:41 |
Tue 17 Oct 2017
Sounding Like Yourself
Why is it so hard to sound like yourself when reading narration for radio stories? Transom's Viki Merrick offers some voicing coaching gold. You'll wanna take notes.
00:15:12 |
Tue 03 Oct 2017
Sound Design Basics
After teaching documentary storytelling for seventeen years, I feel confident in the advice I give students, most of the time. But, as soon as someone brings up sound design, I’m flummoxed. I feel li…
00:15:44 |
Tue 19 Sep 2017
Making First-Person Stories Stand Out
With the glut of first-person stories these days, how do you make yours stand out? Neil Sandell has some ideas.
00:27:25 |
Tue 05 Sep 2017
Fact-Checking “A Life Sentence”
Producer Samantha Broun and This American Life's Christopher Swetala join me to talk about fact-checking "A Life Sentence" on this episode of HowSound.
00:20:56 |
Tue 22 Aug 2017
Ready, Set, Radio Race!
If you have one day to produce a story for KCRW's 24-Hour Radio Race, reach for low hanging fruit, right? Not if your Esther Honig. On this episode, Esther recounts how she and her team produced an e…
00:18:16 |
Tue 08 Aug 2017
Let The Tape Sing And Other Lessons From A Filmmaker Turned Podcaster
Filmmaker Tally Abecassis learned a lot about audio storytelling when she jumped in the deep end & started producing "First Day Back." The lessons she learned are useful for filmmakers thinking of pr…
00:14:08 |
Tue 25 Jul 2017
A Few Of My Favorite Things
Irish radio producer Ronan Kelly has a great ear for compelling radio. He plays story DJ on this archive episode of HowSound from 2010.
00:53:48 |
Tue 11 Jul 2017
Ask Uncomfortable Questions
I was so nervous talking to Ashley Ahearn the producer of KUOW's new podcast about the environment "terrestrial." I should have been. I asked her about her appearance.
00:21:57 |
Tue 27 Jun 2017
Improvisation And Structure
Sook-Yin Lee describes the combination of improvisation and structure that informs the production of Sleepover, a hit podcast from the CBC.
00:12:20 |
Tue 13 Jun 2017
Stories That Are Impossible To Pitch
Sometimes, pitching a story is the last thing you want to do. Just press record and see what happens. Jay Allison is the guest on this episode of HowSound.
00:19:38 |
Tue 30 May 2017
On Interviewing A Racist
"Live like the truth is true and go where love has not yet arrived." Words Al Letson of Reveal lives by, especially when interviewing a racist.
00:17:37 |
Tue 16 May 2017
When A Good Idea For A Podcast Is A Bad Idea For A Podcast
Heed Arwen Nicks' warnings. Arwen explains when a good idea for a podcast is really a terrible idea for a podcast.
00:26:38 |
Tue 02 May 2017
Avoiding Pesky Recording Problems
Never say to yourself: "I'll fix it in the mix." Fixing recording mistakes in the studio can lead to more problems. Instead, prevent issues before they happen. Rob Byers, from NPR's Training Team has…
00:12:28 |
Tue 18 Apr 2017
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are the property of Rob Rosenthal/PRX/Transom.org ([email protected]). This content is not affiliated with or endorsed by eachpod.com.