Go inside the minds of your favorite audio storytellers

Launching a third season, Sound Judgment takes listeners into the studios — and the minds — of your favorite audio storytellers.

Unlike virtually every other show about podcasting, Sound Judgment explores the audio storytelling craft, not the business of podcasting.

In each episode, journalist Elaine Appleton Grant and a top audio creator deconstruct an episode of the guest’s show. It’s not just a revealing conversation about the art and craft of audio storytelling, it’s a sound-rich narrative interview: Grant plays back clips from her guest’s podcast. Together, they explore the storyteller’s creative choices in a “living learning lab.”

In its first year, the critically acclaimed podcast has been called “your online master’s degree in audio storytelling” by Whisper, Speak, Roar Media; “a masterclass in podcasting” by Ear Worthy, and “required listening for our profession” by the supervising podcasting producer at ABC News. Grant made Ear Worthy’s list of the ten best podcast interviewers, just behind Audie Cornish. Tink Media’s Lauren Passell gives Sound Judgment “456654 stars!” and says “The takeaways at the end are hugely valuable.”

Launched on Sept 28th, Season 3 features:

• Classy’s Jonathan Menjivar, of Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios and alum of Fresh Air and This American Life, sharing strategies and self-doubts on the challenge of making a gripping podcast about class in America (September 28)
• Iconic host Anna Sale of Death, Sex and Money, revealing her interviewing and tone-setting techniques (October 12)
• Nikki Boyer, of Wondery’s hit podcast Dying for Sex and Dying for Media/Lemonada’s Near Death on her passion for uncomfortable conversations;
• Showrunner Karen Given of Dear Media’s scam podcast Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story on following a twisty investigation;
• Ronald Young, Jr. on Weight for It, a podcast for fat folks and all folks who can’t keep weight off their minds, from ohitsBigRon studios in partnership with Radiotopia; And many more.

More and more serious creators are eager to improve the quality of their content as the measure of success in podcasting shifts away from downloads to what really matters: listener engagement and loyalty. And they’re seeking as much learning about storytelling and hosting as they can find — especially from the artists they admire the most.

Not only does Sound Judgment provide a valuable “fly on the studio wall” experience to hosts, producers and editors eager to learn from masters of the craft, it serves as a discovery engine. Listeners often binge-listen to the shows to which they’re introduced on Sound Judgment, becoming fans in the process.

Host Elaine Appleton Grant is a magazine journalist (Inc Magazine, Fortune Small Business, AARP The Magazine, US News & World Report) turned award-winning public radio broadcaster and podcast producer (NPR affiliates and Wondery’s Business Wars Daily, American History Tellers and American Scandal).

Sound Judgment is a production of Denver-based Podcast Allies, LLC. Podcast Allies is an audio production and consulting firm offering services to public media, mission-driven organizations, and higher ed. Among Podcast Allies’ credits are podcasts for the Environmental Defense Fund, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the University of Colorado and the Center for Religion, Politics and Culture at Iliff School of Theology.