PODCASTS

Whether you are at the ideation phase or you have a fully-reaIized podcast and need a sharp, editorial eye, I provide support for the entire spectrum of creative development as we work together to define and shape your podcast.

Services I provide include:

VISIONING

• Developing show idea or podcast season theme into a clear and original concept 

• Conducting research and pre-interviews with experts and diverse stakeholders in relevant fields to clarify show direction or angle

NARRATIVE BUILDING 

• Story Development & Narrative Structuring

• Crafting and refining individual episode pitches

• Episode Research: Distilling complex humanities or STEM research into narrative story structure with clear voice and stance

• Identifying and suggesting high-profile or relevant guests to book for podcast inclusion

• Crafting and refining interview questions

• Podcast Scripting: Distilling long interviews into people-centered narratives with strong, thematic arcs and engaging characters/voices.

• Podcast Script Editing: Providing structural feedback and substantial line edits on individual episode scripts. 

• Episode Fact Checking 

TECHNICAL

• Episode Recording Set-Up

• Podcast Equipment Consultation

• Audio Editing Software Consultation 

• Technical Episode Feedback

Ready to bring your stories into the world? Let’s chat! Email me at sojourner.ahebee@gmail.com.

featured projects

The Mighty Writers Podcast

Hosted by former public school teacher Maureen Boland, the Mighty Writers Podcast is a show that highlights the power of storytelling and mindful listening. The first season of this interview-based podcast was led-produced by me for Mighty Writers, a non-profit that promotes literacy as a tool for social change.

I was responsible for:

• Pitching original show ideas

• Writing web, social media and podcast description copy for episodes using SEO best practices. 

• Collaborating with Mighty Writers’ communications team to create social media(Twitter, Instagram) kits and press releases for individual episode drops, maintaining consistent brand identity.

• Assisting with graphic design, video production and photography needs for episode-related materials for social media (Instagram, Twitter).

• Pitching local news and media outlets, successfully creating opportunities for news coverage.

• Translating complex research and ideas into scripted audio stories meant to educate and entertain diverse audiences.

• Pitching Philadelphia artists, national organizations, publishing houses, esteemed authors, and non-profits with proven track record of booking high-profile talent for show inclusion. 

• Writing, proofreading, and fact-checking audio stories and scripts while maintaining consistent voice and editorial standards of the show.

• Maintaining and growing a network of Philadelphia artists, writers, journalists, activists, and subject matter experts to contribute to the show.

• Developing show ideas into a workable concept with clear themes and narrative arcs

• Distilling long interviews into people-centered narratives that educated and entertained

• Identifying and booking locations and studios across Greater Philadelphia for episode recording

• Managing workflow of freelance reporters on the show

• Writing interview questions

• Sound checking guests for remote and in-person recordings

• Rough audio editing and sound design of each episode

The following episode sample is entitled “Food for Thought”. It tells the story of Mighty Writers volunteer Nelson Alberto Contreras Gelves, a Venezuelan migrant worker who fled political persecution back home. Nelson details his harrowing journey to the U.S, the family he left behind, and his entry into the oft overlooked but critical mushroom farming industry in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Fully half of the U.S. gets its mushrooms from Kennett Square, and the majority of people who make that happen, often in substandard working and living conditions, are migrant farmworkers from Mexico, Central America and Venezuela. Many of these workers depend on community organizations like Mighty Writers El Futuro Kennett, which hosts a bustling, market-style food pantry and cheery after-school center. In this episode, Nelson explains why he feels so connected to the food pantry and what his hopes are for the future of migrants like himself and and those in his newfound community.

Into America, MSNBC

Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and MSNBC correspondent, Trymaine Lee, the Into America podcast is a news show about the socio-political impacts of American life on Black history, culture, and well-being. In 2022, I was a lead producer on the show.

I was responsible for:

• Collaborating with NBC’s marketing team to prepare and disseminate press releases and social media kits for episode drops, and track show engagement data. 

• Creating digital posters and promotional tools for social media promotion.

• Assisting senior producer with maintaining podcast webpage and writing web copy for episodes.

• Pitching and cultivating relationships with the communications teams for national politicians, cultural critics, published authors, high-profile artists, with a proven track record of booking high-profile talent for show inclusion.

• Collaborating with NBC marketing team to write social media and podcast copy for episodes using SEO best practices.

• Pitching, writing, and audio producing original audio stories

• Managing email correspondence between and working collaboratively with a large team of producers, hosts, and on-air talent

• Coordinating site-specific interview shoots across the country with MSNBC’s TV team

• Building a network of trusted researchers, cultural critics, and subject matter experts to contribute to the show

The following episode sample, entitled “Louisiana’s Last Black Oystermen”, is about the ongoing challenges of climate change, the disproportionate burden of natural disasters in Black communities, and how the recent coastal restoration plans in that state may wipe out an entire industry of Black oystermen who depend on this work for their livelihood and cultural memory.  As one of two lead producers on the show, I was responsible for sourcing and collaborating with local oystermen in Louisiana to tell the story, building the narrative arcs for each episode, scripting narration for show host, Trymaine Lee. I also provided the team with editorial guidance, which involved script writing, subject matter expert sourcing, story development and restructuring, and fact checking.

The Pulse Podcast(NPR), WHYY

From 2021 to 2022, I was the inaugural health equity fellow and podcast producer at The Pulse, WHYY’s health and science podcast. I pitched, developed, and produced original digital and audio stories about institutional and interpersonal patient experiences with racism within the American healthcare system. For more than a year, I brought together health researchers, doctors, patients, and community advocates on the show to move the needle on some of the toughest conversations at the intersection of race and health, and synthesized cutting-edge research into accessible stories meant to educate and empower diverse audiences. 

I was responsible for:

• Writing, reporting, and producing audio stories and web articles about racial health disparities for the national radio show and podcast, The Pulse.

• Pitching and maintaining relations with medical communications teams at major universities nationally, with a successful track record of booking esteemed health researchers and doctors for show inclusion.

• Writing web and social copy for news articles using SEO best practices.

• Monitoring news coverage of major health equity research.

• Proofreading and fact-checking episode scripts and web articles for accuracy.

• Collaborating with senior producer to write web, social, and podcast copy for each episode. 

• Planning, promoting and moderating panels and public events on behalf of WHYY.

• Assisting senior producer with maintaining NPR station webpage and scheduling web content.

• Assisting the senior producer with organizing and selecting freelance submissions.

The following episode sample is entitled “How Informal adoptions became a mainstay of African American Family Life”. This is a story about the history of Black informal adoptions, and the social and economic capital they make possible.

about me