Five Podcasts With Masterful Interviewing
Dec 06th
In the final article in our short series on the power dynamics of interviews, Francesca Turauskis recommends five episodes to listen to for a masterclass in interview techniques…
Over the past few articles I’ve been exploring how podcasters can recognise the power dynamics in interviews, and how they can mitigate any awkwardness that may create by making an interview more equal.
To finish off our exploration of interviewing, I wanted to share a few examples of interviews where you can hear that the production team have been considerate of the social, political and personal contexts that surround the interview. Here are five masterful interviews to explain the power dynamics of podcasts.
1. Bloodlines – ‘Breakthrough’ and ‘DA’s Secret’
The host and reporter of Bloodlines, Poonam Taneja, has conducted interviews in Syria, Afghanistan, Bosnia, India and many more countries besides. In Bloodlines, she is investigating the disappearance of a young boy called Salmaan during the war against the Islamic State. When she heads into a prison camp in Syria Poonam speaks to a woman that she calls DA for the purpose of the series and who Poonam suspects has information about Salmaan. We can hear how guarded DA is – she doesn’t trust any media, she is worried about the legal ramifications of speaking out, and she is even more guarded around the male members of the production team.
I would recommend listening to the whole series because Poonam’s reporting is a masterclass but it is the episodes ‘Breakthrough’ and ‘DA’s Secret’ in particular that show her consideration. What’s more, she talks the listener through her process – she confirms that all recordings will be anonymous, the episodes won’t be aired before DA’s legal hearings and she reassesses the situation constantly depending on DA’s response. A worthy multi-award-winning show. Listen here.
2. British Scandal – ‘The Krays | Interview – The Krays’ barrister, Nemone Lethbridge
Nemone Lethbridge was one of the first women barristers in the UK and often defended the infamous Kray twins in court. This interview between Alice Levine and Nemone is very delicately done, and has an air of being quite relaxed despite Alice confronting Nemone about aspects of her working relationship with the twins. This interview was recommended to me by Naomi Miller when I was asking about the most influential people in podcasting. She said:
“I think a lot of people underestimated her journalistic capacities and that was really emphasised to me on an episode of British Scandal not that long ago, where she interviewed a, it must be said, relatively elderly woman who had been involved around the time of the Krays in East London. And this woman was an absolute powerhouse, and Alice interviewed her in a way that I think any journalist at any publication in the world would’ve been really proud of”.
It’s interesting that Naomi used the word ‘powerhouse’ and listening to the episode, there appears to have been a lot of consideration around the aspects of power dynamics. Firstly, interviews on British Scandal often involved both hosts, but in this case Alice spoke to Nemone without co-host Matt Forde. She also went to meet Nemone in a location that was best for her guest. This takes into account comfort, but it also gave them something extra to talk about because the location was relevant to the topic. I agree that this is a great example of journalistic skill. Listen here.
3. Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative – ‘Release’
I’ve mentioned Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative as an example of good podcasting several times over the past year. The reason it comes up a lot is because the show is so meta in the way you are taken through the process of creating a narrative podcast – I’d go so far as to say that this show is more for podcasters than listeners.
When it comes to the power dynamics between the interviewer and interviewee, this whole series addresses that very topic. Every episode is riddled with examples of good and bad practice, and host Jess Shane will point them all out as you listen, but for one standout example episode I would say listen to the final one, ‘Release’, by itself. Unlike other examples in this list, ‘Release’ has an example of when a guest tries to take more control of the episode than Jess was comfortable with. Allowing her interviewee a chance to feedback on her edit throws Jess’ whole production schedule. It is a great example of the awkward situations that can occur if power dynamics aren’t – essentially – agreed by all parties, and hearing how Jess responds to this is a lovely example of trying to rebalance a situation. Listen here.
4. The English Disease | Legacy – ‘The Englishman’
Listen with caution to this podcast – both guests and talking heads use racist and misogynistic language readily. This is partly why I put this on the list, as The English Disease explores the legacy of football hooliganism (and the violent subculture to football that exists in 2024) in a way that is transparent and gives voice to characters in that world without condoning what they are saying. We often hear host Sam Diss and producer Nicky Anderson talking about the best way to report on the subject, and who to speak to for the series. Sometimes they admit they don’t get it right – in particular, we hear the different levels of comfort between them. In this episode, when interviewing ‘The Englishman’ of the title in a pub in Nottingham, Sam admits he barely notices the sexist comments, whilst Nicky wonders how much worse they would have been if she were not there.
Later in the series, we get some more background on the production process between the team, and how often they checked in with each other. At one point, Nicky decides to put her welfare before the reporting and it’s great to hear. A really interesting series that is difficult to listen to and must have been difficult to make. Listen here.
5. The Quilt – ‘The Unravelling’
The latest series from our friends at Aunt Nell, The Quilt is sharing living memories of queer Britain & Northern Ireland. Produced and hosted by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, the series automatically has what I call the ‘affinity interview’ aspect, as Tash and Adam are creating a podcast for a community they identify as part of. In the first episode, ‘The Unravelling’, we also get a lovely example of a ‘happening interview’, where Adam meets Serena James and asks her to talk us through some of her possessions, including ‘the most fabulous dress’ and how it felt when she put it on for the first time. This is a beautiful way of talking about the significance of clothes to Serena as a trans woman, and lets us hear her joy from wearing it.
The rest of this series gives some great examples of choosing good locations for interviews – from significant venues in queer history to Pride events and more. It creates a lovely topic of conversation, and an interesting tapestry (or quilt!) of different audio sources for the listener. Listen here.
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