Make Noise

December 15, 2019
Podcasts are a dime a dozen, but how do you make one worth listening to? Nuzum, whose extensive podcasting background includes time at NPR and Audible, presents both a big-picture view and the nitty-gritty of creating good audio, regardless of the topic. The key is to tell a story, which is anything but simple. He details some of his podcast pet peeves, like fetishizing quirky characters, then walks readers through creating a 10-word description of their project, complete with a list of forbidden, banal words (like thoughtful and unique). He breaks down types of podcasts and qualities of a good interview, and offers techniques for editing a transcript to maximize narrative flow. He delves into the many facets of audience-building, from marketing your podcast to pitching it to a network, and he offers wisdom born of experience on managing teams of creative people. The conversational tone makes his instructions approachable for podcasters at any stage. Though not written specifically for organizations (rather than individual podcasters), his advice will appeal to businesses that want to capitalize on the podcast boom.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)