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Transom

@transom.bsky.social

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Fostering the art of audio storytelling

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Transom @transom.bsky.social · 1d

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

Revisiting: Fill Your Notebook with Color Notes

Revisiting: Fill Your Notebook with Color Notes - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 2d

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...

Alex Chadwick's Famous Fifty-Cent Interviews

Alex Chadwick's Famous Fifty-Cent Interviews - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 4d

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

Over the Transom | 10.03.25

Making the reporting sound conversational, those tricky plosives, and racing pigeons

open.substack.com

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 6d

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

John Biewen - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 7d

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:

How can we help scientists tell their stories? - TPR: The Public's Radio

Science has a communication problem. This week on Possibly we’re taking a look at an audio-storytelling organization, called Transom, that’s trying to help fix it.

thepublicsradio.org

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 7d

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:

A Matter Of Ethics

A Matter Of Ethics - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 8d

“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:

Alex Blumberg - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 12d

“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:

There's No Such Thing As A Podcast Emergency

There's No Such Thing As A Podcast Emergency - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 13d

“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:

How To Build Your Editorial Muscles

How To Build Your Editorial Muscles - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 14d

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

Revisiting: My Kingdom for Some Structure

Revisiting: My Kingdom for Some Structure - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 15d

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

Host Sits Down With a Reporter

Host Sits Down With a Reporter - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 16d

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/

One-On-One Consulting Sessions

One-On-One Consulting Sessions - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 18d

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!

Over the Transom | 09.19.25

One-on-one consulting, jumping into audio fiction, and knitting with dog hair

open.substack.com

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 19d

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

All Hear September 2025

View this email in your browser

allhear.substack.com

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 21d

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...

Ten (More) Tricks For Finding Stories

Ten (More) Tricks For Finding Stories - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 22d

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:

Field Gear: Good, Better, Best

Field Gear: Good, Better, Best - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 23d

“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

Tips to Elevate Your Reporting and Storytelling from Ira Glass

Tips to Elevate Your Reporting and Storytelling from Ira Glass - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 26d

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:

Photo Tips For Radio Producers

Learn how to take a better photo from Amanda Kowalski! She details how to capture images that represent moments of genuine emotion.

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 27d

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.

The Days That Follow: Stories

The Days That Follow: Stories - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · 27d

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.

Reposted by Transom

Sound School Podcast @soundschoolpodcast.bsky.social · 28d

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.

Writing Like TV in a Podcast

Writing Like TV in a Podcast - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · Sep 8

“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.

This Story Changed My Life

This Story Changed My Life - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · Sep 5

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.

Over the Transom | 09.05.25

Traveling Workshop graduates, finding a mentor, and looking back at Katrina

transom.substack.com

Transom @transom.bsky.social · Sep 4

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:

Making Sense Of A Pile Of Tape

Making Sense Of A Pile Of Tape - Transom

Transom @transom.bsky.social · Sep 3

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.

Thoughts On Translation: Eleanor McDowall

Thoughts On Translation: Eleanor McDowall - Transom