When Funny Points to Truth

When Funny Points to Truth

Author: Rob Rosenthal/PRX/Transom.org October 21, 2025 Duration: 24:49
Neena Pathak produced a very touching story about grieving the death of her father. She says the humor in the story wasn't uncouth. It was how she captured the truth. 

Ever wonder how your favorite audio stories are actually put together? Sound School Podcast pulls back the curtain, offering a rare and detailed look at the craft behind compelling narrative audio. Host Rob Rosenthal, drawing from his work with Transom and PRX, doesn’t just play finished pieces; he breaks them down with the producers and editors who made them. You’ll hear the early drafts, the interview clips that didn’t make the cut, and the pivotal editorial choices that shaped the final story. Each episode feels like a candid workshop, dissecting the techniques of pacing, scoring, and interviewing that transform raw tape into emotional journeys. This isn't about abstract theory-it's a practical, behind-the-scenes examination for anyone curious about the how and why of audio production. Whether you're an aspiring creator or simply a dedicated fan of the medium, this podcast provides an invaluable education in the meticulous, often unseen, work that goes into great storytelling. Tune in for honest conversations about what works, what doesn’t, and why the process itself is as fascinating as the finished product.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Sound School Podcast
Podcast Episodes
An Audio Field Trip [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:00
Rob plays "Story DJ" on this episode "spinning" excerpts from several excellent stories you'll definitely want to hear. It's an audio field trip taking you around the world: Macon, Georgia, Wales, Madagascar, Kenya, and…
Structure Interviews Like a Good Story [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:12
Don't leave an interview entirely to chance. Structure it like a good story. On this episode, Rob dissects an interview on The Daily revealing its effective inner story structure.
Tips to Elevate Your Reporting and Storytelling from Ira Glass [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:52
Ira Glass of This American Life is a master audio storyteller. He's equally skillful at laying out the mechanics of creative storytelling and reporting, too. Rob unearthed a presentation Ira made back in 2001 at a radio…
Safety First: Recording with Actors for an LGBTQ Story in Uganda [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:33
It's illegal to be queer in Uganda and incredibly unsafe. Queer people risk violence, eviction, harassment, and arrest. How then does a producer protect the identity of interviewees, especially when someone's voice might…
Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative…and Ethical? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:38
There's a moment in this episode when Rob is gasping and holding his hand to his chest. Why was he so astonished? Listen to his conversation with Jess Shane as they dissect the ethics of her Radiotopia documentary "Shock…
Introducing Sound Judgment [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:12
Deadlines, production meetings, staff management, show scheduling... in any given day, there's rarely time to pause and consider the craft of audio storytelling. Of course, PRX and Transom hope Sound School provides an e…
Thanks, NPR. That Was Satisfying. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:54
Have NPR's news magazines occasionally been sounding more radiophonic lately? Rob thinks so. He's collected a handful of satisfying moments of writing, production, and reporting from several reporters: Daniel Estrin, Ave…
The Um, A Deep Dive [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:37
"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 import…
Revisiting: Should I or Shouldn’t I — Recording in Stereo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:28
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 e…
Small, Random, and Meaningful [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:50
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…