Hey Friends. I know there are old geezers out there. Seasoned audio makers who listen to Sound School. 

There are many newbies and early career producers who subscribe to the show, too. It’s you who I want to talk to for a moment. 

For many years, Transom offered workshops around the U.S. I used to teach them. Transom Traveling Workshops they were called. A week long and very intense. You hit the ground on day one and immediately start running producing a story. Typically a profile of someone. And you don’t stop until seven days later when you play the finished story at a public event. The workshops were like an Outward Bound ropes course for audio producers. 

In the wake of Covid, the workshops took some time off. And now they’re back. 

In 2025, Transom ran several Traveling Workshops. Several more are on the docket in 2026. In places like Catalina Island… Bloomington, Indiana…. Interlochen, Michigan, and elsewhere. 

David Weinberg teaches them. As he should. David taught right along with me for many years. And he’s an accomplished producer. Given that experience, he’s an excellent guide for people looking to level up their storytelling and production skills. 

Make a Transom Traveling Workshop your New Year’s resolution. Everything you need to know is at Transom dot org. 

For inspiration, I’ve dusted off an archive episode of Sound School from 2019. Back when the show was called HowSound. It features two stories from a Transom workshop in Nashville, Tennessee. My sense is you’ll be amazed when you hear what two new producers were able to do out on the radio ropes. 

Here’s the archive episode. 

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FROM PRX AND TRANSOM, THIS IS HOWSOUND, THE BACKSTORY TO GREAT RADIO STORYTELLING. I’M ROB ROSENTHAL. 

ON THIS EPISODE OF HOWSOUND, A COUPLE OF REALLY SOLID STORIES – I MEAN SOLID! ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CONSIDER THEY WERE PRODUCED BY NEW RADIO MAKERS IN A WEEK. 

BACK IN JANUARY, I WAS TEACHING ONE OF TRANSOM’S TRAVELING WORKSHOPS AT NASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIO AND I CRINGED WHEN ONE OF THE STUDENTS ASKED IF SHE COULD PRODUCE A NON-NARRATED STORY MEANING NO REPORTER’S VOICE, JUST SOUND. I CRINGED BECAUSE NON-NARRATED STORIES ARE WICKED HARD TO MAKE – FOR A BUNCH OF REASONS. 

HERE’S JUST ONE REASON THIS IS SO DARN DIFFICULT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE ALL THE TAPE TO TELL THE STORY. NOT JUST SOME OF IT, ALL OF IT BECAUSE THERE’S NO NARRATOR TO FILL IN THE GAPS. 

BUT SHE SAID SHE RECORDED ABOUT TWO AND HALF HOURS OF TAPE. AN HOUR AND A HALF INTERVIEW AND ABOUT AN HOUR OF ACTIVE TAPE. SO, IT’S POSSIBLE SHE HAD EVERYTHING SHE NEEDED BECAUSE THAT’S A PRETTY GOOD AMOUNT OF TAPE TO WORK WITH. 

BUT, THEN I WAS WORRIED THAT SHE DIDN’T COLLECT THE TAPE THE RIGHT WAY - WITH A NON-NARRATED PIECE IN MIND. IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU’RE GOING TO PRODUCE A NON-NARRATED STORY, IT HELPS TO KNOW THAT GOING IN. THAT WAY YOU LISTEN REALLY HARD TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE ANSWERING QUESTIONS FULLY AND IF THEY AREN’T, YOU ASK THE QUESTIONS AGAIN. YOU ALSO HAVE TO ASK QUESTIONS THAT PROVIDE THE SAME INFO A NARRATOR WOULD PROVIDE. AND, LIKE I MENTIONED, IT HAS TO BE USABLE. YOU KNOW, SPOKEN IN COMPLETE SENTENCES. 

FURTHER THERE WAS NO TIME TO GO BACK AND GET MORE, IF SHE DIDN’T HAVE USABLE TAPE. 

BUT MAYBE MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WANTED HER TO LEAVE THE WORKSHOP WITH A COMPLETED STORY. NOT JUST A LESSON IN HOW TO MAKE AN INCOMPLETE, NON-NARRATED PIECE. 

SO, I EXPLAINED THE PITFALLS. BUT SHE FELT CONFIDENT SHE HAD WHAT SHE NEEDED. OR DARN CLOSE ANYWAY. SO, I SAID “ALRIGHT. GIVE IT A WHIRL.” AND, MAN OH MAN, I’M SOOO GLAD SHE DID. 

THE STORY IS ABOUT A STUDENT IN AN ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM. CARIAD HARMON IS THE PRODUCER. SHE CALLS THIS “THE TREE.” 

The piece – “The Tree”

LOVELY. JUST LOVELY. “THE TREE” BY CARIAD HARMON. 

CARIAD WROTE AN INSIGHTFUL ESSAY ABOUT HOW SHE MADE THAT. SO INSIGHFTUL, YOU’D THINK SHE’D BEEN PRODUCING STORIES FOR YEARS. HER ESSAY IS AT TRANSOM.ORG. IT’S WELL WORTH THE READ. 

THIS IS HOWSOUND. I’M ROB ROSENTHAL. HOW ‘BOUT ANOTHER FROM THE ROAD, EH? AND, LET’S JUST STAY AT THE NASHVILLE WORKSHOP.

THIS NEXT ONE IS FROM NICHOLAS PHILLIPS. HE REPORTS FOR THE MISSOURI LAWYERS WEEKLY. THIS IS NICK’S FIRST RADIO STORY EVER. AND, HE’LL TELL YOU WHAT THE PROBLEMS ARE. IT DRAGS IN THE MIDDLE. THE NARRATION COULD HAVE BEEN TIGHTER. AND IT COULD USE OTHER VOICES. AND, HE’S RIGHT. AND, I’D ADD HE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE MIC IN CLOSER TO THE PERSON HE WAS INTERVIEWING. BUT, LOOK. YOU’LL ALSO HEAR GOOD WRITING. A GREAT STORY STRUCTURE. NICE MIXING AND EDITING. AND, YOU’LL HEAR IT’S PRETTY CLEAR, NICK NEEDS TO MAKE MORE RADIO. HERE’S HIS STORY.

The piece – Peter One, African country music

So, there you have it. An archive episode of Sound School featuring two stories produced at the Transom Traveling Workshop in Nashville, Tennessee back in 2019. 

Cariad Harmon, who produced the story about Robert who was learning to read, she went on to be a prolific audio producer. Stories she made aired on NPR, Nashville Public Radio, and The Big Ponder podcast. These days Cariad’s doing a lot of work with Great Feelings Studios run by Jakob Lewis, another Transom grad. 

As for Nick. Well, he never left his work as a print reporter to come over to the dark side to work in audio. Too bad because clearly he was promising. But, Saint Louis Magazine has been lucky to have Nick as senior editor for many years. 

As for Peter One, the musician Nick profiled. He put out an album in 2023. And, he played at NPR’s Tiny Desk.  

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There’s something new at Transom. A call to action, really. “The Listeners.” 

It’s a brand new project at Transom, part of the Transom Story Lab. The idea of “The Listeners” is to foster and promote stories that, as Transom puts it “honor ordinary lives with depth and artistry… challenge assumptions about place and people… and show neighbors as more complex than you might assume.” 

Transom’s looking for story pitches that fit these guidelines and they’re also hoping to highlight work you may have already produced that resonates with this sense of purpose.

Read about “The Listeners” at Transom dot org. And, if you want an example of what this all means, hear for yourself. A new work from Scott Carrier. It’s called “Old La Sal.” A story about his corner of the Utah desert. Classic Scott Carrier. 

Find everything at Transom dot org. 

I’m grateful to Genevieve Sponsler, Jay Allison, Jennifer Jerrett, and Sophie Crane for their help with this podcast which is brought to you by PRX and Transom. 

I’m Rob Rosenthal. Thanks a zillion for listening to Sound School. 
  
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