Podcast
Sound School Podcast
Hosted by Rob Rosenthal/PRX/Transom.org · EN
The Backstory to Great Audio Storytelling, hosted by Rob Rosenthal, for Transom and PRX.
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Deploy This One Tiny Maneuver to Improve Audio Essays
3d ago00:17:10Tap to summarizeCloe 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 deployed this one simple trick. It's a trick any producer could use to help narrators sound more like themselves.
Transcribe →Witness to an Execution
2w ago00:27:27Tap to summarizeHow 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 documentary we're featuring on Sound School is.
Transcribe →Jad and FayFay Talk "Fela Kuti: Fear No Man"
May 1900:45:52Tap to summarizeJad Abumrad and FayFay Odudu, drop some valuable audio storytelling reporting and production insights on the latest episode of Sound School. Jad and FayFay recently earned a Peabody Award for "Fela Kuti: Fear No Man," the podcast about Fela, the Nigerian saxophone player and political activist. Jad and FayFay sat down with Lesedi Mogoathle in February for an online chat sponsored by Radio Workshop. It's a valuable conversation you'll want to hear.
Transcribe →Revisiting: Nausea and Forehead Mics - Reporting in Zero Gravity
May 500:20:10Tap to summarizeAlmost 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, and his blindness. On this encore episode of Sound School, Andrew lays out how he navigated it all.
Transcribe →Salman Khan’s March to “More Muslim”
Apr 2100:18:44Tap to summarizeYou 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 how Salman practically willed "More Muslim" into existence on the latest Sound School. It's inspiring.
Transcribe →Silence Is Worth Your Time
Apr 700:23:13Tap to summarizeBack 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. Noam Hassenfeld went the opposite direction and embraced silence -- lots of it! -- on a recent episode of Unexplainable, the science podcast from Vox. Noam explains how he craftily deployed silence in his storytelling on this episode of Sound School.
Transcribe →Revisiting: A Cow A Day
Mar 2400:25:16Tap to summarizeThe 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 hours recording her every move and turned it into a 30-minute documentary. Naturally, Pejk answered saying "A cow a day keeps the boredom away." Find out what he means on this episode of Sound School.
Transcribe →Dialing In the Audio Flux Podcast
Mar 1000:33:00Tap to summarizeJulie 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 Sound School, a deep dive comparing the Audio Flux pilot to the first episode of the podcast and the thinking behind Julie and John's production choices.
Transcribe →The Naked Pitch
Feb 2400:13:32Tap to summarizeShort 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 story of how he made it to "yes" with his pitch about public nudity on the latest Sound School.
Transcribe →Revisiting - Don't Write, Tell
Feb 1000:12:46Tap to summarizeNoel 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 approach she took back when she reported for Planet Money and it worked like a charm. Her writing was more like telling.
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