Sound School Podcast

Revisiting: Two From the Road in Nashville

It’s Magic

Revisiting: We Need More Words to Describe Audio Stories

Audio storytelling often suffers from restrictive categorization that limits creative potential and listener engagement. Moving beyond conventional labels like "narrative" or "scripted" allows creators to borrow terminology from other artistic disciplines to better define their work. Applying frameworks like "cubism" e...

Seeking Small True Things

"Small True Things" centers on an audio storytelling project that captures intimate, honest interviews with teenagers to foster empathy and connection within school communities. By approaching students without prior knowledge of their backgrounds, the project encourages them to share vulnerable, authentic experiences t...

Revisiting: Hang A Picture In Front of the Microphone

Reporting on visual arts for radio requires transforming static images into compelling narratives that capture a listener's imagination. Susan Stamberg, a pioneering NPR journalist, mastered this by focusing on specific, telling details rather than exhaustive descriptions, which prevents listener fatigue. By parceling ...

When Funny Points to Truth

Humor serves as a vital tool for navigating grief and uncovering truth in personal storytelling. Rather than setting out to be funny, effective humor emerges as a byproduct of radical honesty, allowing creators to address complex existential questions without resorting to didactic explanations. By incorporating element...

Revisiting: Fill Your Notebook with Color Notes

Effective radio storytelling relies on vivid, descriptive note-taking when recording audio on location is prohibited. Veteran NPR immigration reporter John Burnett demonstrates how he uses "color notes" to capture visual details—such as the appearance of detainees or the atmosphere of a courtroom—to build immersive nar...

Host Sits Down With a Reporter

The "host sits down with a reporter" storytelling format relies on a performative dynamic where the host acts as a surrogate for the listener, discovering the story alongside the audience. While this approach creates a musical, conversational rhythm, it risks sounding artificial if the participants lack acting skills o...

Writing Like TV in a Podcast

The creative decision to frame a documentary podcast about C-section pain through the stylistic conventions of a medical drama serves to make a hidden medical crisis visceral and urgent. By adopting the language of television—using terms like "establishing shot" and "camera pan"—the narrative forces listeners to confro...

Fill Your Pockets With Endings

Story endings serve as the final, lasting impression of an audio piece, often determining whether listeners engage with future content. Robert Smith, a contributing host at Planet Money and journalism professor, categorizes effective endings into distinct types to overcome the common challenge of having "empty pockets"...

Sound Design - Don't Say Rabbit, See Rabbit

"Don't say rabbit, see rabbit" serves as a cautionary mantra for audio producers, warning against the redundant practice of using sound effects to literally illustrate what is already being described in narration. This one-to-one correspondence between words and sounds often results in a cartoony or cheesy listening ex...

Revisiting: Interviewing Shy People

Conducting effective interviews with reticent individuals requires intentional rapport-building and the creation of a safe space for vulnerability. Establishing trust often involves multiple pre-interview conversations and the use of active, non-verbal communication, such as maintaining an open stance and mirroring the...

Asking Dad Dicey Questions

Documenting a family member’s radicalization into conspiracy theories creates profound emotional and professional friction. Zach Mack’s project, "Alternate Realities," explores this dynamic by tracking his father’s descent into beliefs regarding electromagnetic pulses, shadow governments, and election fraud. A $10,000 ...

Revisiting - Think of a Radio Station (or Podcast) as a Musical Instrument

Writing Makes All the Difference - Beautifully Braiding Scenes, Stand-Ups, and Narration

Leila Fadel’s reporting on the 2024 collapse of the Assad regime in Syria demonstrates a sophisticated mastery of audio structure and sonic texture. By seamlessly integrating narration, field recordings, and emotional interviews, Fadel creates a musical narrative that captures the profound human toll of the conflict. K...

Writing Makes All the Difference: The Episode Handshake

The "previously on" trope commonly used in podcasting creates repetitive, uninspired storytelling that fails to maintain narrative momentum. Instead of relying on montages to catch listeners up, creators should employ a "handshake" technique, where the story seamlessly transitions from the end of one episode to the beg...

Revisiting - A Trip to the Dentist

Writing Makes All the Difference, Part 1

Effective audio storytelling relies on immediate narrative immersion, precise declarative writing, and the strategic use of literary devices like similes to elevate factual reporting. By analyzing the podcast Noble, it becomes clear that avoiding generic on-ramps and placing listeners directly into the scene creates a ...

Revisiting: My Kingdom for Some Structure

Visualizing narrative structures through simple diagrams on bar napkins provides a practical blueprint for radio storytelling. These sketches demystify complex reporting tasks by mapping out essential story architecture, such as the "This American Life" model—which balances sequential action with moments of reflection—...

Champions of Old Radio

Early radio drama functioned as a powerful medium for artistic innovation and critical social commentary, transcending its commercial origins to reach mass audiences with profound, literary storytelling. Norman Corwin’s 1939 broadcast, "Seems Radio is Here to Stay," exemplifies this by treating radio as a "miracle" tha...