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Its also worth noting that podcast translation efforts also arent limited to the big platforms and corporations.
Staying with iHeart…I found this Slate pieceon Charlamagne tha God by Rachelle Hampton really compelling.
Podcasts are included nowadays as well, of course.
No real surprises here, frankly.
On a separate note…Hmmm.
FromVariety: All Arts Organizations Are Media Companies Now: How the Pandemic Is Transforming Theater.
All of which is to say, Im eager to see what elseTheAtlanticplans to do with its audio department.
Well soon get the chance to see if that potential converts.
You know, the usual stuff.
Lots of journalistic organizations do that, butTheAtlanticdoes it with a sort of earnest dignity that I relate to.
One is, well, we love audio, and we know audiences love it too.
But we also had the sense that a lot of the things we do are quite suited for audio.
So we felt like this was a really important moment for us to start a new project like this.
Its a moment that specifically calls for the things we atTheAtlanticare especially good at.
HP: How would you describe the kinds of stories youre looking to tell withThe Experiment?
Wells: Oh, you know a great narrative with interesting characters that serves an idea or argument.
Its not just a great yarn, and its not an opinion piece.
Its a story that reveals something larger about the way our society and systems work.
HP: A full documentary a week, basically.
HP: Why partner with WNYC?
I love WNYC, and I know they share our journalistic values.
I suppose I was just hoping for more difference.
What is the style, tone, and sound that best serves these people and this podcast?
HP: Looking beyondThe Experiment, what else should we expect from the audio department atTheAtlantic?
Were also hoping to build out some shows in the conversational format as well.
But right now, were still at the very early stages of thinking all that through.
HP: Will any of that thinking apply to critics on staff too?
Wells: Oh yes, that definitely applies.
Im using the term reporter pretty broadly.
I just mean staff writers in general.
We want to explore all types of options.
HP: One last question, and this is mostly aboutFloodlines.
Im curious to hear about your experience launching that show from a project management standpoint.
What was the launch period like for you?
Wells: Oh man, we launched on a cursed day.
There were plans to do all these launch events, too.
We were supposed to be at SXSW.
It was a crazy thing that was happening.
Everybody was freaked out about the pandemic, theyre not listening to longform podcasts right now.
We knew, though, that this was a timeless story.
When we were making the show, wed get asked, Why revisit Katrina now?
And Vanns contention was that Katrina was a template in some ways.
It was these patterns that played out over and over again.
Its been shocking to see how the same things played out with the pandemic.
This is all to say: yes, March, what a very stressful time for us all.
HP: Are you able to comment on download numbers for the show since launch?
Wells: Honestly, I havent even checked it in a long time.
So I dont know right now.
HP: Thats quite a flex.
I dont know a lot of podcast people who would attest to not religiously checking download numbers.
Wells: Oh, no no.
Im as vain as everyone else.
I just havent checked it in a long time.
It will be as relevant ten years from now as it is now.
So I guess Im not so worried about the numbers in the short term.
Speaking of elite media institutions…in case you missed it, Ezra Klein and Lauren Williamsare leaving Vox.
Two makes a strategy, no?
Their most recent season is still on-going.
Share, leave a review, so on.
These scenes unspool as a series of connected sketches with a squelchy, twisted sense of humour.
Nothing could be more perfect for 2020, in my opinion.
The Sink, however, is Hodgsons first solo writing project for audio.
I asked her what it was like translating her style from her theatre work.
You start every sketch with absolutely no idea whats going on, and anything could be anything.
Its such a beautiful blank canvas to gently, gently lead people down.
The growing popularity of ASMR content also fed into her process forTheSink.
Session one is simply titled Wet Ham Slice, for instance.
People are falling asleep to it, which I absolutely love.
This is something shes very proud of.
Sending people to sleep and then waking them up terrified feels to me like the perfect 2020 audio achievement.
