Sound School Podcast

Let The Tape Sing And Other Lessons From A Filmmaker Turned Podcaster

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Ask Uncomfortable Questions

Improvisation And Structure

Stories That Are Impossible To Pitch

On Interviewing A Racist

When A Good Idea For A Podcast Is A Bad Idea For A Podcast

Avoiding Pesky Recording Problems

Dead Mom Talking

Reporting On Whiteness

Intimate Interviewing

Rethinking A Podcast Top To Bottom

Sound As The Protagonist

Shaking Up Storytelling Formulas

Reporting on complex, abstract topics like Nobel Prize-winning contract theory requires breaking rigid production formulas to avoid dull storytelling. The Planet Money team overcame this challenge by adopting Brian Eno’s "Oblique Strategies," a deck of cards featuring cryptic creative prompts designed to force unconven...

Buried Treasures, Again

Morphing Print Essays Into Radio

Composing Music For Stories On This American Life

Scoring radio stories requires a precise balance between musical support and narrative clarity. Producers at This American Life commission original music to gain complete control over the sonic landscape, ensuring compositions avoid distracting from dialogue. Key techniques include hitting the "post"—aligning musical s...

On Your Mark. Get Set. Start Your Story.

The Blindsiding Twist

Story Structure: The ‘e’