325 episodes

The Backstory to Great Audio Storytelling, hosted by Rob Rosenthal, for Transom and PRX.

Sound School Podcast Rob Rosenthal/PRX/Transom.org

    • Education
    • 4.9 • 271 Ratings

The Backstory to Great Audio Storytelling, hosted by Rob Rosenthal, for Transom and PRX.

    The Um, A Deep Dive

    The Um, A Deep Dive

    "Ums." You're supposed to cut them out, right? But what if the "um" means something? Talia Augustidis noticed her boyfriend "ummed" when he was lying and she thought "radio story." Talia takes a deep dive into the importance of not cutting out all the "ums" as well as the backstory to her piece for the BBC's Short Cuts called "What's In An Um?"

    • 14 min
    Revisiting: Should I or Shouldn’t I — Recording in Stereo

    Revisiting: Should I or Shouldn’t I — Recording in Stereo

    One of the top three questions Rob often hears when he's teaching is, "Should I record in stereo?" Rob says mono is usually the way to go. But on this archive episode of Sound School, former NPR engineer Flawn Williams evangelizes about the value of stereo recordings, and he brought along several sound-rich examples.

    • 19 min
    Small, Random, and Meaningful

    Small, Random, and Meaningful

    In the tsunami of serialized documentary making over the last decade, what happened to the short story? Where are the one-off curious and creative sound portraits or essays or found sound or audio postcards or.... ? Last year Transom commissioned a dozen short stories as part of "Small, Random, and Meaningful." Rob features his three favorites.

    • 50 min
    For the Love of Radio, Get Out of the Studio!

    For the Love of Radio, Get Out of the Studio!

    In honor of World Radio Day this week, The Sound School Podcast is celebrating with a story that exemplifies the power of radio to evoke striking images — a story reported from a remote hillside in Slovenia.  

    • 18 min
    A Triple Whammy

    A Triple Whammy

    Katz Laszlo says writing and tracking for herself is complicated enough. But it's an even greater challenge writing for and tracking with the two co-hosts of The Europeans podcast. Katz lays out how she and the hosts wrangle it all on the latest Sound School.

    • 20 min
    Tracking Partners

    Tracking Partners

    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 audio team at The Washington Post have graciously done just that. Hearing how they work as tracking partners is a real gift for anyone who wants to perform better in the mic booth.

    • 24 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
271 Ratings

271 Ratings

Flyawayfarm ,

continuing education for salties and seekers of truth and narrative everywhere

Rob gets it and he wants you to get it too. Thanks for making this show Rob!

Solo-rear ,

Review …

Rob provides very good suggestions and insights on the “How To’s” of podcasting. He presents exciting and well represented examples for his critiques and guidance. Only suggestion for him to follow is it to keep his articulation clear of crackles and dry mouth. Thumbs up.

nourseman ,

Rob’s a Treasure

I’ve been listening to this pod since the ‘SaltCast’ days. Frankly, I’m embarrassed that I haven’t reviewed this program until now. Rob’s a treasure and I hope he continues to share great stories (and their backstories) with us for years to come.

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