Making Good Radio: Thanks ‘This American Life’!

I’ve long been a fan of ‘This American Life’. Their style of audio documentary storytelling is a major inspiration to me.

I had heard that they produced a comic book called “Radio: An Illustrated Guide” in the late 1990s that offered a peak inside how the show was put together and how citizen journalists or radio aficionados could make radio for themselves. I was very excited to see that the Vancouver Library had a copy of the comic, so I borrowed it to take a look!

The comic was created by TAL host Ira Glass and cartoonist Jessica Abel. It follows the TAL staff creating an actual episode called “Do-Gooders” from April 1999. The comic shows the entire production process and includes asides that explain how people who don’t necessarily have access to a full radio studio can produce work of their own.

The comic is not long, but it was really enjoyable to read. While some of the information is a bit out-dated, there were many great insights and tips that I picked up!

One great idea (of many) was the fact that radio can delve into topics or ideas at depth that other mediums can’t or don’t. For instance, when interviewing a person, you can have them explain an experience. What great radio like The American Life does is go the next step of asking for the person’s interpretation of the experience and explore what it means at a deeper level. It is often in these moments of deeper reflection that powerful revelations or realizations can occur. As a listener, these moments are extremely powerful and moving.

These moments are what makes me want to work in the field of radio. And it was so fun to find an explanation of this moment in the TAL comic. There were many other great thoughts and ideas, but that was one that jumped out at me.

A fun and entertaining read!