Sound Judgment

On May 6, 2024, The 13th Step team was honored with a Pulitzer Prize nomination for audio reporting "for their gripping and extensively reported investigation of corruption and sexual abuse within the lucrative recovery industry that sought accountability despite legal pressure.” Today, we go behind the scenes, once again, with New Hampshire Public Radio Reporter Lauren Chooljian and Story Editor...

In 2020, New Hampshire Public Radio Lauren Chooljian received an email about Eric Spofford, the founder of New Hampshire's largest addiction treatment network. In it was an allegation that Spofford was sexually abusing female clients and employees. Chooljian set out to learn whether this could be true. Over the next three years, she would go on a journey to learn the truth, not just about this all...

Sound Judgment is about the craft of audio storytelling. Not about the marketing of podcasts. But today, we're bringing you a gift from someone I trust completely when it comes to audience growth: Jeremy Enns of Podcast Marketing Academy, and his co-host, Justin Jackson, cofounder of Transistor.fm. They've teamed up to produce Podcast Marketing Trends Explained, a limited series that extracts prov...

At some point, every one of us will reach a point in our professional lives where it's time to change — but the status quo, even when it's not working, is comfortable. Are you ready to say goodbye to your old life in order to find your way to a new, better one? But you don't have a map?  That's what Daily Creative host Todd Henry and his "story architect" producer Josh Gott wrestle with in the epi...

It's a brave thing to share the outtakes from a tracking session. All the blemishes are right there. But Martine Powers and Rennie Svirnovsky from the audio team at The Washington Post have graciously done just that. They invited  Sound School's Rob Rosenthal into their studio to witness Martine at work voicing an episode of The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop, with assistance from Rennie. Hearing h...

The six storytelling strategies you're about to learn are drawn from the patterns I've seen across more than 150 behind-the-scenes lessons — lessons learned from some of the best hosts, producers, writers and editors I've had on Sound Judgment. You can put these techniques to use right away in your studio or at your writing desk. This episode pulls together examples from compelling shows and award...

This is the sixth and final part of our new Sound Judgment quick-hit series on storytelling strategies for hooking your audience and keeping them with you. Today: specifics. The more specific our language, the more sparkling and memorable it is. In the last 18 months of speaking with incredible storytellers for this podcast, no one has been better at this than Sam Mullins.  In 2023, Sam won the th...

This is part 5 of our new Sound Judgment quick-hit series on six storytelling strategies for hooking your audience and keeping them with you. This one can mean the difference between ho-hum content and stories that your audiences will talk about. And I’m betting that you give it hardly any thought, if you think about it at all. What is it? Stick around to find out.  Part 5 features Michael Osborne...

Our fourth S in the 6S framework for hooking your audience and keeping them with you is surprise. It's the left turn when we're expecting a righthand one that makes us listen. It's the twists and turns of an involved, high-stakes plot that we love, or the ending of the movie or the novel that we didn't predict. As New Hampshire Public Radio Senior Podcast Editor Katie Colaneri says, it's the "holy...

This is part 3 of our new Sound Judgment quick-hit series on six storytelling strategies for hooking your audience and keeping them with you. Today, we’re talking about scenes. They’re obviously a staple in longform narrative storytelling, like true crime and documentaries. Don’t ignore them, though, for interview shows; you just have to interview well to elicit good, sensory anecdotes from your g...

In this series you'll learn how to use sound vision, structure, scenes, surprise, suspense, and specifics to make content that audiences love and share. Each of these bonus episodes is bite-sized and features examples from today's best audio storytellers. Growing your audience depends on more than marketing: It depends on creating compelling content that hooks your audience and keeps them with you...

This is Part 1: Sound Vision. Be sure to follow the show so you don't miss the next bite-sized episodes on:  Part 2: Structure Part 3: Scenes Part 4: Surprise Part 5: Suspense Part 6: Specifics All of these segments — each around 10 minutes or less — will come together soon for a full episode on How to Hook Your Audience and Keep Them Coming Back.  Apply these six storytelling strategies for creat...

Improve your storytelling, interviewing, writing, producing, hosting and guesting skills! Sign up for new Sound Judgment workshops today at www.podcastallies.com/workshops.  On this episode, Emily Silverman and host Elaine Appleton Grant discuss:  — Why she thought starting a live storytelling event for physicians should be her next step as she was coming to terms with being in the wrong career wh...

Don’t miss today’s takeaways! Scroll down for lessons from this episode.  The episodes we discussed on today’s episode are History Daily: Silent Spring Sparks the Modern Environmental Movement and American History Tellers Season 61: Salem Witch Trials. Lindsay Graham Lindsay Graham (no, not that Lindsey Graham) is a podcast creator, producer and host known for compelling narratives and in-depth ex...

Sharing a personal experience, especially a traumatic one, is a particularly popular scripted podcast form. Memoir done well often shoots to the top of the podcast charts or the bestseller list. It moves us, leaves us breathless, inspires standing ovations and prompts us into conversations and confessions of our own. Sometimes memoir creates change. But memoir produced without first grappling with...

This episode was sponsored by Signal Hill Insights.  Want to know how your podcast is affecting listeners? Need to plan to share outcomes with a branded client?  Visit measureyourpodcast.com for a free 4-part email series that will tell you how and why to measure the unique impact of branded podcasts. Go beyond counting downloads. Instead, obtain real responses from real listeners to demonstrate t...

If you liked this bonus episode introducing Podcast Perspectives with host Jeff Umbro and guest Jessica Cordova Kramer of Lemonada Media, you'll love:  SJ S1/E1: Emotional Bravery on Last Day with Stephanie Wittels Wachs. Not only is she an amazing, evocative storyteller who knows how to get the best out of her team and guests, but she's cofounder and chief creative officer of Lemonada Media.  We...

This episode was sponsored by Signal Hill Insights.  Want to know how your podcast is affecting listeners? Need to plan to share outcomes with a branded client?  Visit measureyourpodcast.com for a free 4-part email series that will tell you how and why to measure the unique impact of branded podcasts. Go beyond counting downloads. Instead, obtain real responses from real listeners to demonstrate t...

The episode discussed on today's Sound Judgment is Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story. Karen worked with reporter/host Sara Ganim to create Believable.  This episode was sponsored by Signal Hill Insights.  Want to know how your podcast is affecting listeners? Need to plan to share outcomes with a branded client?  Visit measureyourpodcast.com for a free 4-part email series that will tell you how...

  The episode discussed on today's Sound Judgment is Near Death: Death Party. Near Death is a Dying For Media production with sales and distribution by Lemonada Media. Nikki Boyer's takeaways These are the takeaways from the end of the episode. For more takeaways from all of our guests, subscribe to the Sound Judgment newsletter and visit our blog.    Nikki loves having uncomfortable conversations...

The episode discussed on today's Sound Judgment is Weight for It: Episode 2, Shame Spiral. It’s produced by ohitsbigron Studios and distributed by Radiotopia.  Ronald Young Jr. is a critically acclaimed audio producer, host, and storyteller, based in Alexandria, Va. He is an avid pop-culture enthusiast and the host of the television and film review podcast Leaving the Theater .  He is also a regul...

The episode discussed on today's Sound Judgment is Death, Sex & Money_—Bells & Bills: The Price You Paid for Your Wedding. We also discuss Death, Sex & Money — A Headline Stays Static Even as a Life Transforms. Anna Sale is the creator and host of Death, Sex & Money , the podcast about “the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more.” Anna won a Gracie for best podcast host in 2016 an...

The episode discussed on today's Sound Judgment is Classy with Jonathan Menjivar, Episode 1: Are Rich People Bad? Jonathan Menjivar is a senior producer at Pineapple Street Studios and the creator and host of Classy with Jonathan Menjivar . He also made the hit shows Project Unabom and The Clearing. Prior to Pineapple, he was a longtime producer at the public radio show This American Life and also...

Follow Sound Judgment on your favorite podcast app .  For more information on the show and to browse the back catalog, visit our website: www.soundjudgmentpodcast.com . Leave a voicemail for us! Just click on the microphone icon on our website.  Sign up for our twice-monthly Sound Judgment newsletter on the art and craft of audio storytelling.  Follow Elaine Appleton Grant on LinkedIn.  Email us!...

The episode discussed on today's Sound Judgment is Famous & Gravy: Poetic Justice (Maya Angelou).   Amit Kapoor is co-host and co-creator of the podcast Famous & Gravy .   Amit has spent nearly two decades in management positions for media organizations, both commercial and non-profit, ranging from Match.com to Wikipedia.  He is also a stand-up comic, former Wienermobile driver, video game voice a...