Sound School Podcast

Narration in stories is usually just that - narration. Someone in a booth reading or ad-libing a script. But, "Borders Between Us" is different. Producer, Saidu Tejan-Thomas, uses poetry to tell the story. HowSound's Rob Rosenthal can't think of another piece like it.

This podcast features two music-related stories produced by Transom Traveling Workshop students. The first story focuses on a veteran's journey towards healing and finding hope through music, while the second story explores the impact of music on someone coping with PTSD. It also includes discussions on the uncertain future of rare instruments and a filmmaker's expertise in sound editing.

The first time Rob listened to "A Cow a Day" he thought "What the??!" But then he listened again and was hooked. Rob talks to Pejk Malinovsky, the producer of the doc, about his two wildly different interpretations.

Got your ears on? You'll want them as Rob threads his way through a wide variety of clips  that caught his attention over the last few months. A man injects Fentenyl into his neck... Toni Morrison speaks about beauty... Jad Abamrad waxes about the power of radio... and more.

Shereen Marisol Meraji of Code Switch told me she's sick of her voice -- the authoritative narrator. In response, Shereen recently experimented getting out of the way and letting the tape do the talking for a shocking documentary about a lynching in the 1930s. "A Strange and Bitter Crop" was her first non-narrated story in fifteen years and she can't wait to make more.

Let's face it: Use of the pronoun "I" has gotten out of hand. There's much too much navel gazing and self-indulgence in so many podcasts. And yet, sometimes using the first person as a reporter is the best approach for a story. Leila Day of The Stoop podcast relates how she and her co-host Hana Baba navigate those waters. 

Two treats for your ears. Stories produced by graduates of the Transom Story Workshop -- Ruby Schwartz and Cariad Harmon. They're well worth a listen if for no other reason than their stories are about octopuses and homing pigeons.

The backstory to WGBH's Gabrielle Emanuel's reporting on a hidden past is fascinating. How she found people connected to the Reverse Freedom Riders… How she communicated with them by hand-written note… the discussion in the newsroom about connecting the story of the Reverse Freedom Rider’s to President Donald Trump’s plan to send undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities… all that on this episode of HowSound.

When you're yelled at. Called a prostitute. Told you're a liar and shameless and malicious... How do you stay the course and keep interviewing? Brazilian journalist Leticia Duarte explains her approach on this episode of HowSound.

Emily Kwong had never been to Mongolia. She doesn't speak the language. She didn't know her way around. It was winter and very cold. She was in-country alone -- no fellow producer. The only way she was able to successfully report on climate change and migration was to hire incredible fixers.