The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara Episode 483: Off the Page and Into the Ears with Julia Barton
"That is the main difference between storytelling for the ear and writing, is that the cost of revisions is so much higher," says Julia Barton.
We have Julia Barton. Julia was the third hire, I think I have that right, with Pushkin Industries, the podcast giant founded by Malcolm Gladwell. She was the executive editor of Pushkin and helped develop Revisionist History and Against the Rules, the latter by the journalist and uber best seller Michael Lewis. She, quite literary, edits with her ears. Now she consults on stories as part of her company RadioWright.
I met Julia briefly at the Power of Narrative Conference in Boston, where she’s also a Nieman Fellow, as her talk followed mine. I did not attend her talk and I feel great shame about that, but my battery was in the negative after my talk and I just needed to disappear, the plight of the introvert. I could have learned a LOT since her talk was about the grammar of audio stories. I atoned by inviting her on the podcast to talk about her auditory journey.
So Julia has a cool newsletter called Continuous Wave, which is a weekly newsletter exploring the forgotten history of broadcast and all electronic media. It’s very specific, which is what you want from a newsletter. She’s the founder of RadioWright, she is @bartona104 on IG.
We talk about:
- Editing audio stories and how it’s different than print
- What’s the ideal length for a podcast be it narrative or interview
- The cost of revisions
- Scratch mixes and dry mixes
- Animal vs. Mineral editing
- Picturing the ideal interview in your head
- And more!
Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm
Show notes: brendanomeara.com