14: Audio Storytelling in the Time of Corona

Coronavirus has made life a little tougher for a lot of podcasters and audiophiles, who now find themselves managing teams remotely and recording in their closets. It has also awakened others to the value and necessity of audio storytelling.

Jonaki Mehta (https://twitter.com/jonakimehta), a Producer for All Things Considered (https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/), shares some of the challenges that have come with covering a pandemic, how they at ATC now source their stories and what they have done with all their pre-corona stories.

Rob Dozier (https://twitter.com/robardzr) the Producer of My Well Minute (https://www.amazon.com/The-New-York-Times-Minute/dp/B084T6XLQG) by Smart Speaker, Alexa and the New York Times discusses the new factors he has had to consider now that they don’t have a studio. He speaks to the difficulties of guiding and producing for a host remotely and explains how their production schedule has changed.

Tim Howard (https://twitter.com/newtimhoward), the Executive Producer of Reply All (https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all), gives a look into how the team has adapted to remote working and social distancing, how they maintain morale, and the exhausting weight of dealing with a pandemic while still trying to work. Tim shares the importance of communication and connection as a team, both in and out of work, and the critical need to put your mental health first.

This episode is brought to you by Bear Radio. Big thanks to RØDE for the sponsored equipment and to our friends and family for their enthusiasm to share their stories.

Please share your own stories, both fun and not, to [e-mail] and while you’re at it, a donation of any sort would be much appreciated, the link is PayPal.me/bearradio - all donors will receive a loving shoutout in the next episode.