During our interview, I got to ask Jason:

• How he got into public radio and podcasting

• What stories he is driven to tell

• How he and his team navigate telling stories about trauma

• Season 3 of Bear Brook’s opening and main themes

• What surprised him about reporting this season

Be sure to check out Bear Brook: A Private Matter, unfolding right now!

Listen to Bear Brook

If you have comments or questions, we’d love to hear them!

Leave a comment

🗓️ Upcoming #AudioForAction Lives

• Thursday, November 11, from 12:00-12:45 pm ET / 9:00-9:45 am PT - Interview with Charlotte Bayala, host of Narratives of Care.

During our conversation, we covered:

• The organization’s origins and the current health care journalism landscape

• How they measure the impact of their journalism, beyond downloads or reach

• How Tradeoffs proves to funders that their journalism matters

• Their newsroom’s approach to solutions journalism and making complicated policy accessible

• Audience engagement strategy across their different media

I really enjoyed our talk and believe there is a lot others can learn from Tradeoffs about how small rooms can build strong audience relationships and be impactful.

If you have comments or questions, we’d love to hear them!

Leave a comment

Keep up with Tradeoffs at: http://tradeoffs.org/ and @tradeoffspod.

Listen here

Check out their latest series, Hidden Help, an investigative series from Tradeoffs and KFF Health News about how hospitals can protect their patients from the life-altering harms of medical debt.

🗓️ Upcoming #AudioForAction Lives

• TOMORROW, Thursday, October 22nd, from 1:00-1:45 pm ET / 10:00-10:45 am PT - Interview with Jason Moon from Bear Brook.

• Her career in podcasting

• The technology and society conversations that are top of mind today

• Her new audiobook Love at First Prompt and what surprised her during the development process

• How racial identity fits into the conversation about AI and intimacy

• What it means to look to AI to do “care work”

Be sure to listen to Love At First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy if you have not yet. It is truly a thought-provoking listen from one of the leading voices on tech, society, and identity. And for more updates, be sure to follow Bridget on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/.

🗓️ Upcoming #AudioForAction Lives

• Wednesday, October 14th, from 3:00-3:45 pm ET / 2:00-2:45 pm CT / 12:00 - 12:45pm PT - Interview with Kathryn Dugal from Tradeoffs.

• Thursday, October 22nd, from 1:00-1:45 pm ET / 10:00-10:45 am PT - Interview with Jason Moon from Bear Brook.

Hello there!

October is shaping up to be an excellent month.

On the 1st, I interviewed podcast host and creator, Bridget Todd, about her audiobook Love at First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy. The recording for that conversation will be up on Thursday.

And coming up, we have two—that’s right, two!—conversations. One with Kathryn Dugal from Tradeoffs, a health policy focused news outlet, and the other with Jason Moon from New Hampshire Public Radio. You can read on to see what we will be discussing.

Before I “sign off” here, I just want to give myself a little shoutout. This year, I joined New York Women in Film and Television, and I was recently featured on their blog. I’m excited to be in my filmmaker era, and I can’t wait to share more about those projects soon. You can read the profile here or access it from LinkedIn.

-Ayo Oti

Publisher Sounds Like Impact & Host of #AudioForAction Live

🗓️ Wednesday, October 14

Wednesday, October 14th, from 3:00-3:45 pm ET / 2:00-2:45 pm CT / 12:00 - 12:45pm PT, I will be in conversation with Kathryn Dugal, the Director of Marketing & Audience at Tradeoffs. Tradeoffs has an excellent podcast, and their reporting has had an incredible impact, which you can read about in their 2025 Impact Report. We’ll discuss that report, and the challenges and benefits of being a nonprofit newsroom.

Get Reminder

About Tradeoffs

Founded in 2019, Tradeoffs is an independent nonprofit newsroom focused on helping America have smarter, more honest conversations about health policy. Our journalism combines rigorous data and evidence with compelling human stories to make complex health policy issues accessible and relevant to policymakers and the public. Tradeoffs’ reporting has been cited by policymakers at every level of government, incorporated into coursework at more than 70 colleges and universities, and recognized with an Edward R. Murrow Award. Guided by values of transparency, accessibility and rigor, Tradeoffs produces trustworthy, evidence-based journalism that informs critical debates about the future of the U.S. health care system. Learn more at tradeoffs.org.

🗓️ Thursday, October 22

Thursday, October 22nd, from 1:00-1:45 pm ET / 10:00-10:45 am PT I will be in conversation with Jason Moon, this season’s host of Bear Brook podcast from New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR). We will discuss the latest season of the show, which has themes such as working with the police around disappearances, dementia, and familial relationships.

A couple of years ago, Jason submitted a guest curation based on the series he hosted, The Youth Development Center. You can check out that show and find the curation here.

Get Reminder

About Bear Brook

Named one of TIME’s “100 Best Podcasts of All Time” and downloaded more than 40 million times, Bear Brook is the critically-acclaimed true crime podcast from New Hampshire Public Radio’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated Document team. This October, Bear Brook returns for its long-awaited third season, A Private Matter.

In season three, host and award-winning journalist Jason Moon investigates another New Hampshire mystery: A Christmas tree farmer with dementia goes missing. His wife never reports him missing — and it turns out, that’s not necessarily a crime. As the season unravels, Jason explores what happens when family estrangement and the growing dementia crisis conspire to create an epic tragedy of humble proportions, spawning a criminal investigation and a search for answers.

Bear Brook: A Private Matter debuts on October 21, 2026

Listen here

We look forward to you joining us for these sessions! But if you can’t make it live, no problem. Lives are recorded and available for watching afterward. However, if you would like to ask questions—whether for the live or because you can’t attend—please submit in advance by commenting.

Leave a comment

📢 Community Announcements

• Podcasthon 2027: registration is open!

  Podcasthon is the world’s largest charity event in podcasting. During the same week, podcasters around the world each dedicate one episode to a charity of their choice, to raise its profile and bring it new supporters. No fundraising is involved: all it takes is an episode. Last March, 2,800 podcasters from 65 countries took part, in English, French, Spanish and German.
  
  The fifth edition runs from March 13 to 19, 2027. Pre-registration is now open, and this year the goal is to get close to 5,000 podcasts. Any show, whatever its size or topic, can sign up at www.podcasthon.org/register. Registration is free for podcasters and charities alike.

• New podcast series! Narratives of Care: Puerto Rico

  Narratives of Care: Puerto Rico is a new 12-part narrative audio series hosted by Charlotte Bayala, a Puerto Rican podcaster and longtime family caregiver. The series is built from oral histories she recorded with caregivers, families, and experts in Puerto Rico.

  Listen here

  The goal is not to offer caregiving advice. It is to make the work of caregiving more visible by letting listeners hear what families are actually being asked to carry. Across the reporting, themes of migration, distance, family responsibility, home, and belonging surface—especially what happens when the person who needs care and the relatives trying to support them no longer live in the same place.

• In Honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (September)

  Thanks to Gi Silva for sharing the following episode with me, “Facing the Unthinkable: A Mother’s Fight for Her Son’s Life & Healing Through Art” from the video podcast Sweet and Savre with Danielle Savre.

  Did you know that September was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month? I didn’t, but I’m glad that the podcast medium allows for people to share their stories and experiences so that we may be more informed. Check out the episode mentioned above, with actress Karen Macarah, by clicking below.

  Listen / Watch here

Hello!

It’s been a minute. And like a minute, I’ll try to be quick!

• It’s Climate Week in NYC, and to celebrate, I’ve got some podcast recommendations for you at the bottom of this newsletter.

• I’m interviewing THE Bridget Todd. That’s right, Bridget from There Are No Girls on the Internet fame, among other audio ventures. We’ll be talking about her new audiobook, Love At First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy.

• A reminder that you should apply to The Nonfiction Hotlist if you have an audio project. Submit by Friday, September 25th. Learn more about the Hotlist from my recent interview with the co-founder, Neuhaus.

• Oh, and one more thing. I went to Podcast Movement last week, and it was so good to reconnect with former colleagues and make new connections. Resident podcast expert and cool person, , created a roundup of podcasts she discovered at the conference. Check it out!

-Ayo Oti

Publisher Sounds Like Impact & Host of #AudioForAction Live

🗓️ Thursday, October 1

Thursday, October 1, from 4:45-5:30 pm ET / 1:45-2:30 pm PT, I will be in conversation with Bridget Todd about her new audiobook, Love At First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy. We’ll also chat about Bridget’s career in podcasting.

Get Reminder

Read on to learn more about Bridget:

Bridget Todd is an author, creator, host, and producer who crafts compelling digital content and podcasts at the intersection of technology, culture, and identity. She is the creator and host of the critically acclaimed podcast There Are No Girls on the Internet and host of Mozilla’s award-winning podcast IRL: AI in Real Life, which explores the ethical impact of artificial intelligence. A trusted voice in technology, Bridget has worked directly with platforms like Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok to champion safety, equity, and meaningful representation online. Her debut audiobook “Love At First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy” explores human-AI relationships and will be published by Simon & Schuster in July of 2026. Her work on technology, race, and gender has been featured in outlets like The Atlantic, Newsweek, The Nation, and The Daily Show. Bridget is a Technology in the Public Interest Fellow at the MacArthur Foundation and an affiliate at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.

Follow Bridget on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/

We look forward to you joining us for this session! But if you can’t make it live, no problem. Lives are recorded and available for watching afterward. However, if you would like to ask questions—whether for the live or because you can’t attend—please submit in advance by commenting.

Leave a comment

🌳 Climate Week Audio Recommendations ☀️

• A Fighting Chance podcast from Northern California Public Media returned this month from their mid-season break! The host is Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Charles Loi, and the podcast is a companion to his documentary Climate California. The show is available in video and audio format.

  • Tomorrow’s episode features science fiction writer, Kim Stanley Robinson. Robinson’s book, The Ministry for the Future, is so grounded in reality it has the attention of think tanks, scientists, and activists inspiring ideas for innovation and policy. He talks about where his ideas came from and where he thinks humanity is going.

• Speaking of A Fighting Chance, previous guest is co-hosting this season of What If We Get It Right? with Dr. . The focus of this season is mobilizing voters who care about climate to participate in the 2026 midterm elections (Are you registered? If not, get on it and then prepare to vote!). Listen to the podcast, wherever you listen! https://www.getitright.earth/podcast

• Found in PodNews announcements:

  • Green Arenas

  • The Climate Denier’s Playbook

If you live in or can easily visit NYC, here’s a good place to find what events are happening this week: Climate Week Communications Events.

And a special thank you to , , and the rest of the founding team for creating this wonderful space to support nonfiction storytelling. In this spirit of community, don’t keep the Hotlist to yourself! Make sure to share with podcasters and filmmakers alike.

The deadline to apply to The Nonfiction Hotlist is September 25th* (originally 9/9). Don’t delay, submit your application today! ➡️ https://nonfictionhotlist.com/the-2026-hotlist

Follow @nonfictionhotlist on Instagram for additional updates. They are also holding an IG Live Q+A session on Thursday, September 3rd at 5 pm ET / 2 pm PT.

Good luck!

In our conversation we discussed:

• His path into politics

• Why he founded The Lever

• The Master Plan series

• His observations about the media industry’s handling of the current election cycle

• What is making him optimistic, and more!

Check out our conversation and don’t forget to listen to Master Plan and Lever Time, wherever you get your podcasts!

📢 Announcement

• Apply to The Nonfiction Hotlist with your next narrative podcast concept! Submissions for the Hotlist close September 9th. Apply here. And if you have questions about the Hotlist, make sure to join my conversation with co-founder Adam Neuhaus on September 1st! More here. You can also leave questions by tapping the Comment button below.

Comment

This edition doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, and might have wacky formatting, because I’m writing this from my iPad…on vacation.

So I’m going to cut to the chase: On September 1st I’m going to be in conversation with Adam Neuhaus, CEO and co-founder of The Nonfiction Hotlist.

What is this “Hotlist” you ask? Well, you will have to find out by listening! Or you could just…Google! Kidding, more below…

Been noodling on a documentary podcast idea and want further support with development? In the early stages of production but need an extra boost (ahem, “resources”) to keep the project afloat?

Then this might be a list you want to get on. Now, it doesn’t promise to solve all of your problems (like funding), but can get your project visible to those in the industry. Past participants were able to make some great connections, but don’t just take my word for it, hear from Adam!

Full disclosure: I’m going to be a reviewer for this year’s Hotlist and will be a submitter (yes, you can do both, ethically!).

To learn more about the value of The Nonfiction Hotlist in advance of the upcoming deadline on September 9th, join myself and on September 1, 1pm ET / 10 am PT. This conversation is only expected to be about 30 minutes, but if you have questions, we encourage you to join and ask!

Get Reminder

Not a lot of podcasters submitted last year, so it’s strongly encouraged that if you have a project, you consider giving this a shot!

Follow @nonfictionhotlist on Instagram for additional updates.

P.S. My interview with David Sirota drops tomorrow! Stay tuned :-)

Somehow, we made it to the month of August, and I am struggling to understand how we got here so quickly. For some, summer is just about to begin (shoutout to our European friends); for others, it already seems to be ending with back-to-school pronouncements and early summer vacations come and gone.

And then there are people like me: caught in between an end and a beginning. I say in-between, because I’m getting ready to leave for vacation in a few weeks, yet I am lamenting the end of summer with an eye toward the fall.

I started a new job recently, and this work has me very dialed into what is happening in politics, and therefore has made me hyperaware that the midterms and more primaries are coming up. These elections are more important than ever, not just for the U.S., but for the world (I hate to be that person, but please see: Gaza, Iran, Venezuela, even FIFA, and the list goes on...)

These elections will determine whether we get a Congress that continues to rubber-stamp everything that Trump does or one that mounts a resistance. It will determine whether trans girls can play sports and whether local governments put up roadblocks for ICE, as bigoted sentiments continue to fester.

All my feelings are swirling about the state of our world, and our uncharacteristically hot summer has not helped. So, for my only #AudioForAction this month, I am excited to talk to David Sirota, publisher of The Lever and host of the podcasts Lever Time and Master Plan. The reporting coming out of The Lever reminds us where we have been and warns us where we will head if we don’t root out the corruption at the very center of our politics.

More about our conversation can be found below, and I hope you’ll join us.

Until then, enjoy what remains of our Northern Hemisphere summer ☀️

-Ayo Oti

Publisher Sounds Like Impact & Host of #AudioForAction Live

🗓️ Thursday, August 13th

Thursday, August 13th, from 5:45-6:30 pm ET / 3:45-4:30 pm MT / 2:45-3:30 pm PT, I will be in conversation with about the latest season of Master Plan podcast and his always-on show, Lever Time.

Get Reminder

For those who have been with Sounds Like Impact for a few years, you’ll probably recognize David from when I interviewed him when the first season of Master Plan was released.

For those just learning about him for the first time, below are his bona fides:

Learn more about The Lever’s shows below, and join us for a great conversation!

Lever Time

Every week, the people and corporations shaping American life make decisions behind closed doors — influencing everything from health care and housing to taxes, labor, war, and the economy. Most of the time, the real story never makes it into the headlines.

Lever Time – the flagship podcast from the investigative news outlet The Lever – pulls back the curtain on the forces driving the news and the systems quietly shaping everyday life. Hosted by the award-winning journalist, Oscar-nominated writer, and Bernie Sanders’ 2020 speechwriter David Sirota, the show features exclusive reporting from The Lever’s newsroom, high-profile guest interviews, expert analysis, ideas and opinions from the sharpest minds in media and politics.

Listen to Lever Time

Master Plan

In America, a king isn’t crowned. He’s manufactured.

For more than four decades, a small but determined network of lawyers, operatives, and ideologues has worked to transform the U.S. presidency—quietly concentrating power, weakening oversight, and dismantling the constitutional restraints meant to prevent abuse. Their tool was an obscure legal doctrine known as the unitary executive theory. Their goal was to build a presidency powerful enough to dominate the system it was supposed to serve.

Now, in Donald Trump’s second term, that project has fully broken free of theory and into reality.

Master Plan, the multi-award-winning investigative podcast from The Lever, returns with a new season: The Kingmakers. Following a first season that reached over one million listeners, topped podcast charts, and won the 2025 National Press Club Award for Audio Journalism, the series’ second season traces how a fringe constitutional idea became the operating system of American government.

The first half of “The Kingmakers” is available now. The second half premieres August 11 in the free feed.

Listen to Master Plan

We look forward to you joining us for this session! But if you can’t make it live, no problem. Lives are recorded and available for watching afterward. However, if you would like to ask questions—whether for the live or because you can’t attend—please submit in advance by commenting.

Leave a comment

🫂 From Our Friends

Eurowaves, the only European podcasting newsletter and hub, now has a live website! Discover international partners, advertisement opportunities, and more. Subscribe for free on Substack for interviews, industry news, recommendations and opportunities — in your inbox every other Friday.

A recent curation on has all of the Sounds Like Impact vibes. Check out “5 Essential Podcasts About Women’s Health and Medical Advocacy” here: https://newsletter.earbuds.audio/p/5-womens-health-podcast-recommendations

🎙️ Submissions are now open for the International Women's Podcast Awards 2026.
Hosted by , the IWPAs celebrate women's and diverse-gender voices across podcasting and are proudly queer and trans inclusive.

What makes them different?
🌍 Open to creators worldwide
🎧 Both independent creators and major studios welcome
📊 Judged on quality and intention, not downloads
🏆 11 categories including storytelling, comedy, and advertising artistry
💸 USD 50 per entry
💜Scholarship options available
Entries close August 14, 2026.

Submit your work: https://iwpa.podlifeawards.com/categories/iwpa-2026

During our conversation, we discussed:

• Vanessa’s journey to impact producing

• Why audio may be uniquely suited for climate storytelling

• How some Latin American podcasters are approaching environmental storytelling

• Impact projects that came out of the cohort

• Building an ecosystem for collaboration in audio, and what filmmakers can learn

And more! Also, while not part of this program, we mentioned that our previous guests from Radio Workshop received a grant from Doc Society for their climate storytelling impact campaign. You can learn more about their experience in that conversation below!

Please let us know what you think of the conversation, and if you have thoughts on whether climate storytelling resonates more with you in an audio versus visual format.

Leave a comment

📢 Announcement

• Previous Sounds Like Impact guest curator, Betsy Burris of Teaching through Emotions has launched a fundraiser for a rural library in Madagascar. Listen to the bonus episode about the Vahombey Project, and learn more about the fundraiser here. A bonus episode about the initiative drops this Thursday, July 23rd.

Listen to The Corridor

During our chat, we talked about:

• Why "Cancer Alley" is really a story about all of us

• The history behind the crisis that most reporting leaves out

• What it means to ethically report on a community that isn’t where you come from

• Making complex science and policy understandable to a broad audience

• The importance of amplifying resistance and hope in this story

If you haven’t already, listen to The Corridor and let us know what you think! Still have questions, we’ll take those too!

Leave a comment

Other Related Resources

• VS GOLIATH Documentary Film

• Discarded Podcast

• Rise St. James Nonprofit

📢 Announcement

• Tickets for Resonate Cape Town go on sale tomorrow, July 15th (3 pm local / 9 am EST). Resonate already sold out in the U.S., so be sure to expect similar excitement for the first international edition!

Hello!

Tomorrow, the first July #AudioForAction takes place with Jaha Nailah Avery from Threshold podcast. Join us from 12:30-1:15 pm ET / 9:30-10:15 am PT.

And, as previewed in my post last week, coming up on the 14th is a conversation with Doc Society’s Vanessa Cuervo Forero. Learn more about the talk when you continue reading!

-Ayo

Publisher, Sounds Like Impact

🗓️ Tuesday, July 14th

July 14, 2:30-3:15 pm ET / 11:30 am -12:15 pm PT - I will be interviewing Vanessa Cuervo Forero, Head of Latin American Programs at Doc Society. We will discuss Doc Society’s Audio Climate Story Lab Latino América program. About the Lab:

The Audio Climate Story Lab Latin America aims to connect artists and creators of sound narratives from the Latin American region to drive meaningful actions in the fight against climate change. Through a collaborative approach, we seek to strengthen the network of Latin American podcasts and radio projects, promoting the creation of a supportive community that amplifies voices, collective actions and imaginations of an abundant and just climate future for all.

Get Reminder

Learn more about Vanessa below:

Cultural worker, dancer, impact strategist, and field builder based in Bogotá, Colombia. Vanessa connects storytelling and activism to spark social change towards more just and diverse societies. She has designed campaigns, created programs, and developed strategies in collaboration with documentaries, podcasts, and social organizations. Her creative strategies reach the right audiences and collaborators and invite them to be part of the change we want to see.

At Doc Society, she designs and leads labs, programs, and collaborations across Latin America, building strong alliances with cultural organizations in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, and Brazil, while supporting documentary filmmakers and podcasters throughout the region.

If you have questions for Vanessa about her career, or Doc Society’s audio program, please leave a comment below or make sure to join live!

Leave a comment

July is coming in hot! Literally…NYC is set to experience the heat wave conditions that Europe has been experiencing of late. Please everyone, no matter where you are, take care during conditions like these.

Drink water - carry hydration packets - limit activities outdoors - know where cooling centers are - look out for your elderly neighbors and relativies - keep young kids indoors or in the shade - advocate for renewable energy and robust, and just, climate policy (okay, not an immediate action, but think long-term!).

Speaking of science (implied), in case you missed it, I spoke with an old colleague last week about science communication through audio and experiences. Check out my conversation with Dr. Zakiya Whatley below.

Coming up this month I have guests who have created, or stewarded, climate-related projects. From North America to South America, we are digging into the stories tied to our changing climate and fighting environmental injustice.

-Ayo Oti

Publisher Sounds Like Impact & Host of #AudioForAction Live

From the #SLICommunity

STARTING TODAY!

The 30-Day Podcast Challenge from and Well It Depends Labs is a month-long, action-oriented experience designed to help podcast hosts improve their shows by completing one small, practical task each day. Covering everything from craft and audience growth to monetization and long-term momentum, each daily prompt takes just a few minutes to complete —making it easy to build better podcasting habits without feeling overwhelmed.

Attention New Yorkers! An IRL food experience from a podcast

Our New York Table, created by Diane Bezucha, is a “podcast about food, the people who make it, and what brings all of us to the table.” What’s great about this show is Diane has been piloting an experiential element. They recently hosted a Nigerian cooking class and storytime for kids at the Brooklyn restaurant Buka, whose founders were interviewed this season. The next event on July 18th is a Persian Sofreh hosted by a season 2 guest. Learn more here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/persian-sofreh-night-in-harlem-tickets-1990914552019

🗓️ Thursday, July 9th

Thursday, July 9th, from 12:30-1:15 pm ET / 9:30-10:15 am PT I am speaking with journalist Jaha Avery about the latest season she hosted of the Threshold podcast, “The Corridor.”

Get Reminder

Over seven episodes, The Corridor examines how Louisiana became a center of industry and an epicenter of disease, with some communities facing cancer risks among the highest in the nation. Everything that’s happening in the industrial corridor today has been shaped by history - from slavery and segregation to huge technological breakthroughs and environmental change. Across the series, we explore how residents have pushed back - against the destruction of their past, the construction of more plants, the lax enforcement of environmental regulations, and further harm to people’s health as they seek to claim their right to a prosperous and healthy future.

Learn more about Jaha below:

Jaha Nailah Avery is an African American woman and proud Southerner. Hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, she received her law degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied constitutional and civil rights law. She spent several years in the startup tech space before embarking on her professional writing career, and her work can be found in Essence Magazine, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, and more. Her aim is to always document, celebrate, and preserve the stories of Black people, communities, and history. In her first book, Those Who Saw The Sun, she interviewed survivors of Jim Crow and compiled their accounts together in one collection. Her second book, I Heard, is an illustrated poem spanning over 400 years of Black history. She is the originator, host, and director of The Corridor, a Tribeca-selected investigative podcast focusing on the history of Cancer Alley outside New Orleans.

If you have questions for Jaha about her career, or this season of Threshold, please leave a comment below or make sure to join live!

Leave a comment

🗓️ Upcoming #AudioForAction Lives

• July 14, 2:30-3:15 pm ET / 11:30 am -12:15 pm PT - Interview covering the Audio Climate Story Lab Latino América with Vanessa Cuervo Forero, Head of Latin American Programs at Doc Society

Get Reminder

During our chat, we talked about:

• How she fell in love with science and ended up Dr. Zakiya Whatley

• How she ended up in podcasting

• What she’s been up to in addition to Dope Labs

• Finding funding for science-related shows

• Teaching science and media literacy to young people

Tell us what you think! Are you curious about how to teach science to adults and young people? Do you want to know how to make an engaging science podcast? Let us know!

Leave a comment

Keep up with Zakiya’s work:

• SciComm Summer Camp is a three-week live virtual program where students in grades 6–12 build and present their own podcast episode. If you’ve got a teen in your life (grades 6–12), this one’s worth a look. SciComm Summer Camp is a three-week live virtual program where students take a science topic they’re curious about and turn it into a real podcast episode — researching, scripting, recording, editing in Descript, and presenting it live to an audience they invite. It’s audio as a skill for thinking clearly and being heard, taught by a PhD scientist and University of Maryland science-communication instructor.

  • Session 2 runs July 14 – August 1, 2026, live on Zoom, capped at 12 students. See what a day looks like: scicommlaunchpad.com/what-happens-at-camp

• Listen to Dope Labs podcast

• Listen to Breakthrough by Boston Children’s Hospital

• Upstream Solutions - Zakiya’s Company

  We help experts — individuals and organizations — make what they know demonstrable, shareable, and actually usable. Sometimes that’s a podcast. Sometimes it’s a training program, a grant that gets funded, a career pivot, a documentation system. The format follows the problem, not the other way around.

• Learn more about Zakiya at http://www.zakiyawhatley.com

🗓️ Upcoming #AudioForAction Lives

• July 9, 12:30-1:15 pm ET / 9:30-10:15 am PT - Interview with Jaha Avery, host of Threshold podcast season: The Corridor.

Get Reminder

📢 Announcement

• Join the 30-Day Podcast Challenge kicking off July 1st! 30 days of practical, actionable prompts to help you build a better podcast — one small improvement at a time. Led by .

Armchair Adventures is a fun-packed, adventure-filled podcast for kids aged 6-8. In each episode you can act, sing and move-along as you embark on a brand-new adventure. You’ll visit magical places, meet extraordinary people and understand the world around you a little better.

Listen

Andy Smith is the Artistic Director of Made by Mortals – the production company for Armchair Adventures, and Vic Elizabeth Turnbull is the Marketing Consultant for Armchair Adventures & Founder, MIC Media.

During our talk, we discussed:

• The kids podcast landscape

• The show’s unique intergenerational approach

• How the show evolved from season 1 to 6

• Partnering with community organizations and charities to develop content

• Marketing and distribution for kids’ shows

• And more!

Take a listen to our conversation and let us know what you think or share what questions you still have about making shows for kids!

Leave a comment

Also, Armchair Adventures will be partnering with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust on an episode. Learn more about the Trust from my newsletter spotlight last month.

Follow Armchair Adventures on: Facebook | Instagram

Keep up with the work of: Made by Mortals | MIC Media

🗓️ Upcoming #AudioForAction Lives

• TODAY! 6/24/26, 2-2:45 pm ET / 11-11:45 am PT / 7-7:45 pm BST - Interview with Zakiya Whatley about science communication in podcasting and beyond.

  Join the conversation!

Hello!

Can you believe we are more than halfway through June!? Time is truly flying. I’m excited to have scheduled one more #AudioForAction Live conversation before the end of the month, which you will learn more about below.

But before we get into that, I want to call your attention to a couple of things:

• Drilled Media put out an article recently called “Climate Media’s Philanthropy Problem.” I highly recommend the read and also encourage you to check out the conversation I had with Jordan Gass-Poore’ and Andrea Learned about challenges and opportunities that climate and environmental podcasts face.

• Editaudio is becoming a nonprofit! Editaudio’s founder and CEO Steph Colbourn was interviewed on #AudioForAction Live alongside Camille Laurente, co-founder and CEO of Hueman Group Media. If you can, support their GoFundMe campaign to help their nonprofit transition, and check out our conversation if you haven’t already!

This year, I am a judge for the Signal Awards! I’ve been judging the Anthem Awards for social impact for the past three years, so I’m excited to add judging for podcasts exclusively!

The Final Entry Deadline for the 5th Annual Signal Awards is next week!

Once a year, The Signal Awards Judging Academy listens across thousands of hours of podcasts to identify the strongest work shaping the medium. Submit your best work by Friday, June 26, and give your podcast the chance to be recognized among the year’s award-winning work.

🗓️ Wednesday, June 24

Wednesday, June 24th, from 2:00-2:45 pm ET / 11:00-11:45 am PT I will be in conversation with Dr. Zakiya Whatley about her science communication work in audio and live events.

Dr. Whatley is the founder of Upstream Solutions, where she works at the intersection of expertise and impact to help individuals and organizations close the gap between what they know and what the world can understand and use. Some may know her from co-hosting and co-creating the show Dope Labs or from hosting Breakthrough from the Boston Children’s Hospital.

If you are curious about using audio for science communication, you won’t want to miss this conversation!

Get Reminder

We look forward to you joining us for this session! But if you can’t make it live, no problem. Lives are recorded and available for watching afterward. However, if you would like to ask questions—whether for the live or because you can’t attend—please submit in advance by commenting.

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Some of the things we discussed include:

• Why Saadia started Immigrantly

• Building a media ecosystem

• Finding funding in our current environment

• Audio vs. pivot to video

• Creating an app that helps people belong

We would love to hear your thoughts and questions!

Leave a comment

Check out Immigrantly Media online:

• Website: http://immigrantlypod.com

• Belonging–On Your Own Terms (BOYOT) App: http://studio.com/saadia

🗓️ Upcoming #AudioForAction Lives

• 6/24/26, 2-2:45 pm ET / 11-11:45 am PT - Interview with Zakiya Whatley about science communication in podcasting and beyond.

Get Reminder

We look forward to you joining us for this session! But if you can’t make it live, no problem. Lives are recorded and available for watching afterward. However, if you would like to ask questions—whether for the live or because you can’t attend—please submit in advance by commenting.

Leave a comment

It’s officially summer vibes in the Northern Hemisphere, and it’s almost time for the world to watch “the beautiful game,” or the World Cup. ⚽️

Soccer, or more appropriately, football, is one of the ways that I connected with my immigrant father growing up. He took me to practices and games from elementary school to high school. A vivid memory I have is spending a Saturday at my middle school’s soccer field practicing penalty kicks with him. He’d take off his shoes, bare feet touching the grass and exhibiting strength to pass or kick without protection, and give me pointers.

There is still a lot I feel like I don’t know about my dad, but one thing I do know is that he is happiest and funniest when speaking his mother tongue and returning to where he grew up.

I often think that those who villify immigrants don’t realize what they give up, but I love that for just a time, billions of us will put aside cultural differences to be part of a global fandom.

June is Immigrant Heritage Month, and it also happens to be Caribbean Heritage Month (relevant to me on my mom’s side). For these two cultural months, I’m excited to have on #AudioForAction Live an entrepreneur who is building a company sharing immigrant perspectives.

And for the kid that hopefully still lives inside of us, for the parents, and for the caregivers, I look forward to having my first conversation with a kids podcasting team.

Read on to learn more about what’s coming up this month!

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🗓️ June 9th

Tuesday, June 9th, from 1-1:45 pm ET / 10-10:45 am PT, I will be in conversation with Saadia Khan, the founder of Immigrantly Media. We will be discussing what it has been like to building a company focused on sharing immigrant narratives, as well as entrepreneurship in the current media landscape.

Get Reminder

🗓️ June 16th

Tuesday, June 16th, from 10-11 am ET / 3-4 pm BST (British Summer Time), I’ll be speaking with Andy Smith, Artistic Director of Made by Mortals – the production company for Armchair Adventures, Vic Elizabeth Turnbull, Marketing Consultant for Armchair Adventures & Founder, MIC Media.

Armchair Adventures is a fun-packed, adventure-filled podcast for kids aged 6-8. In each episode you can act, sing and move-along as you embark on a brand-new adventure. You’ll visit magical places, meet extraordinary people and understand the world around you a little better.

We'll cover creating podcasts for kids, the show's intergenerational approach, and building audience engagement.

Get Reminder

We look forward to you joining us for these sessions! But if you can’t make it live, no problem. The lives will be recorded and available for watching afterward. However, if you would like to ask questions—whether for the live or because you can’t attend—please submit in advance by commenting.

Leave a comment

Some of the things we discussed include:

• How they got into audio and impact

• Radio Workshop’s approach to storytelling

• The South African just transition

• What an impact campaign is

• How they built the campaign for “Just Enough Light”

Have you ever created an impact campaign? Chime in about your experience in the comments. And if you have questions about how to build one, let us know!

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More Resources:

• Power to Change: Learning Brief (“Just Enough Light” impact campaign case study)

• How to host a “Listening Party”

• Radio Workshop (FREE) tools and guides

• Climate Story Fund

• Impact Production Guide

And, as Dhashen mentioned, Radio Workshop is partnering with Resonate Podcast Festival to host a festival in Cape Town, February 19-20, 2027. Tickets go on sale July 1st. Learn more about the Resonate Podcast Festival in Cape Town.

🗓️ Upcoming #AudioForAction Lives

• Thursday, June 9th, 1-1:45 pm EST / 10-10:45 am PST Founder & CEO / Host Saadia Khan on building Immigrantly Media.

Get Reminder

• Thursday, June 16, 10-11 am EST / 3-4 pm GMT+1 Andy Smith, Artistic Director of Made by Mortals (creator of Armchair Adventures) and Vic Elizabeth Turnbull, Marketing Consultant for Armchair Adventures & Founder, MIC media on creativity in kids podcasting.

Get Reminder

Welcome to Sounds Like Impact!

On Monday, I interviewed Radio Workshop’s Dhashen Moodley and Clémence Petit-Perrot about the impact campaign they created for the podcast episode “Just Enough Light.” I will publish that recording next week.

On that note, I can’t believe June is almost here! We are finished with this month’s Substack Lives, but they will return in June. The following are currently scheduled:

• Thursday, June 9th, 1-1:45 pm EST / 10-10:45 am PST Founder & CEO / Host Saadia Khan on building Immigrantly Media.

Get Reminder

• Thursday, June 16, 10-11 am EST / 3-4 pm GMT+1 Andy Smith, Artistic Director of Made by Mortals (creator of Armchair Adventures) and Vic Elizabeth Turnbull, Marketing Consultant for Armchair Adventures & Founder, MIC media on creativity in kids podcasting.

Get Reminder

We hope you will join these conversations. As always, please submit questions you have for the guests.

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Read on to look back on some of the conversations we have had to date (questions and comments are still welcome!) and to learn about Cystic Fibrosis from the podcast CForYourself.

🖥️ #AudioForAction Lives (To Date)

So far I’ve hosted 11 #AudioForAction interviews! If you missed any of them, I hope you will go back and listen.

Please note: We also had an #AudioForAction Live with Lisa Koolhoven and Kristen Hayford about the podcast Beb & Bob. Unfortunately, Substack glitched, and cut the recorded interview in half (it picks up from the second half). I will be working with Lisa and Kristen to answer some questions in a written follow-up interview to come at a later date.

📣 Spotlight

In each episode of CForYourself, host Lucy Baxter has a (virtual) cup of tea and a chat with experts and others in the cystic fibrosis community. They talk openly and honestly about a whole range of topics, from exercise and employment to parenting and mental health.

CForYourself is all about sharing honest insights into life with cystic fibrosis, the good, the bad, and everything in between.

Listen to CForYourself

Cystic Fibrosis Trust is the only UK-wide charity dedicated to uniting for a life unlimited for everyone affected by cystic fibrosis. The Trust funds cutting-edge research, provides confidential advice, support, and information on any aspect of cystic fibrosis, including help with financial support.

Visit www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk to find out more about cystic fibrosis, the work of the Trust, and how you can help.

This month is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month in the United States. You can learn more about CF in the United States through the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.