The podcast discusses the crucial role of podcast editors in enhancing storytelling, engaging listeners, and crafting narratives. It highlights the journey of a podcast editor from fact-checking to editing, emphasizing the importance of surprises and emotional impact in storytelling. The conversation also covers promoting diversity in the podcasting industry and empowering future podcast editors.
Podcast editors focus on enhancing narrative structures and story presentation for diverse audiences.
Increasing diversity in podcast editing can enrich storytelling perspectives and promote inclusivity in the industry.
Deep dives
Uncovering Jurisdictional Challenges Through a Roadside Cross
Georgia Jacobs' death sparked a revelation when a roadside cross marking the scene contradicted the state's account. As both victim and perpetrator were citizens of Muskogee Creek Nation, the murder's location impacted jurisdiction. The cross's precise position challenged the conviction's validity, raising questions on the crime scene's jurisdiction.
Navigating Narrative Surprises in Podcast Editing
Editors like Katherine St. Louis navigate turns in storytelling, ensuring impactful surprises. For instance, in 'Murder on the Tope Path,' revealing Mary Pinchot Meyer's affair with JFK through his voice created a compelling twist. Editors craft narratives to balance mystery and revelation, captivating listeners through strategic storytelling arcs.
Diverse Recruitment for Podcast Editing Excellence
Katherine emphasizes diversifying podcast editing roles to enhance storytelling perspectives. Encouraging younger individuals, especially people of color and women, to enter editing roles can enrich podcast content. Editors play a pivotal role in shaping narratives and selecting impactful stories for production, influencing the podcasting landscape's diversity and inclusivity.
The job of a podcast editor can be hard to efficiently explain, because they do many little things in the service of one big thing: to make the show better for more people. They think about structure, emphasize tension, tighten language, and consider how the presentation of the story comes across to different types of people. Podcast editors — particularly for narrative nonfiction shows — used to be really hard to find, but this has changed a little bit over the past few years as the podcast industry grew in complexity. Nick talks with Catherine Saint Louis, who works at Neon Hum Media, about the role of the podcast editor, how she became one, and its increasing importance to the business.