The Backstory to Great Audio Storytelling, hosted by Rob Rosenthal, for Transom and PRX.
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. "Witness" was produced by Stacy Abromson and Dave Isay in 2000. The prison warden and staff of a prison in Texas recount their experiences and the process of putting people to death in Texas.
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.
International reporting is an order of magnitude more challenging than local reporting. Producers Sarah Partnow & Sarah Stuteville talk about the travails of overseas reporting in the former Soviet Union for their latest doc, Generation Putin.
If only there was a quadratic equation for ethics, right? Plug in the variables and the equation spits out the answers. No such luck which means we've got to talk it through, like we do on this episode of HowSound with Radiolab reporter Pat Walters.
"Curious City" loves the local. Hear how this project at WBEZ brings listeners into the making of radio and on-line content.
Producer Charles Maynes crafted the perfect tone for his documentary on singer Nick Drake called "Three Records from Sundown." It's almost as though Drake and his producer, Joe Boyd, were in the studio recording a Nick Drake documentary like it was a Nick Drake song.
"Tiny Spark" is an impressive new podcast from Amy Costello. Amy produces in-depth investigative stories about non-profits and foundations.
WLRN reporter Kenny Malone offers his strategy for creative storytelling: a clever central question, story motion, and place. This episode features Kenny's ear catching story about Florida's Unclaimed Property Auction, "The Tale of Lot 180."
Producers Sara Archambault and Heather Radke talk about how they responded when characters in stories they produced died.
On the radio, why don't we hear more conversations with interesting people? Emily Hsiao's radio story, "Leaving A Mark," is just that. You'll want to listen twice.
The interview may be the core of what we do as radio producers. Who better to talk about interviewing than Audie Cornish who says she conducts fifteen interviews a week for NPR's All Things Considered. Take notes on her tips.
We're goin' in! Grab your earbuds and don your spelunking light. Our destination? Jad Abumrad's brain. Jad's a co-host and the producer of Radiolab, a science (and more) program produced at WNYC. This could get weird.
Boo! Here's your Halloween edition of HowSound featuring "The Seance" by Bob Carlson.
Avoiding the pitfalls of "parachute journalism" with Marketplace reporter Krissy Clark.
You'll probably get dizzy listening to "A Trip to the Dentist," a legendary, psychedelic story from Larry Massett.
Criminal justice reporter Ailsa Chang on her duPont-Columbia award winning story for WNYC.
Pejk Malinovksy on producing audio tours including Passing Stranger: The East Village Poetry Walk
Finally. A LONG overdue HowSound on scoring --- using music in a story. I dissect Jonathan Mitchell's use of scoring in his provocative story "She Sees Your Every Move."
I hope you're not squeamish. On this HowSound, I take a scalpel to a profile on papermaker Joanne Rosser. Let's peel back the surface of the story to reveal its narrative and production innards.
Imagine spending 5 years working on your PhD studying killer whale vocalization. Then imagine deciding you don’t want to be an ocean biologist. That's how Ari Daniel got into radio. Hear his secret to clear and understandable science reporting.
Initially, "The Secret" by Carma Jolly seems like it might be a story about Carma's brother and his near-death experience. Then, suddenly, story takes a sharp turn. In that moment, I was hooked by the story and Carma as a producer.
If NPR reporter Robert Smith isn't the king of the stand-up, he surely is the prince. Robert lays out his methodology for solid stand-ups.
A few years ago, right around the time newspaper readership plummeted and papers shut-down one after another, Reporter Sean Corcoran left newspaper reporting for radio. He talks about how reporting differs in the two media.
