Sound School Podcast - podcast cover

Sound School Podcast

Rob Rosenthal/PRX/Transom.org•transom.org
Education
How To

The Backstory to Great Audio Storytelling, hosted by Rob Rosenthal, for Transom and PRX.

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Episodes

Sound As The Protagonist

Take a deep sonic dive as we listen to "Jump Blue," by Nicolas Jackson and Afonica. Remember to hold your breath.

Feb 07, 2017•20 min

Shaking Up Storytelling Formulas

Did Robert Smith of Planet Money go to far to make the uninteresting interesting? Robert talks about using "Oblique Strategies" for reporting an arcane topic in economics.

Jan 24, 2017•18 min

Buried Treasures, Again

Get your headphones ready and listen! Two buried treasures from Transom students. A story about domestic violence. Another about eels.

Jan 10, 2017•22 min

Morphing Print Essays Into Radio

Some print essays make great radio. Jay Cowit, Technical Director for The Takeaway, tells us how they recently did it.

Dec 27, 2016•14 min

Composing Music For Stories On This American Life

A lot of the music This American Life uses to score stories is composed for the program. Producer Jonathan Menjivar and musician Matthias Bossi of Stellwagen Symphonette talk about the music that works and doesn't work for the show.

Dec 13, 2016•14 min

On Your Mark. Get Set. Start Your Story.

There are no rules about starting a story but, there are some common approaches. Jessica Terrell dissects several story-starting tricks she used in the first episode of Offshore, the podcast about the off-beat side of Hawaii.

Nov 29, 2016•16 min

The Blindsiding Twist

Story twists are the hallmark of Love + Radio. Nick van der Kolk dissects the blind-siding reveal in "A Girl of Ivory."

Nov 15, 2016•19 min

Story Structure: The ‘e’

Rob dissects an episode of 99% Invisible to reveal a common but effective story structure -- the 'e.'

Nov 01, 2016•26 min

Narrating To An Audience

Outside/In host Sam Evans Brown narrated the first few minutes of an episode of the podcast just fine -- really well, in fact. Then he switched gears and brought two colleagues into the studio to tell them a portion of the story. Why?

Oct 18, 2016•19 min

Doorstepping: The Uninvited Interview

Approaching a stranger on the street for an interview, pretty easy. "Doorstepping," knocking on the door of a house or entering a business for an interview uninvited, not so easy. Producer Nina Perry on her "doorstepping" interview for More Perfect.

Sep 20, 2016•13 min

Subjective Reporting

I dare you to listen to this story from Ryan Sweikert and not be moved. A perfect example of what he calls "subjective reporting."

Sep 06, 2016•15 min

How Not To Write For Radio

There's blood on the floor. Rob skewers the writing in one of his first-ever radio stories to reveal how not to write.

Aug 23, 2016•21 min

Sound Matters

Not everything has to sound the same. British/Danish producer Tim Hinman, of Third Ear, talks about tone and his podcast Sound Matters.

Aug 09, 2016•20 min

Hiroshima Revisited

If you want to re-broadcast a doc from 20 years ago but don't like a lot of the writing, the mix, and the voicing, what do you do? If you're John Biewen, you re-do it! On this episode--the old and the new version of John's "Hiroshima Remembered."

Jul 26, 2016•45 min

Radio Silence

Silence is a radio no-no. But what if you want to produce a story where the central focus is silence? Some answers on this HowSound.

Jul 12, 2016•12 min

Short Is Beautiful

Podcasters are free to produce without the confines of the public radio clock. So, why go so long? Short is beautiful.

Jun 28, 2016•15 min

Should Stations Produce Podcasts?

A lot of public radio stations are wringing their hands these days about podcasting. "Should we or shouldn't we," they wonder? Wyoming Public Radio's Caroline Ballard says "Yes!"

Jun 14, 2016•26 min

The Ethics Of Trespassing And Secret Recording

When is it okay to trespass and use secretly recorded phone calls while producing a story? Not often. But, producer Jack Rodolico remained ethical while skirting the edges of what's appropriate for his documentary "A Mountain of Discontent."

May 31, 2016•31 min

Show The Girls The Snakes

Three early pieces from The Kitchen Sisters circa 1980, stories sparked by mistakes and chance encounters. Their DIY approach is inspired.

May 17, 2016•31 min

First-Person Reporting

Sean Corcoran is a reporter's reporter. Straight-forward. Unbiased. Ethical. So why did he break some of his own rules on a story about opiate addiction?

Apr 19, 2016•16 min

Still More Buried Treasures: Student Work

Two more classics from Rob's vault of student-produced stories including one from 2003 by NPR's Gregory Warner, long before he became the network's east Africa correspondent.

Apr 05, 2016•25 min

Tinkering With Sound Design

How does your brain react when you drive through an intersection? Martine Powers answers that question and explains her clever sound design in her story "Driving In Circles."

Mar 22, 2016•21 min

Producing Personal Pieces

It's rare when a reporter turns the mic on themselves. Stephanie Foo's essay "The Favorite" for This American Life is an excellent example of why it should happen more often.

Mar 08, 2016•24 min

What Do You Do When The Rooster Dies?

When an interviewee is too nice, getting what you need as a reporter can be a challenge. Monika Blackwell relates how she navigated the "reporter/subject relationship" (& death of a rooster) during a Transom Traveling Workshop in the Virgin Islands.

Feb 23, 2016•17 min

Magical Realism In Radio

Here's something you don't hear very often when talking about radio documentaries: magical realism. Producer David Weinberg talks about how he used magical realism in his doc "Grace of the Sea."

Jan 26, 2016•35 min

Interviewing With Your Skeptical Brain

Transom Story Workshop student Sally Helm talks with Rob Rosenthal about learning the value of being skeptical and pushing back during interviews. Also featured in this episode, her excellent story about the 1977 Martha's Vineyard secession movement.

Jan 12, 2016•18 min