RSSMix.com Mix ID 8157072

Exquisitely Challenging: Reporting on Suicide

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 12:02:00 GMT

Download a transcript of this episode here. Erica Heilman’s story “Finn and the Bell” is the best I’ve heard all year. Yes. It’s that good. The documentary tells the story of Finn Rooney, a young man who was a volunteer fireman and a poet and a baseball player and, as one friend put it, “a […]

The post Exquisitely Challenging: Reporting on Suicide appeared first on Transom.

2021 Gift Guide

Jeff Towne — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 13:28:00 GMT

Last Minute Gift Guide Here are some gift ideas from the Transom crew: items we’d give audio producers we know, or that we’ve had our eyes on for ourselves. We’ve included a range of items, from inexpensive accessories to major splurges, and plenty of in-between. Prices on electronics tend to be volatile, and there are […]

The post 2021 Gift Guide appeared first on Transom.

Starting Out: Issue 5

Alice Wilder — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 12:43:00 GMT

Hiya! Welcome back to Starting Out from me and Transom. A few weeks ago I sent out a survey to hear what’s working with the newsletter so far and what you’d like to see in the new year. Thank you all for such thoughtful feedback! One thing I’ve noticed is that recent subscribers have requested […]

The post Starting Out: Issue 5 appeared first on Transom.

Darts and Laurels

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 12:42:00 GMT

Download a transcript of this episode here. I can think of two rock-solid reasons why radio should be a subject for podcasts (and for radio broadcasters, too). And I don’t mean actual radios, I mean radio history and culture — stories about a medium that has been a staple of daily life for generations. The […]

The post Darts and Laurels appeared first on Transom.

What In The World Does An AP Actually Do?

Eli Benton Cohen — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 10:13:00 GMT

Defining the role of associate producer can be a little bit challenging, especially at a show like Radiolab, where every member of staff is a jack of all trades. Additionally, I was brought in “temporary,” a contract hire to help exclusively with the new mini-series Mixtape, hosted by Simon Adler. As half of a two-person team, […]

The post What In The World Does An AP Actually Do? appeared first on Transom.

House of Pod Closes the House

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 13:00:00 GMT

Cat Jaffee is clear. Podcasting is not about talking into a mic. It’s about listening. Cat’s a firm believer in “a better world through better listening,” as she puts it. As a podcaster, she feels the best content is derived from listening. Cat is the founder and director of House of Pod, a community podcasting […]

The post House of Pod Closes the House appeared first on Transom.

The Lake

Aaron Smale — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 13:00:00 GMT

Aaron Smale (Ngāti Porou), Host, Researcher, Co-writer: Lake Alice has been on a shortlist of stories I’ve wanted to tell in an expansive way for several years. I’d been researching state institutions that had held children in the late 20th century in New Zealand and Lake Alice always stood out. It wasn’t only the abuse, which […]

The post The Lake appeared first on Transom.

Starting Out: Issue 4

Alice Wilder — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 12:55:00 GMT

Welcome back to Starting Out! My friends in high school were pretty competitive. Every quarter, the class rankings would come out and we’d silently note which friends were ahead of us in GPA. Everyone humble bragged about their AP classes and extracurriculars. Maybe you had a similar experience. When the stakes feel so high (“get […]

The post Starting Out: Issue 4 appeared first on Transom.

A Sonic Conjuring (Rerun)

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 13:00:00 GMT

Download a transcript of this episode here. Take a look at the photo above, the two strips of film from the collection at the Imperial War Museum in London. They document the sound of Armistice Day, the end of World War I, and the silencing of artillery. On the left, the war at full tilt a minute […]

The post A Sonic Conjuring (Rerun) appeared first on Transom.

The World Orchestra Is Always Playing

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 13:00:00 GMT

Download a transcript of this episode here. I can’t tell you how many times people have told me with disdain “I’m sick of how formulaic podcasts have become.” This lament probably started two or three years ago, maybe a little longer. And, it’s continued to build over time. The complaint is that they’re formulaic in […]

The post The World Orchestra Is Always Playing appeared first on Transom.

Back To Windows

Sam Greenspan — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 13:00:00 GMT

A reluctant manifesto for the best computers of this moment The most perfect anything I have ever owned is a 2004 PowerBook G4. Its entire chassis is machined from brushed aluminum; even the keyboard is metal, giving each key the perfect key travel, providing the perfect clack. It still feels like it’s from the future, […]

The post Back To Windows appeared first on Transom.

Starting Out: Issue 3

Alice Wilder — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 12:47:00 GMT

Welcome back to Starting Out, from Transom and me! If this is the first issue you’re reading, I’m Alice, a podcast producer and reporter. In the past few months, a lot of my friends have quit their jobs. Hell, I even did it recently. After pretty relentless work over the past year and a half, […]

The post Starting Out: Issue 3 appeared first on Transom.

From Memoir to Radio Story

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 12:46:00 GMT

Last year, during the pandemic, Ruby Schwartz says she was questioning everything about her identity and whether she should be an audio producer and reporter. On top of that, she was wrestling with a creative lull. Again, it was the pandemic. Anxiety and desolation was in the air. Seemed like everyone was feeling emotionally beat […]

The post From Memoir to Radio Story appeared first on Transom.

Notes On Muxture

James T. Green — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 12:00:00 GMT

I. Pouring foundation One of my most viewed YouTube videos starts with a chattering 808 drum pattern. As the video fades in, the first thing you notice is a recording studio’s wall filled with checkerboarded golds and browns, evoking the basement of a single dad with an expensive hobby problem. It’s hard to tell if […]

The post Notes On Muxture appeared first on Transom.

Interviewing for Story (Rerun)

Rob Rosenthal — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 16:42:43 GMT

Alix Spiegel is a master of narrative storytelling. Listen to any of the episodes of Invisibilia she hosted or any of the stories she produced for This American Life and, I suspect, you’ll agree. Even back when she was a science reporter for NPR covering human relations, her stories stood out from the pack because […]

The post Interviewing for Story (Rerun) appeared first on Transom.

There’s No Such Thing As A Podcast Emergency

Aggi Ashagre — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 14:00:00 GMT

“There’s no such thing as a podcast emergency.” I first read that quote on Twitter a few years ago, thanks to podcast producing icon Kathy Tu. I have worked on about a dozen productions since then and that phrase has helped me breathe through every one. When I first started working as an audio producer […]

The post There’s No Such Thing As A Podcast Emergency appeared first on Transom.

Take A Closer Listen

Julie Shapiro — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 12:00:00 GMT

Meandering musings on audio consumption I. Recently I was listening to the podcast It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, enjoying an episode about monoculture, specifically regarding the Olympics, and (separately) the Jennifer Lopez / Ben Affleck-inspired phenom known as “Bennifer.” After a spirited discussion of both topics, Sam led his guests through the final […]

The post Take A Closer Listen appeared first on Transom.

The Megan Tan Way

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 12:00:00 GMT

There’s an illustration I’m sure you’ve seen. Look at it one way and you’ll see an older woman in a veil. Look at the same drawing a while longer and you see a younger woman wearing a hat with a feather plume. Same picture, different image. A trick of the eye. Megan Tan and I […]

The post The Megan Tan Way appeared first on Transom.

Starting Out: Issue 2

Alice Wilder — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 13:00:00 GMT

Welcome back y’all! Or welcome period, if this is your first issue. To catch you up, Starting Out is a partnership between me (Hi! I’m Alice!) and the folks at Transom. We’re glad you’re here! If you frequent a certain corner of Journalism Twitter you might have seen this tweet from The Washington Post, advertising their fall internship program: The […]

The post Starting Out: Issue 2 appeared first on Transom.

Mixing Tune Up

Andrew Wardlaw — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 13:52:00 GMT

Audio editing is a really weird job. You spend hours staring at a computer, sliding around pictures of soundwaves — it can be hard on your eyes — and your attention is often consumed by the absurd, like “why doesn’t this person ever say the letter D?” or by trying to edit out a sound […]

The post Mixing Tune Up appeared first on Transom.

Sounds Easy, But…

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 14:00:00 GMT

This is true: I was so smitten by a story from the Kitchen Sisters airing on NPR’s All Things Considered, I brought my radio into the bathroom so I could shower and listen and get to where I needed to be that afternoon. I got delayed briefly because I ended up crying in the shower. […]

The post Sounds Easy, But… appeared first on Transom.

The Audio Producer’s Guide To Loudness

Rob Byers — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 15:18:00 GMT

Loudness Loudness is a helpful technology for any audio storyteller. It can help you balance voices to each other, know that your podcast will sound consistent from one episode to the next, or meet a specification set by a distribution platform. When this guide was originally published in 2015, loudness was new on the audio […]

The post The Audio Producer’s Guide To Loudness appeared first on Transom.

Goldstein on Writing, Fonts, and “The Goldstein”

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 13:18:00 GMT

It’s hard to imagine an experienced storyteller like Jonathan Goldstein feeling anxious about writing and putting a story together. But, he says the anxiety is always there. Ever since he was a kid and he had a story from school to tell his parents, he’d stand outside the apartment and linger for a while feeling […]

The post Goldstein on Writing, Fonts, and “The Goldstein” appeared first on Transom.

Starting Out: Issue 1

Alice Wilder — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 12:15:00 GMT

Hiya! Welcome to Starting Out, a newsletter for people entering into the audio industry. I’m Alice, a podcast producer/reporter and former intern. I’m thrilled to partner with Transom on this project. They are the gold standard in training and resources for public radio. When I was getting into this industry I was anxious all the […]

The post Starting Out: Issue 1 appeared first on Transom.

Stand-Ups (Rerun)

Rob Rosenthal — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 15:29:18 GMT

I thought the whole thing was kinda strange. It was some years ago. I was working with a producer and a reporter on a collaboration between the BBC and Marketplace. We were reporting on the Brazilian economy. And, we were about to interview an expert on the country’s precarious economic situation — a decline in […]

The post Stand-Ups (Rerun) appeared first on Transom.

Fireworks

Rob Rosenthal — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 19:08:01 GMT

I called up the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies out of the blue. I had read that Salt, a school in Portland, Maine, was considering adding a radio track to their longstanding writing and photography tracks. I had no background in documentary radio. Next to no background in journalism. Given that, I shouldn’t have called […]

The post Fireworks appeared first on Transom.

Bittersweet News

Jay Allison — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 21:04:26 GMT

Changes at Transom After so many years helping to steer the ship, Samantha Broun and Rob Rosenthal are leaving Transom to work on exciting new projects. At Transom, we’re all about providing people with the tools and encouragement to tell their own stories with sound. We hold open the door to public media for anyone […]

The post Bittersweet News appeared first on Transom.

Narrative Justice

Rob Rosenthal — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 22:39:33 GMT

What’s the truest form of journalism? “Letting others speak their own truth… Give them their voice. Letting them speak from their heart… It actually conveys a truer sense of what you’re trying to get the audience to hear in a more pure form.” Shapearl Wells speaks from experience. She’s the host and main character for […]

The post Narrative Justice appeared first on Transom.

The Kids Will Have Their Say

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 12:00:00 GMT

Some years ago, I worked with Blunt Youth Radio in Portland, Maine. It was incredibly rewarding. The young people I spent time with were grateful an adult cared enough to hand them a microphone — especially because they were so curious and had so much to say. I helped students produce a weekly talk show. […]

The post The Kids Will Have Their Say appeared first on Transom.

How To Build Your Editorial Muscles

Catherine Saint Louis — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 12:00:00 GMT

By the time I left The New York Times, I had been there 18 years and had worked as an editor and a reporter. I’d been dissatisfied and yearning for a change for a while. I wanted to get into podcasting, but I wasn’t sure I had the chops to work in audio. Almost four […]

The post How To Build Your Editorial Muscles appeared first on Transom.

When Anthropology Meets Audio Storytelling

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 14:00:00 GMT

The other day, I started listening to Stay Away From Matthew MaGill from Pineapple Street Studios. I’m very intrigued by it. Eric Mennel, the reporter and producer, is a clear and engaging guide to what appears to be a strange story about a huckster that prompts Eric to look in the mirror at his own […]

The post When Anthropology Meets Audio Storytelling appeared first on Transom.

Wrangling Stories With A Focus Sentence

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 25 May 2021 13:10:00 GMT

Starting a story when you’re not sure what’s at the heart of it can be tricky. But there are a couple of techniques I’ve used with students over the years that can help focus a story and center on what it’s all about. You can try using an overarching or central question — that one, […]

The post Wrangling Stories With A Focus Sentence appeared first on Transom.

In Focus: Ways To Home In On The Core Of A Story

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 25 May 2021 13:10:00 GMT

There’s a risk when you write a story — lack of focus. No center. I’m sure you’ve heard stories like this. It’s like someone let a horse out of the paddock and it’s running all over the place. You can’t tell where it’s going or when it will stop. There are any number of reasons […]

The post In Focus: Ways To Home In On The Core Of A Story appeared first on Transom.

Remote Recording: Riverside and Talk Sync

Jeff Towne — Tue, 18 May 2021 14:00:00 GMT

The COVID-19 crisis forced a number of dramatic changes in the ways that interviews are conducted. We explored different approaches earlier in the pandemic, including looking at some specific programs, such as Zencastr, and hardware, like the Rode Rodecaster Pro and the Zoom Livetrak L8. Since those articles were published, a few new options for […]

The post Remote Recording: Riverside and Talk Sync appeared first on Transom.

Celebrating 50 Years of NPR (And The Independent Producers Who Helped Shape Its Sound)

Transom — Thu, 13 May 2021 13:30:00 GMT

For 50 years now, NPR has steered toward the goal — and remarkable vision — of an all-embracing, choral representation of America. It is a daunting task and requires a diversified team to pull off. In the language of the original enabling legislation for public radio, the pillars of that team are NPR, the local […]

The post Celebrating 50 Years of NPR (And The Independent Producers Who Helped Shape Its Sound) appeared first on Transom.

Tape-Driven Storytelling

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 11 May 2021 13:00:00 GMT

There’s research that indicates people form their musical tastes when they’re young. Songs and bands that you liked as a teen will stay with you and, typically, remain your favorites as you age. That doesn’t mean taste remains static, it just means musical taste largely remains true to what you bonded with as a young […]

The post Tape-Driven Storytelling appeared first on Transom.

Treat an Interview Like a Relationship

Anna Sale — Tue, 04 May 2021 12:30:00 GMT

Anna Sale’s Manifesto for Interviewing People About Hard Things When we started Death, Sex & Money at WNYC in 2014, the idea was pretty simple: to create a place for conversation about what really made up the details of our lives but what I found we skipped over in interviews. I needed to know this […]

The post Treat an Interview Like a Relationship appeared first on Transom.

Dissecting a Good Story, Well Told

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 13:20:00 GMT

Sometimes I’ll call another producer and I’ll say, “Hey, I can’t quite figure out what to do in order to… ” And they might respond and say, “Well, did you hear the latest episode of such-and-such podcast where they did this thing where… ” And I say, “Yes! That’s it. I’ll try that!” Of course, […]

The post Dissecting a Good Story, Well Told appeared first on Transom.

Principios básicos del podcasting, parte 5: volumen para podcasts v. radio

Rob Byers — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 12:00:00 GMT

Este artículo nació en 2016, con un email a la lista de distribución de AIR. Había muchas preguntas sobre niveles de volumen para podcasts y para radio, así que una noche me senté mientras me preparaba para una mudanza de Mineápolis a Washington, DC, para preparar algo que les respondiera. Terminé con una guía explicativa […]

The post Principios básicos del podcasting, parte 5: volumen para podcasts v. radio appeared first on Transom.

Who Are Those People in Podcast Credits?

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 14:44:01 GMT

Being a radio reporter is compelling, in part, because you can be a one-stop shop. Find and pitch the story, report it, select tape, write, and produce all on your own. No need for a team. Of course, that doesn’t mean other people aren’t involved — editors, for instance, and sometimes a studio engineer, too. […]

The post Who Are Those People in Podcast Credits? appeared first on Transom.

This Story Changed My Life

Josh Baker — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:08:00 GMT

You never know where you will find the story that changes your life. I was shuffling back and forth in my seat trying to find a way to not put too much pressure on my fractured spine or the cuts to my body from the shrapnel. A contact of mine had asked to meet in […]

The post This Story Changed My Life appeared first on Transom.

Thoughts On Trailers

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 15:01:00 GMT

I must have a hundred questions about trailers. Maybe two hundred. Do people listen to them? How effective are they? What does a trailer need to be effective? Does length matter? How much should you give away about a series in the trailer? Are movie trailers a useful analogy? What about blurbs on book flaps? […]

The post Thoughts On Trailers appeared first on Transom.

Trauma Informed Reporting

Alice Wilder — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 20:33:38 GMT

How I Got Here I stayed late at my college newspaper’s office all the time. Sometimes it was to work on a story, but mostly it was to hang out with my friends while they wrapped the day’s paper and traded campus gossip. That night I stayed late to attend a special meeting to discuss […]

The post Trauma Informed Reporting appeared first on Transom.

Schwartz Is A Verb

Rob Rosenthal — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 16:15:25 GMT

We ask a lot of our interviewees. We show up at their home or workplace and ask them to do all manner of things so we can make the best recording possible. Turn off the TV. Turn off the radio. Put the annoying dog away. Close the windows. Turn off the AC. Rearrange the furniture […]

The post Schwartz Is A Verb appeared first on Transom.

The Long Lonely Lake

Dan Boyce — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 14:16:00 GMT

Dan Boyce Time and Space I feel unbelievably fortunate about how The Long Lonely Lake production process rolled out. Most of all, I’m so grateful that we took our time with it. The final piece was our ELEVENTH version of the story, which is astonishing to say as someone who has spent the vast majority […]

The post The Long Lonely Lake appeared first on Transom.

Audio Playground

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 15:30:00 GMT

I asked Sarah Geis why she created Audio Playground and she had a quick and clear answer: It’s a kick in the pants to do the thing. Her slightly longer answer is that she started the website a year ago to provide a supportive space for creativity with a minimal amount of accountability. In other […]

The post Audio Playground appeared first on Transom.

A Notes App Note of 7 Questions To Get Us To Honest

Bethel Habte — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 15:06:00 GMT

This Manifesto Is For You It’s for you if you’re white. It’s for you if you’re Black. It’s for you if you’re [fill in the blank]. It’s especially for you if you’re a particular kind of audio maker: the kind that believes that you’re already operating a fair shop. That everyone you work with works […]

The post A Notes App Note of 7 Questions To Get Us To Honest appeared first on Transom.

Occupational Hazard

Casey Martin — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 15:07:00 GMT

What to Pack I used to think I carried a lot of radio gear. Going out to any interview I’d bring a backpack filled with headphones, a recorder, couple of mics, spare batteries. The usual. These days I’d do anything for that light load. Starting last spring, following the police killing of George Floyd and […]

The post Occupational Hazard appeared first on Transom.

Gas Mask? Check. Bullet Proof Vest? Check…What To Wear When The Reporting Gets Dangerous

Rob Rosenthal — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 13:28:00 GMT

Over the last year, Casey Martin has reported from the front lines in Seattle. What he’s seen is crazy, he says. First the pandemic. Then the occupation of several blocks of the city in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. And now, the far-right protests where protesters come armed with AR-15s and other weapons. Reporting […]

The post Gas Mask? Check. Bullet Proof Vest? Check…What To Wear When The Reporting Gets Dangerous appeared first on Transom.

Hexagon Heart

Marjorie Van Halteren — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 15:45:00 GMT

THE (WAY) BACK STORY I’ve been working with audio for close to 50 years, so it feels like almost my entire life. I began at my college radio station, then later, in NYC, I fell in with a little crowd that included Jay Allison, Karen Frillman, Lou Giansante and a few others, which we called […]

The post Hexagon Heart appeared first on Transom.