Subscribe to SOUND JUDGMENT, the newsletter that shares just what it takes to become one of today's best audio storytellers. Based on Sound Judgment, the podcast, which takes you into the minds — and the studios — of your favorite creators.
Famous & Gravy is hilarious and philosophical, funny and thought-provoking. It’s about dead celebrities, but really it's about life’s biggest questions. Cohosts Michael Osborne and Amit Kapoor reflect on aspects of a dead ce…
Pushkin Industries VP and Executive Editor Julia Barton had a dream: To create the first-ever anthology of the best audio storytelling. Fittingly, it would be in audiobook form, and it would call out the most powerful and in…
Do high-stakes interviews make you nervous? Do you want to communicate better across partisan, racial, or gender divides? Or do you want to make any interview you conduct more compelling? You couldn't ask for a better teache…
When Sam Mullins was growing up in a small, almost utopian Canadian town, two boys appeared one summer as if from nowhere. They said they'd been raised in the woods, which accounted for why they were so...strange. And skinny…
Actor Dana Black started her memoir and conversation show “I Swear on My Mother’s Grave” on the fourth anniversary of her mother’s death. She was grieving her loss, but she’d been grieving for years, long before her mother d…
As writers, journalists, podcasters, we often deal with hard subjects – topics that are painful to explore and to tell. So why do we do it? Because, done well, telling the hard stories lead to change. They can lead to help a…
When the Center for Public Integrity decided to look into who was pulling the strings behind Trump's 2017 tax bill — one reporters would ultimately call a swindle that benefited only the wealthiest Americans — they turned to…
How do you successfully pitch a narrative story or series to podcast network or a public radio station? If you dream about making an audio documentary or a limited series, this episode is for you. Katie Colaneri is the thoug…
Why do we trust one voice over another? Why do we find one voice trustworthy — and a different host or producer, perhaps with equal knowledge, not? In Part 2 of my conversation with voice actor and Audio Branding host Jodi …
Audio — whether used in podcast, radio, or marketing — is great at storytelling and conveying emotion. We know this intuitively. It’s how we react to a scene or an idea that often prompts us to share with others and generat…
Go behind the scenes with me as I talk with Bone Valley co-hosts Gilbert King and Kelsey Decker about their award-winning audio documentary series. The podcast has been called "one of the best of 2022" and "the best true cri…
Whether you’re building a new show or developing a single story, the first question you should ask yourself is always, “Who is my listener?” The second: “Why do they care about this story or show right now?”
Spend time wi…
When I invited Dinner Sisters Co-Host Betsy Wallace on the show, it was with a couple of aims in mind. First, with Valentine’s Day approaching, I wanted to speak with a cooking show host to find out what she'd learned—over 2…
Jay Baer’s binge-worthy podcast, Standing Ovation, does for public speakers what Sound Judgment does for podcast hosts – but he did it first. On every episode, Baer, a member of the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame…
To a lot of listeners, Glynn Washington is a legend. His show, Snap Judgment, has been on the air across the country and in our ears continuously since 2010. It’s snapped up two million times a month by people who love his p…
What are the biggest questions you have about becoming the best podcast host you can be? And how podcasting affects not just your work, but your life? We're answering your deepest questions on today's episode, a look back at…
As hosts, we have very little time to hook new listeners. We know this, because as listeners ourselves, we make decisions to listen to a new show—or abandon it—almost instantly. Likewise, we may have only half a minute for s…
On Sound Judgment, today's best hosts unpack their magic.
When Anne Bogel was offered the plum gig of moderating a panel discussion with four famous authors at the Bookmarks NC Festival of Books and Authors, she knew it wo…
Sound Judgment has become a quest to identify the universal qualities and skills of "hostiness." If I’m on a quest, Pabel Martinez is on a mission—in his case, to redefine professionalism and to empower members of Latinx com…
How do you know who, exactly, you ARE behind the mic? What you sound like versus what you wish you sounded like? How to stand out as a host while being your unique self? Not to mention telling a gripping story or weaving a c…
Last year, Crime Show's Emma Courtland was nominated for a Podcast Academy Ambie Award for best host -- most likely because of her measured, engaging delivery; her vivid, cinematic storytelling; and the humanity, nuance, and…
Research shows that young podcast listeners seek two specific things: a fresh, unique perspective and a sense of belonging. At Pantsuit Politics, co-hosts Beth Silvers and Sarah Stewart Holland have been bringing fresh persp…
What does it mean to have “hostiness?” That’s the question that John Barth has been asking — and answering — for decades. John is one of most well-known and respected producers and talent recruiters in audio storytelling. Fo…
