Bravery is the theme of Sound Judgment’s fourth season, launching January 31. The season features Lauren Chooljian and Alison MacAdam of The 13th Step; Jess Shane of Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative; Emily Silverman of The Nocturnists; Lindsay Graham of American History Tellers and American Scandal; Todd Henry of Daily Creative; Maribel Quezada Smith of The Pulso Podcast; and many more.

February 1, 2024 — In its fourth season, the critically acclaimed podcast Sound Judgment explores the roles fear, honesty and bravery play in the work of today’s top audio storytellers.

Whether facing retaliation for investigating the addiction treatment industry, like The 13th Step, or challenging a profession’s ethics like Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative, examining shame in medicine like The Nocturnists, or scrapping 18 years of work to start over like Daily Creative, this season will help listeners overcome fear and inspire creative courage.

Launching January 31, Season 4 features:

• The Pulso Podcast’s Maribel Quezada Smith, on making the hardest episode of her life, about the birth of one twin and the death of another (January 31)
• Chart-topping host Lindsay Graham on the challenges of making History Daily, and on continuing to grow American History Tellers and American Scandal (February 14)
• The Nocturnists’ Emily Silverman, on the paralyzing difficulty of taking a test that will determine the course of your life (February 28)
• The 13th Step’s Lauren Chooljian and Alison MacAdam, on creating the narrative arc of a compelling investigation of the addiction treatment industry
• Jess Shane of Radiotopia’s Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative, on her wild experiment that questions the journalistic “rules” of documentary-making
• And many more.

About Sound Judgment

Sound Judgment takes listeners into the studios — and the minds — of your favorite creators to answer the question, “What does it take to become a beloved audio storyteller?”

Unlike virtually every other show about podcasting, Sound Judgment explores the audio storytelling craft, not the business of podcasting. “Simply a gem of a podcast,” writes one reviewer. “A great wealth of insight into one of the best mediums out there.”

Journalist Elaine Appleton Grant and a top audio creator deconstruct one or more episodes of a guest’s show.

Sound Judgment isn’t just a revealing conversation about the art and craft of audio storytelling, it’s a sound-rich narrative interview: Grant plays back clips from her guest’s podcast. Together, they explore the storyteller’s creative choices in a “living learning lab.”

Sound Judgment has been called “your online master’s degree in audio storytelling” by Whisper, Speak, Roar Media; “a masterclass in podcasting” by Ear Worthy, and “required listening for our profession” by the supervising podcasting producer at ABC News. Grant made Ear Worthy’s list of the ten best podcast interviewers, just behind Audie Cornish. Tink Media’s Lauren Passell gives Sound Judgment “456654 stars!” and says “The takeaways at the end are hugely valuable.”

In the wake of industry turmoil, creators and businesses alike have finally awakened to the true measure of storytelling effectiveness: listener engagement, loyalty, and time — not downloads. As a result, more and more serious creators and leaders are eager to improve the quality of their content. And they’re seeking as much learning about storytelling and hosting as they can find — especially from the artists they admire the most.

Not only does Sound Judgment provide a valuable “fly on the studio wall” experience to hosts, producers and editors eager to learn from masters of the craft, it serves as a discovery engine. Listeners often binge-listen to the shows to which they’re introduced on Sound Judgment.

Host Elaine Appleton Grant is a magazine journalist (Inc Magazine, Fortune Small Business, AARP The Magazine, US News & World Report) turned award-winning public radio broadcaster and podcast producer (NPR affiliates and Wondery’s Business Wars Daily, American History Tellers and American Scandal). She is a board-member-elect of AIR, The Association of Independents in Radio. She has spoken for organizations including Inbound, Public Media Content Collective (PMCC), University of Colorado, Podcast Movement, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, and more.

Sound Judgment is a production of Denver-based Podcast Allies, LLC. Podcast Allies provides production, consulting, and voice coaching services to public media, mission-driven organizations, and higher ed. Among Podcast Allies’ credits are podcasts for the Environmental Defense Fund, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the University of Colorado and the Center for Religion, Politics and Culture at Iliff School of Theology.