Sarah Kate Kramer & Joe Richman
Producers of the Radio Diaries Podcast
Discussion
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Joe Richman
@joediaries · Executive Producer at Radio Diaries
Hi all, Sarah and Joe here from the Radio Diaries. The Radio Diaries is a non-profit organization that gives people audio recorders and asks them to report on their lives for public radio. We’ve worked with all sorts of people – teenagers, prisoners and prison guards, a bra seller, residents of a retirement home, a 16 year old girl boxer who ended up winning an Olympic gold medal… anyone and everyone who has a story to tell! We also do a lot of historical documentaries. We’re based in Brooklyn, NY.
You can subscribe to the Radio Diaries podcast here:
http://www.radiodiaries.org/podc...
Ask away!
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Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
Hey! What podcasts do you listen to?
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Sarah Kate Kramer
@skk_wire · Producer, Radio Diaries
@bentossell I'm a fan of all the Radiotopia podcasts (radiotopia.fm), including 99% Invisible, The Heart, Fugitive Waves, Love & Radio, Theory of Everything, Song Exploder, The Allusionist, The Truth, Strangers, Criminal, Mortified, The Memory Palace...and of course Radio Diaries :) I also listen to a bunch of the Gimlet Shows: Reply All, Start-Up, Mystery Show. Recently I've gotten into podcasts that showcase more experimental work, like Short Cuts from BBC, Imaginary Advice (new fave), Serendipity, Radiotonic, The Organist. The Buzzfeed podcasts are also really fun: Another Round, Internet Exploder. And if I'm in the mood for a round table, Slate's podcasts are great. And...lest I forget, This American Life.
neeharika sinha
@neeeharika · Google, Threadchannel
@joediaries Great podcast. How do you look for people with different background? How does one participate in it.
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Joe Richman
@joediaries · Executive Producer at Radio Diaries
@neeeharika we usually go out looking for our stories rather than have people pitch us. That said... we're always happy to get suggestions for stories or diarists. And of course we try to represent a diverse range - of people, of subjects, of locations, of personalities.
Jacqueline von Tesmar
@jacqvon · Community, Product Hunt ✌️😻
Hey @joediaries & @skk_wire ! I love Radio Diaries and look forward to new episodes to dive into for my commute. So thank you 👏
Do you ever have trouble finding stories to tell? What are the most common ways you find them? What are some of the oddest ways you've found a story?
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Sarah Kate Kramer
@skk_wire · Producer, Radio Diaries
@jacqvon There's no one way we find a story...every time it's different. We often start by finding a great character, and going from there. One of the unusual ways we found a teenage diarist recently is by partnering with the online storytelling platform Cowbird (cowbird.com). While broadcasting our Teenage Diaries Revisited series on NPR, we simultaneously solicited stories from teenagers around the world through Cowbird. We ended up receiving over 800 stories, and picked one diarist out of all those entries. Her story will be airing in 2016. Stay tuned...
Alex Carter
@alexcartaz · Operations @ 60dB. Ex-PH Podcasts 😻
I've heard different figures in the podcast community go back in forth about whether a.) there's lot of a great content for people to listen to vs b.) tons of new podcasts are being created, but a lot of it isn't worth listening to. I think we can all agree the Radiotopia shows are all amazing =), but I'm curious if either of you have opinions or insights you'd like to share on the topic. (I'm personally in the camp that great content abounds, but it's scattered, hard to discover, lacking context, and subjective -- what appeals to me may not appeal to my friends).
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Joe Richman
@joediaries · Executive Producer at Radio Diaries
@alexcartaz I think you're right that it can be hard to discover new great content. But... there is SOOO much. Too much. I don't have time to listen to all the amazing podcasts I want to listen to. I actually wish there was less!
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Sarah Kate Kramer
@skk_wire · Producer, Radio Diaries
@alexcartaz I'm also in the great content camp. But I do think that a lot of the new content being made now is mimicking the existing content. There are a lot of variations on the same theme. It's also true that the most financially efficient way to produce a podcast is what I call the "talking heads" version: a few people in a room talking to each other. But that's not a recipe for really interesting storytelling.
Alex Carter
@alexcartaz · Operations @ 60dB. Ex-PH Podcasts 😻
Do you have any advice for young or aspiring audio producers out there?
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Joe Richman
@joediaries · Executive Producer at Radio Diaries
@alexcartaz My advice is - no matter what else you're doing - have one big labor of love project on the side. It keeps you going through all the other work you may be doing.
Alex Carter
@alexcartaz · Operations @ 60dB. Ex-PH Podcasts 😻
@skk_wire and @joediaries thanks so much for joining us today, this was a delight and it was really insightful too!
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Joe Richman
@joediaries · Executive Producer at Radio Diaries
@alexcartaz Thanks! This was fun. And thanks for all the great questions. Send more anytime to @radiodiaries
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Sarah Kate Kramer
@skk_wire · Producer, Radio Diaries
@alexcartaz It was fun. Also, this is the last day to contribute to the Radiotopia fundraiser! If you like what we're doing, this is a great way to show your support: https://www.commitchange.com/ma/...
Harry Stebbings
@harrystebbings · Podcast Host @ The Twenty Minute VC
@joediaries thanks so much for joining us today! Would love to hear what is the most effective way you use for distributing and promoting the podcast?
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Joe Richman
@joediaries · Executive Producer at Radio Diaries
@harrystebbings Hi, thanks for your question. The Radio Diaries podcast is part of the Radiotopia network. It's really useful to be part of a network and we're thrilled to be one of the founding members of Radiotopia. It's a diverse group of shows, passionate producers, committed and obsessive people. So that part is great. As for promoting the podcast, there are so many ways. But there are also so many podcasts. Getting the attention of listeners is hard. It has helped us a bunch when we have our stories air on other shows and podcasts. Bottom line: people are always on the lookout for good stuff, so the best thing you can do is... produce good stuff!
Corley
@corleyh · COO @ Product Hunt
@joediaries thank you so much for joining us today! Of all of the stories you've listened to and ended up producing into a podcast, what has been the most interesting? And how has listening to all of these stories evolved your perspective?
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Joe Richman
@joediaries · Executive Producer at Radio Diaries
@corleyh It's like choosing your favorite child... I love all of them. But, well, I do have my favorites: our Mandela series, Teenage Diaries Then and Now, The Traveling Electric Chair. And I also really love the podcast that we're putting out today. The story is about the day - Nov 23, 1936 - when two of the greatest musicians made music history in two different studios. They were guitarist Robert Johnson and cellist Pablo Casals. Our story follows both men making their recordings and includes the voices of people who knew and were influenced by those musicians... including Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. (He was probably more influenced by Robert Johnson than by Pablo Casals).
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
@joediaries & @skk_wire Thanks both for being here today 🙌 During your career to date, what has been your a) most challenging moment and how did you overcome it? b) proudest moment and why? c) most surprising moment?
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Joe Richman
@joediaries · Executive Producer at Radio Diaries
@ems_hodge Big questions! Doing journalism and documentary work there are a lot of challenging moments. And with the audio diaries that we do, the percentage of 'challenge' is even higher. You're collaborating with actual real people about their actual real lives. So, you know, it's complicated. But when it works, the payoff is high. I think you overcome storytelling/journalism/producing challenges the same way you overcome most challenges: by just slogging on. Eventually, a path reveals itself.