Creator Science

#83: Joe Skinner – How to turn short interviews into structured, high-production podcast episodes

Dec 14, 2021

Joe Skinner, Digital Lead for PBS's American Masters and host of the acclaimed Creative Spark podcast, shares his insights on effective storytelling. He discusses the art of interview preparation and the balance between structured research and spontaneous conversation, highlighting how authenticity enhances narratives. Joe also explores the evolution of podcasting, the importance of human connection in storytelling, and the compelling impact of the three-act structure. His passion for creativity shines through as he reflects on diverse artistic processes.

01:00:21

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Episode guests

Joe Skinner

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Episode notes

Intro

2min

Journey of PBS and American Masters

6min

Exploring the PBS Structure: Collaboration and National Outreach

2min

The Art of Storytelling in Film and Beyond

9min

Exploring Narrative Structures in Documentary Storytelling

3min

Mastering Interview Preparation

17min

Building Sandcastles: The Art of Creativity

13min

Exploring Objective Storytelling in Podcasting

2min

Joe Skinner is the host and founding producer of American Masters: Creative Spark.

American Masters: Creative Spark is a Webby-winning arts and culture podcast that explores what makes a master. Following the model of the signature PBS biography series, American Masters: Creative Spark celebrates diverse artists and cultural icons who represent a wide range of disciplines, from music and comedy to poetry and film.

As Digital Lead for the award-winning national PBS documentary series "American Masters," Joe oversees digital content and strategy for the brand. This includes the production of original digital-forward culture and arts video series', audio series', as well as general content and engagement strategy for the "American Masters" PBS.org website and across all branded social accounts.

In this episode, we talk about Joe’s experience with audio, video, and even photography, how he prepares for interviews, we compare notes on producing a narrative-interview podcast, and Joe explains how good storytelling comes from finding the elements of humanity and common ground with his interview subjects.

Subscribe to American Masters: Creative Spark

Learn more about American Masters

Full transcript and show notes

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