Wow, what a week. There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and it’s been pretty weird adjusting. As Gary Janetti posted, “I really enjoyed the five minutes between Covid and World War III” — such a quaint time, I miss it. All this chaos and nuclear anxiety have given me a new appreciation for boredom!
My IRL bestie and Private Parts Unknown co-host Sofiya Alexandra is actually from Ukraine. She grew up in Odessa — the pearl of the Black Sea — before immigrating to the U.S. in 1994. So in light of Russia’s recent invasion, we put together a special homage to her homeland.
In this episode, Sofiya shares her favorite memories and cultural touchstones, why it's Ukraine instead of "the Ukraine" (which undermines the country's sovereignty), and we discuss how this war has made us realize our neglect of other conflict zones.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend On Air Fest in person, but I have to say, the Twitter experience was a satisfying consolation prize. Galen Beebe, formerly of Bello Collective, did some fabulous Twitter reporting. Her coverage gave me a lot to think about, so I'm sharing several of my favorite takeaways with my besties today.
🏆 Anna Sale presented Jad Abumrad with this year's Audio Vanguard Award. Not only did he refer to himself as a "DJ of documentary" (lol), but he also framed his come-up in highly relatable terms. I love this little nugget in particular:
🤔 This whole thread about how the Radiolab finds stories is pretty choice. Here’s an excerpt:
💡 Later in the thread, Galen shares this article by Latif Nassar about how to find "the little shit." I appreciate Latif's tip to follow a lot of email newsletters. Not only do I have a couple of email newsletters myself, but I also subscribe to a ton, and they are such a wealth of inspiration.
📖 Piggybacking on another piece of advice from his article, I recommend requesting a "galley" of an upcoming book. It just means advanced copy, but I've found that using that specific term works a special sort of magic. It landed me an interview with Roxane Gay at the very beginning of my career.
🎤 Effective prompts for Moth stories, essays, and audio storytelling of all stripes:
📰 Perhaps why many of us gravitate toward Today, Explained and other news shows that offer a deeper dive into current events than most articles can:
✨ Plus, insight into Noel King’s recent career change:
🎧 And some industry-vetted listening recs:
See? It’s almost like we ALL got to go to On Air Fest this year. Thanks for taking us along, Galen!
How Independent Companies are Competing with Big Podcast - This week, The New York Times reported on how small podcast shops are finding their way as Hollywood and Silicon Valley increasingly dominate the industry.
Maybe Rethink Branding Yourself a Storyteller - According to a recent study, journalists may lose credibility by referring to themselves as ‘storytellers.’ It’s a common practice, and not everyone shares the negative connotation. However, in an era rife with misinformation, the label is commonly associated with lying and making things up. Yikes — okay, noted!
Senior Producer, Tech Podcast (part-time) at The New York Times | San Francisco, CA
Host/Reporter (full-time) at KDLG Public Radio | Dillingham, AK
Producer, Conviction (full-time) at Gimlet/Spotify | Remote, EST
News Director, Bilingual Spanish and English (full-time) at KZYX | Mendocino County, CA
News Director (full-time) at Interlochen Public Radio | Interlochen, MI
CHAMELEON: WILD BOYS: PART 1: ARRIVAL - This show recommendation came from Lauren Passell. She had me at “I love the pacing.” True crime isn’t usually my genre, but I AM a sucker for a well-told small-town mystery, and this definitely fits the bill.
PODCAST ADVERTISING PLAYBOOK: WHY PROGRAMMATIC PODCAST ADS ARE GOOD FOR PODCASTING - We're planning to switch hosting providers for Private Parts Unknown in the near future and start incorporating programmatic ads at that point. Right now, we just run host-read ads — which is fantastic; we adore our brand sponsors — but, as Heather Osgood explains in this episode, there are some major benefits to programmatic advertising, as well.
THE NEW YORKER RADIO HOUR: MASHA GESSEN AND JOSHUA YAFFA ON THE ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE IN UKRAINE - First, Joshua Yaffa and Masha Gessen spoke with David Remnick about the week's escalation of violence and what Putin's goal might be. Then, Remnick interviews Igor Novikov, who explains how Zelensky's background as an actor and a comedian has given him an advantage in the West's "attention economy." This was an informative listen.
This week's Play It Forward comes from one of our faves, Arielle Nissenblatt! You'd be hardpressed to find someone who listens to more podcasts than Arielle, so you know this recommendation is going to be good. She suggests:
There Are No Girls On The Internet: Joe Rogan and Spotify’s Big Misinfo Problem
“Bridget is incredibly well-versed in this issue. In this episode, she and her guest have a balanced discussion about the Joe Rogan/Spotify situation. And they manage to bring in new info to the conversation.”
I always love hearing from Bridget, and I'm curious about her take on this, so I'm definitely going to add this episode to my listening queue. And, of course, check out Arielle's podcast… the latest ep has an intriguing topic:
Feedback with EarBuds: AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Our Lives
🔥 Hot tip: Y’all need to be submitting for Play It Forward! It's underutilized at the moment, so this is a great time to submit.
➡️ Here’s the link to submit for future editions.
So… ROLL CALL! 🗣
Did you attend On Air Fest this year? What were YOUR favorite takeaways?
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.