A year of listening🎧
Audio lessons of 2021
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Hello dear audio storytellers,
Well, another year is behind us. I hope you’re enjoying the winter break and are taking some moments of wonder and calm wherever you can find them.
During this quiet time between Christmas and New Year, I like to look back on the year and get into a reflective headspace. I do this end-of-year journal every year; it’s great for stepping back and reminding yourself how much actually happened, especially in these mystifying pandemic years.
When it comes to audio, 2021 will go down as the year I started listening – to everything and everyone - much more intently. The year I took part in a wonderful, mind-expanding and miraculously in-person podcast residency at UnionDocs.
I learned the joy of layering and sampling and plug-ins and generally being playful with sound. I learned that figuring out the shape and characters of non-narrative audio is bloody hard but rewarding work.
I was lucky enough to be given tough, endlessly helpful feedback. I (began to!) learn how to kill your darlings, and let go of stories that aren’t working. I tried to think more intentionally about whose stories I’m telling and why. I questioned our obligations as storytellers.
And I learned that doing vox pops on the street continues to be very un-fun, 12+ years into my journo career – and that dogs will interrupt your tape sync no matter how quiet and cute they appear.
What did you learn this year? What did you make? What did you hear? I’d love to know. Hit me up all the usual ways.
Classes, workshops and more
🎉 Newmark J-school’s January Academy includes a few podcast-related classes.
🎉 UnionDocs is hosting Writing for the Ear on 22 January, with Sally Herships.
🎉AIR has launched its latest version of the Guide to Fair Practice for Working with Independent Audio Professionals.
🎉 The Shelter in Place podcast is offering a self-paced online course for audio storytellers.
🎉 AJO Masterclass: Podcast Episode Workshop, a four-part online workshop taught by Claire Tighe, kicks off on 18 January.
Jobs
🍾 Podcast Producer ~ Toptal ~ Remote
🍾 Associate Podcast Producer ~ Al Jazeera ~ Washington DC
🍾 Part-time Producer ~ Gastropod ~ Remote
🍾 Freelance Story Scout ~ Snap Judgement
What I was listening to
Finn and the Bell - Rumble Strip: When I first linked to this in a previous newsletter, I said I had no words, and I probably should just leave it there. But I’ll try to describe why I found this episode so profoundly moving. Erica managed to take something so painful and ephemeral and completely outside of words and render it in sound, in a way you feel in your gut. That makes you feel closer to the razor edge of life. Does audio get better than that? (Was thrilled to see that the latest ep of How Sound is about Finn and the Bell).
Maintenance Phase: What became clear to me in 2021 (another year of too many feels) is that sometimes I don’t want the beautiful, gut-punch audio. Sometimes I need two clever people chatting away in my ears in a very low-stakes, low-emotion way. Enter Maintenance Phase. It’s one of the few podcasts speaking real sense about what I will generously call “wellness culture”, but is usually just wellness nonsense. At a time when traditional healthcare is failing women, trans folks, people of colour, we do need access to better alternatives — but that need is being exploited by tech bros, fat-shamers, Insta influencers and downright snake oil salesmen. I feel so gratified that this podcast exists.
Tape Notes: Now that I’ve crossed a years-long item off my to-do list and finally started learning electronic music production, Tape Notes has been a gift. Love hearing the details of how some of my fave artists make their music. This ep in particular details how wild sound and ambi can be used to incredible effect in music.
The Cut: Loved what The Cut is doing these days — taking an issue an examining it in a new light. Always unexpected.
Thanks for reading and for your support of the newsletter this year! All the best for 2022.