Reddit reviews Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio

My SO just picked up Out on the Wire, but I haven't read it yet.

Glad to share more. Here you go. Let me know if you want even more.

Notes on Storytelling

Websites that teach you how to be a better story teller.

• https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/pixar/storytelling - This is an amazing free class that the makers of Pixar films teach which tells you how to make a compelling story. Great info!
  
• http://training.npr.org - A ton of great information put together by NPR on how to make great radio.
  
• https://transom.org/ - You have to dig for their articles (click ideas) but you can find some really great help here.
  
• http://niemanstoryboard.org/ - tips on writing and stuff
  
• https://airmedia.org/ - Click resources and check out their fantastic articles on making great radio. Their Vimeo account hosts all their past webinars. But what's more, you can join air ($125/yr) which can then connect you with pros in the business. You can find some real talented people to join your project or even just mentor you. I find the mentoring prices here reasonable and will be getting mentorship from them sometime soon!
  
• Video of Ira Glass teaching what he knows about how to be a good story teller.
  
  
  Books on making radio:
  
  
• Out on the Wire taught me different formulas for how to write a good story. I give it 4 stars, it was great!
  
• Sound Reporting is like the NPR handbook. It covers all the different roles people have when making a radio show and goes into detail on how everyone completes their task. Everything from ways to book guests, to what a producer does, to how to sound like you aren't reading on the air. 4 stars too, great book!
  
  
• Reality Radio is a book containing short 1 off stories from many famous radio hosts (mostly from NPR). If you want the audio version that is very much abridged, you can check out these 4 audio clips from different conferences: Reality Radio: Events Reality Radio: Bob Edwards Reality Radio: 7th Ave Reality Radio: Songs
  
  
• Radio Diaries (Free) is both a physical book and I linked to their free book. It teaches you how to turn a personal story into a good radio show. Really great tips here and super quick to read! 5 stars!
  

One book that I am reading through is Story Craft: Complete guide to writing narrative non-fiction. I picked this up after finishing Out on the Wire which focuses on radio storytelling but the techniques still apply.

Buy this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Out-Wire-Storytelling-Secrets-Masters/dp/0385348436
There's a really good chapter about interviewing. And the whole book is just a great cheatsheet on good storytelling, from interview to publishing.

Hey pinkanteater, I did get a reply! It wasn't from Jad unfortunately (the man who produced the specific shows I linked), but nonetheless it was helpful.

So this is the email they sent:

> Hi,

> Thank you for writing in! Your series sounds fascinating, and we're so glad you feel inspired by Radiolab. Unfortunately, the producers are currently extremely busy working on episodes and are not available for interviews. However, I can at least try to answer a few of your questions.

> For audio production, we use a program called Pro Tools. We do all of our editing, sound mixing, and transcription with Pro Tools. There is a wonderful website called Transom that provides plenty of resources for Pro Tools beginners, as well as an array of articles and how-to guides about audio storytelling in general: transom.org. They also offer workshops for burgeoning radio producers— I highly recommend attending! Also, there’s a new graphic novel called Out on the Wire <http://www.amazon.com/Out-Wire-Storytelling-Secrets-Masters/dp/0385348436> about radio storytelling. It’s really detailed and it features Jad, so definitely check it out. Finally, the This American Life—which is a great show if you aren’t familiar with it—website <http://www.thisamericanlife.org/about/make-radio> has some really great resources as well.

> Hope this helps! Best of luck to you on your new series. Keep hustling!

> Best,
> Charu @ Radiolab


I'm more comfortable with Ableton than I am with ProTools, so I'd rather not get into it and stay with Ableton (I assume it's about the same). But I did check out Transom and that gave me some neat ideas on how to get clarity with vocals. (Have not explored it fully though so there's prob a ton on there).

Btw I also highly recommend their episode Limits - just from a storytelling standpoint it's wonderful. I binge on their episodes and I'm assuming you're doing the same now ;D.

Also if you like Radiolab, I feel you might like one of my favorite composers, Nicolas Jaar, more specifically his Nymphs II, and III