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
Dissection - Daniel Alarcón's Writing Maneuvers
Let's state the obvious: Daniel Alarcón is a gifted writer. It's evident from the writing in "The Good Whale," the latest series from Serial that Daniel wrote and hosted. Rob put his writing under th…
00:19:09 |
Tue 17 Dec 2024
Fingers Crossed, Twice
Nothing seems guaranteed these days for creative audio makers. "Short Cuts" was recently cancelled and "Pretendians" is seeking funding for a second season, two shows on this episode of Sound School …
00:27:31 |
Tue 03 Dec 2024
Please Keep WCAI Right Where It Is
WCAI, the public radio station for Cape Cod, has been told it needs to move -- to leave the home it broadcasts from. An actual home. A former captain's house. News that the house had been sold startl…
00:21:08 |
Tue 19 Nov 2024
Keep the Universal in Mind for Local Stories
The story from Slovenia on this episode of Sound School is hyper-local -- so local, you might not catch all the cultural references. But, the reporter, Ajda Kus, says that's okay. The key to telling …
00:14:50 |
Tue 05 Nov 2024
Revisiting: A Stranger With a Microphone
When should a reporter turn around a leave? At what point do should they say "I won't report on these people. They need their space, not a stranger with a microphone." Jay Nathan faced that exact sit…
00:16:51 |
Tue 22 Oct 2024
Revisiting: Who Are You As a Storyteller?
Robert Krulwich, formerly of Radiolab, once said "how you write is basically who you are." It's a profound statement, a kind-of koan. It requires a little bit of thought. Krulwich can be that way. Bu…
00:34:14 |
Tue 08 Oct 2024
Retreat! And Make Stories with Friends
"To play and to fail and to get to know each other and to celebrate the craft of making audio... What's better than that," Jasmin Bauomy asks. When inspiration struck, Jasmin put together a four-day …
00:28:11 |
Tue 24 Sep 2024
We Do It For the Ears, Right?
We tell stories in sound for many, many reasons. For our listener's hearts and minds. For community. For self-expression. For the democracy. For listener's ears. Yes. Their ears. On this episode of T…
00:28:02 |
Tue 10 Sep 2024
To Swear or Not to Swear in Narration
Say you're listening to a great narrative podcast. The host has really grabbed your attention and you're pulled in. Then, out of nowhere, the narrator swears. Not once. Not twice. But three times. In…
00:26:26 |
Tue 27 Aug 2024
Gaining Access While Preserving Anonymity in Medical Settings
Patient privacy in medical settings is essential. So, how does a reporter convince a facility to let them in with a microphone and assure anonymity of the patient? Selena Simmons-Duffin has answers. …
00:16:48 |
Tue 13 Aug 2024
Revisiting: Robot Babies and Radio Luck
There are four kinds of luck. Unlucky. No luck. Lucky. And radio luck. On this archive episode of Sound School, Hillary Frank digs into the *incredible* radio luck she encountered reporting a story a…
00:23:44 |
Tue 30 Jul 2024
Revisiting: Magical Realism in Radio
David Weinberg pulls off a real radio feat mixing fantasy and reality in his documentary called "Grace of the Sea." In this archive episode, David explores the value of "magical realism" in audio sto…
00:35:38 |
Tue 16 Jul 2024
An Audio Field Trip
Rob plays "Story DJ" on this episode "spinning" excerpts from several excellent stories you'll definitely want to hear. It's an audio field trip taking you around the world: Macon, Georgia, Wales, Ma…
00:30:00 |
Tue 02 Jul 2024
Structure Interviews Like a Good Story
Don't leave an interview entirely to chance. Structure it like a good story. On this episode, Rob dissects an interview on The Daily revealing its effective inner story structure.
00:15:12 |
Tue 18 Jun 2024
Tips to Elevate Your Reporting and Storytelling from Ira Glass
Ira Glass of This American Life is a master audio storyteller. He's equally skillful at laying out the mechanics of creative storytelling and reporting, too. Rob unearthed a presentation Ira made bac…
00:56:52 |
Tue 04 Jun 2024
Safety First: Recording with Actors for an LGBTQ Story in Uganda
It's illegal to be queer in Uganda and incredibly unsafe. Queer people risk violence, eviction, harassment, and arrest. How then does a producer protect the identity of interviewees, especially when …
00:23:33 |
Tue 21 May 2024
Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative…and Ethical?
There's a moment in this episode when Rob is gasping and holding his hand to his chest. Why was he so astonished? Listen to his conversation with Jess Shane as they dissect the ethics of her Radiotop…
00:35:38 |
Tue 07 May 2024
Introducing Sound Judgment
Deadlines, production meetings, staff management, show scheduling... in any given day, there's rarely time to pause and consider the craft of audio storytelling. Of course, PRX and Transom hope Sound…
00:46:12 |
Tue 23 Apr 2024
Thanks, NPR. That Was Satisfying.
Have NPR's news magazines occasionally been sounding more radiophonic lately? Rob thinks so. He's collected a handful of satisfying moments of writing, production, and reporting from several reporter…
00:22:54 |
Tue 09 Apr 2024
The Um, A Deep Dive
"Ums." You're supposed to cut them out, right? But what if the "um" means something? Talia Augustidis noticed her boyfriend "ummed" when he was lying and she thought "radio story." Talia takes a deep…
00:14:37 |
Tue 26 Mar 2024
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