On the latest @soundschoolpodcast.bsky.social, @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social and Neena Pathak talked about grief and humor… and where the truth lies in all of this. It’s a great conversation that highlights a heartfelt audio piece entitled "Desperado." @prx.org @signalhillfm.bsky.social

On the latest “Over the Transom” newsletter, we dive into creating a sound archive, avoiding the “life-story” trap, music as rebellion and confessing sins. Read here: open.substack.com/pub/transom/...

Susan Stamberg died yesterday at 87. One of NPR’s "founding mothers", She’s made radio stronger, smarter, and more colorful for the past five decades. Check out one of her features for us. transom.org/2019/see-it-...

Reporter Austin Rowlader broke a written rule of trust in radio. He pressed record and didn’t ask first. His Transom post is tribute to honesty and accountability, prompting all of us to reflect on our own missteps with compassion and generosity.

In her 2012 manifesto, Stephanie Guyer-Stevens said to prepare to move at a different pace while reporting in a country you didn’t grow up in. “Slowing down also means really giving your ears a chance to hear what else is going on,” she wrote. Read her tips: transom.org/2012/telling...

Kids are remarkable. And capable of so much. “3rd Grade Audio” is a prime example of how simple it can be to make a really new radio story. Sometimes all it takes is the imagination of a 3rd grader. transom.org/2014/3rd-gra... @soundschoolpodcast.bsky.social @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social @prx.org

Miri Berlin had an idea “to tell a story where we have difficulties finding the right words.” Listen here: transom.org/2023/mothers...

In the latest "All Hear" newsletter, read about the 120+ opportunities that await you. @taliaaugustidis.bsky.social

Decades ago, Carmen Delzell was dropped off at a 24-hour grocery store parking lot with less than five dollars and a tape recorder. It’s a rare listen.

In this archive episode from 2018, legendary NPR reporter John Burnett answers a perplexing question "How to make an immigration story visual when no mics are allowed in the courtroom?" Answer: Fill your notebook with color notes. @soundschoolpodcast.bsky.social @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social

Today! Set up a table, a microphone, and ask strangers to tell their stories. After they’re done, hand them two quarters and call it a day. Inspiration: transom.org/2001/alex-ch...

Pigeons, P-pops, and making the reporting sound conversational… it's all in the latest newsletter over on Substack!

A manifesto from 2011 all about silence. Check it out here: transom.org/2011/john-bi...

The “Making Waves” science storytelling event was just featured on the Possibly podcast. Reporters interviewed one of the scientist storytellers, Kathleen Savage, as well as our very own @sophiecrane.bsky.social about why this work is so important. Listen to the rest here:

Years ago, Jamie Yuenger produced a story with some extremely vulnerable tape from someone she spent the time moose hunting with. @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social @soundschoolpodcast.bsky.social asks Jamie how she got the tape and they discuss the ethical complication and resolution. Listen here:

“Choose a story because it’s surprising.” That comes from Alex Blumberg in his 2005 manifesto. In it, he dives into the nitty gritty of what makes a great radio story. Read more here:

“There’s no such thing as a podcast emergency.” Aggi Ashagre first read that quote on then-Twitter years ago from producing icon @kt.fm. Back in 2021, Aggi wrote all about the beehive of problems that will inevitably come buzzing your way. Learn Aggi’s tips for how to navigate them:

“If you want to be a story editor, don’t just listen to podcasts. Deconstruct them,” wrote Catherine Saint Louis in her Transom manifesto about becoming an editor. She continues, “Listening widely strengthened my editorial judgment.” Read more here:

Hey there, we have a challenge for your Wednesday! Stop what you’re doing and draw the story arc on a napkin or piece of paper. See if it clarifies things for you, you never know. @soundschoolpodcast.bsky.social @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social

In the latest episode of Sound School, host @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social looks to the series “Ghost of a Chance” to learn from their host-reporter dynamic. The listener is brought along in a way that feels intentional and direct. Listen here: @prx.org @startribune.com

Need help finding your files? Knowing which editing program is right for you? Want advice on which mic to use for an upcoming field recording? Jeff Towne has got you covered. Book a one-on-one session with Jeff here: transom.org/consulting/

New one-on-one consulting sessions offered, tips for audio fiction, knitting with dog hair (!), and the latest from both @taliaaugustidis.bsky.social and @soundschoolpodcast.bsky.social -- it's all in the latest newsletter over on Substack!

In the latest All Hear newsletter, read about the 140+ opportunities that await you. @taliaaugustidis.bsky.social

To quote @latif.bsky.social's former professor Shigehisa Kuriyama, “It’s not that 99.99% of the most interesting questions in the world haven’t been answered, it’s that 99.99% of the most interesting questions in the world haven’t even been asked yet.” Read more here: transom.org/2022/ten-mor...

Mics, recorders, headphones… Oh my! Lots of decisions to make. But, overall, we stand by the Sony 7506 headphones. Beyond that, we have different preferences on which mics and sound recorders we use. Read our opinions from 2012 here:

“There is a completely other way to think about the structure of a story. You’re not staging the story as an argument, but as a sequence of events.” Hear more of Ira’s tips here: transom.org/2024/tips-to... @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social @prx.org

Taking photos while out reporting is often a good idea. But, we reporters are rarely taught how to take a good photo. Back in 2014, photographer @amandakowalski.bsky.social gave us her tips. Check it out:

Back in 2001, we launched a special project called “The Days That Follow” all about 9/11. In it, stories about what happened – and for those of us who lived through it, how our lives were forever changed.

Sonic IDs are little fragments of life, 30 and 60-second portraits, actualities, and stories. They’re often about place, and should surprise you. So, go forth! Make one for the love of this form and the people where you live.

Writing like it's a television drama complete with instructions for a camera operator. That's an unusual maneuver for a podcast. One I'd never heard before. Neither had Susan Burton until she wrote that way herself for #TheRetrievals from Serial and @nytimes.com. @prx.org. @transom.bsky.social.

“The plan itself is useless, the process of planning is everything.” That’s from Josh Baker in his 2021 manifesto about reporting “I’m Not A Monster.” In it, advice about collaboration, trauma-informed reporting, and working with an unreliable narrator.

Transom Traveling Workshop updates, evergreen advice from Laura Mayer about mentorship and a compilation of stories on this Hurricane Katrina anniversary… it's all in the latest newsletter over on Substack.

Years ago, Bianca Giaever listened to 546 audio tapes from the deceased poet Franz Wright. Her organization process was a bit all over the place. “It’s all a disaster,” Bianca told @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social on a past Sound School episode. Hear how Bianca made sense of hours and hours of tape:

Eleanor McDowall has some thoughts on translation. She urges us to embrace many languages into our audio works and let sound speak when language can’t. “The effect is not to distance a listener from the subject, as translation voices often can, but to draw us closer,” she wrote for us at Transom.

Eye contact! Love it or hate it – it’s a part of the art of an interview. Erica Heilman recommends sometimes losing eye contact, and to let the focus shift to the middle space instead of always being on each other.

Join us tomorrow, August 30th at 7 p.m. at Tank Space in Traverse City, Michigan. Interlochen Public Radio is hosting an event to share the works of ten audio makers who are wrapping up their Transom Story Workshop week! Come, and listen to an interview featuring radio aficionado David Weinberg.

Great interviewing requires a certain set of skills. But, PREPARING for an interview is a whole other thing. Use this checklist before your interview to improve your chances of getting great tape with less stress. @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social

Ideas… where in the world do they come from? Radio producer and filmmaker turned to David Lynch, Chuck Close, Susan Orlean, Lulu Miller, Robert Krulwich, Ray Barbee and Jay Allison’s then 7-year-old son to find answers.

Transom Story Workshop alum Theo Greenly was interviewed for @nytimes.com on the funding cuts affecting a rural radio station in Alaska, KUCB. “You’re not just giving up stories about a school bake sale,” he said “We’re necessary.”

NPR's @radiosmith.bsky.social says when he's writing and gets to the end of a story he has nothing left. To combat that problem, Robert studied endings from some of his favorite reporters and put together a list of categories that describe memorable story endings. @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social

Advice for creativity, rabbits and sound design, and on interviewing a 9-year-old rapper who is in the middle of controversy… it's all in the latest newsletter over on Substack!

TONIGHT! TONIGHT! TONIGHT! You don’t want to miss this. Sharks + Pat Walters of Radiolab = awesomeness. @mblscience.bsky.social @radiolab.bsky.social

On the August "All Hear" newsletter, read about the 140+ opportunities that await you. transom.org/2025/all-hea... @taliaaugustidis.bsky.social

Back in 2023, @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social interviewed Alan Hall of @fallingtreeprod.bsky.social about the idea of abstract, non-narrated audio stories. The two of them dissect their own approaches to making audio. It's a fascinating conversation that questions the very nature of this form.

In many ways, Doug and Lynn Nadeau were the ideal couple in the neighborhood. Until one night that changed the public perception of their relationship. Reporter Eric Winick peels back the layers of this complicated and tender marriage.

Today! Go outside with your recorder and headphones and press record. See what you hear. With love for the sounds all around us, Transom

Looking for some pitching advice? Check out these seven steps from 2015 that still apply:

UPDATE: We’ll have LIVE SHARKS at the Clapp Auditorium at MBL right before the show with Pat Walters of Radiolab. A huge thank you to the folks at MBL for making this happen. This is what happens when our office is based in a town of science, surrounded by the ocean. Pretty incredible. Get tix:

We just wrapped up another Transom Traveling Workshop over in Amherst, MA. It was taught by David Weinberg and Isabel Hibbard, and Ben Brock Johnson helped organize it. Special appearance from Julie Shapiro, too! What fun to collaborate and learn from each other.

Listen to the latest @soundschoolpodcast.bsky.social episode to learn about alternatives to being too direct with your sound design. @rob-rosenthal.bsky.social brings up a past conversation with Jad Abumrad, formerly of Radiolab, to get some insight.