You can learn a lot from a few simple line drawings! NPR’s Robert Smith explains the structure of audio news stories — from basic to complex.

Helping people listen critically to stories requires more than simply pushing “play.

We can all get better at talking to communities that are not our own. It requires listening, humility and the willingness to investigate our own biases.

Joe Richman gives tape recorders to “ordinary” people and works with them to tell stories about their own lives.

With so many different ways to tell stories, you need this.

A look at NPR’s reporting on the November 2015 terror attacks on Paris.

Infuse documentary-style radio into everyday reporting (even when you think you don’t have the time or material).

The technical production of sound influences the editorial message in a piece.

If you haven’t listened to a story and all of its sonic elements, you haven’t edited it.

Transcend scene-setting clichés. Here is a sampling of ways NPR journalists have done just that.

Wind. Hotel rooms. Riding a luge sled. Prepare yourself for recording in the field under all kinds of conditions.

Journalists can employ techniques music engineers use to quality-check and deliver final mixes.

Loss of your best-interview-ever recording due to a “media error” message from your recorder can be devastating.

Follow this checklist and increase your likelihood of interview success!

Not everything is on YouTube or easily surfaced through Googling. An NPR researcher tells you where else to look.

This is a printable and shareable guide to vox-gathering for NPR.

Active sound makes an audio story sparkle. It is sound that isn’t stuck in the background. It’s up-front. It shows character and action. Here’s how to capture it.

The NPR anchor’s guidance works for any public radio newscaster, in big markets and small.

From pitch to production: Here’s a look at how NPR bureau chiefs take stories through the process.

Note: If you’d like to watch the webinar version of this material, scroll to the bottom of the page. We make dozens of small decisions while writing an audio story.

If a good radio show is like a good dinner party, the a booker is manager of the guest list.

This is the technical lingo you need to know as an audio producer (or someone who talks to audio producers).

The listening app holds lessons — both positive and negative — for intro writers.

Editors, try these questions and suggestions when working with your reporters.

For this correspondent, learning to write for radio required a special style of script-writing.

Among these tips: Have “booty call” sources: They are always available and they know what you need.

Robert Garcia, executive producer of NPR’s Newscast Unit, shares examples of stand-out news spots and why they work.

In laying out a piece, the reporter should look for a story structure that keeps the listener paying attention.

Good copy effortlessly leads the listener from one piece of tape to the next. Find out how to accomplish this feat of writing grace.

Plan a story before going out to report it.

See an actual script, complete with margin comments, from NPR host Ailsa Chang.

Not every broadcast radio script looks the same! But there are elements every script should share. And here they are.

If you are new to radio, this post should help demystify the process. The first step may be the hardest: finding the story.

Longer pieces are not just stretched-out short pieces.

Intros are the most important feature of your story — here’s how to write one.

Back in 2012, ‘All Things Considered’ host Melissa Block and producer Melissa Gray made this story about their own show.

Is there a typical public radio voice — perhaps a “white” voice? Is there room for new and different ways of speaking?

Why is it so hard to write how we talk? Here are some essentials tips to capture the human voice in your radio writing.

This checklist of questions will make your reporter’s story better — and editing it easier.

Let Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle be your guides.

Every story has its own style of adventure. Here are different ways to take listeners on a journey.

If you really want to describe something in a compelling way, you’ll need more than great sound — a surprising, defining moment.

When it comes time to record ambience in the field, it’s important to capture different perspectives. Here are five approaches.