Audio producers and knuckleballs

Whenever I’m sent on an assignment where I’m going to be working outside my comfort zone, I open my podcast app to Howsound, produced by Rob Rosenthal.

Every episode tackles a different area of audio storytelling, from writing to gathering interviews from people who’ve just experienced trauma to structuring a series, always using real-life examples and usually supplemented by interviews with the people who created those examples. I take notes and try to incorporate their tips and ideas into my work.

Howsound is produced in part by Transom.org, which is itself a great resource for learning about the tools and craft of radio, from gear reviews to interviews and essays. I’ve learned a lot from it.

I also like to listen to the workshops that are posted by the Third Coast International Audio Festival , and episodes of Tape.org and Broadcasting Canada, all of which feature some of the best people in the business breaking down their methodology and trade secrets which, of course, aren’t really secrets because it seems like everyone in radio is really generous with their ideas and knowledge.

It reminds me of a quote from baseball pitcher R.A. Dickey I found via Austin Kleon:

“Knuckleballers don’t keep secrets. It’s as if we have a greater mission beyond our own fortunes. And that mission is to pass it on, to keep the pitch alive.“

He theorizes one reason might be that the pitch is so different, which is how I kind of feel about audio producers. There is glamour in creating movies and music, but we gravitate to this world that’s sort of a mix of the two, divorced of most of the celebrity that goes along with it. And all we want to do is pass that pass it on.