Sound School Podcast

Coming Soon: Old School Sound School

Rob has a small but mighty collection of old audio documentaries on CDs. And even more audio files crammed on his computer. "Bazillions," he says, "and it's time share th

Revisiting: Remember to Breathe

A breath may seem like the most insignificant detail in an audio story. But, actually, the opposite is true. For proof, all you have to do is listen to stories where the

Sounds Cool!

Sounds Cool!

Elizabeth Arnold — Have Mic, Will Travel

"(An) unstoppable, one-of-a-kind reporter." That's how NPR reporter Elizabeth Arnold is described in her recent obituary. Hear what that means in a story she reported at

Meditating with Platypuses, Penguins, and Wombats

Nocturnal Worlds is certainly a curious podcast. A unique mix of science, nature, meditation, and lush soundscapes from Audiocraft, an Australian production company. Why

Deploy This One Tiny Maneuver to Improve Audio Essays

Cloe Axelson, a senior editor at WBUR, was feeling like the essays she produced that were written by listeners weren't sounding conversational enough -- until she deploye

Witness to an Execution

How powerful can audio storytelling be? So powerful that distraught listeners stand-up, wave their arms, and yell "Turn it off! Turn it off!" That's how good the document

Jad and FayFay Talk "Fela Kuti: Fear No Man"

Jad Abumrad and FayFay Odudu, drop some valuable audio storytelling reporting and production insights on the latest episode of Sound School. Jad and FayFay recently earne

Revisiting: Nausea and Forehead Mics - Reporting in Zero Gravity

Almost every reporting trip has its pitfalls. Andrew Leland's story for Radiolab in 2022 had more than most including nausea, flying in the equivalent of zero gravity, an

Salman Khan’s March to “More Muslim”

You could describe it as a long walk. Or a climb up a hill. But, it seems like Salman Khan's path to launching a new podcast was more like a slow, persistent march. Hear

Silence Is Worth Your Time

Back when I worked at radio stations, people joked "Silence is bad juju." We're not supposed to include much, if any, silence in audio stories -- for broadcast or podcast

Revisiting: A Cow A Day

The first question I had to ask Pejk Malinovsky was "Why the hell did you think that would make for a good radio story?" Of course it was. Pejk followed a cow for eleven

Dialing In the Audio Flux Podcast

Julie Shapiro and John Delore made a pilot for the Audio Flux podcast. Okay, now what? How did they go from pilot in 2024 to podcast in late 2025? On this episode of Soun

The Naked Pitch

Short Cuts said no. WNYC said no. Hell Gate said no. Even Transom said no. Finally, after about six months of pitching, Will Coley heard "Yes." Will regales us with his s

Revisiting - Don't Write, Tell

Noel King says first things first. Before writing a story, take a friend to a bar and tell them the story. On this archive episode of Sound School, Noel says that's the a

Reporting on Emotions in South Africa

Twenty-one year old reporter Kabir Jagram says young men in South Africa are stoic. Holding back emotions is a survival mechanism in a country wracked with youth unemploy

What If the Main Character Narrates?

We're starting the new year with an antidote to 2025 -- two episodes featuring inspiring early-career producers. On this episode, 28-year-old Anna Van Dine from Vermont w

Revisiting: Two From the Road in Nashville

Here's your New Year's resolution: Attend a Transom Traveling Workshop. That's right. You know you wanna. The year 2026 is the year to give yourself a treat -- a little r

It’s Magic

If you're just beginning in audio storytelling or have some experience under your belt, you could toil alone making and making and making stories hoping to get better. An

Revisiting: We Need More Words to Describe Audio Stories

When you limit language, you limit thinking. When you limit thinking, you limit creativity. When you limit creativity, audio storytellers wind up making the same thing ov