It’s been over six months since we made the move to Washington. In one sense much has changed – new house, new relationships, a new way of life in many respects – yet much remains the same. Most pertinent to this site, I am still doing freelance audio production and learning all I can along the way.

Yep, still learning. I’ve been doing audio production for over 30 years now, but if there’s one thing I’ve figured out it’s that I can’t stop learning, especially if I’m going to try to make a living doing this freelance. Believe me… I was a first-rate editor back in the days when “cut and splice” was literally done with razors and tape on reel-to-reels. As I sit here with my entire ProTools editing rig loaded on my laptop I realize how different the world of audio production is now and how much I had to learn to keep up.

Yet there is at least one thing about this business that (thankfully) remains the same. It’s why I’m still at it and why I believe my experience is worth more than ever. At its core, audio production is about telling stories that people want to hear.

Before we left Arkansas I was blessed to become aquatinted with Brent Walker, owner of Soundscapes, a top-notch audio production company in Little Rock. Among other things, Brent is a great teacher who is willing to share his secrets of success. One way he’s done so is in a series of short videos on the site Tune Your Radio! While the lessons are aimed at advertising agents, especially those who have to write copy, you’ll see that through the prism of audio production, Brent is making the same point about storytelling and how to get people to listen.

If you go to the Tune Your Radio site, scroll to to bottom of the page and watch the whole series, even if you think you know what Brent is going to cover. Chances are you’ll discover something new, and that’s what we all need to do in this business… keep learning!

Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD said unto Abram: ‘Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee.

So here we are… selling our house and moving to a place where we have not yet found jobs, or a home for that matter. Technically that will make us homeless and unemployed. OK, not really since we have a place to stay (thank you in-laws!) and we are both quite capable of finding work. Also, unlike the story of Abram, we are moving closer to kindred and we have made good use of Google and Bing to scope out the land down to the square foot. I’m sure we will be fine.

Still, we are taking a substantial risk and we know it. It’s not bravery so much as the knowledge that there may never be a better time to make this change we have wanted for a long time. To us, the risk is worth it and the prospect of the Great Adventure this represents has us pretty excited.

I mention this because we’ve heard from plenty of people who have told us how much they envy us. That’s both heartening and sad. Heartening because it gives us a sense of confidence that others would do the same thing if they could; sad because so many who wish they could make a bold change don’t feel like they can. Moving to a new location can certainly be a catalyst for change, but its not the only way one can “go!”

Seth Godin makes this comment in his latest book Poke the Box:

Start initiating things—projects, outings, ways to make your office better—without waiting to be told to do so. Start writing the proposal for your book without thinking about an agent. Start cooking eggs even if you can’t make them runny like the kids want. Listen to your dad more even though he probably won’t notice you’re listening. Poking the box is all about initiating change, both large and small (hint: starting small is easier and often leads to big successes). To poke is to push yourself to start. Anything.

So we are going – starting something new – and it is kind of on the big side for us, but by no means is it the only thing that can be started when it comes to making a bold change for the better. Who knows, maybe our example will help others “go” too.

As I’ve been blogging about storytelling, radio, and the media, I’ve uncovered several public radio programs not heard on the local NPR station – the one I work for – KUAR in Little Rock. Some are outstanding and ought to be part of our lineup, such as Radiolab. Of course, our station has added some new programs, such as Snap Judgement. I like it, though I feel that the producers sometimes take themselves a bit too seriously.

When I look outside of standard broadcast media, the internet has so many new opportunities for distributing audio and video storytelling that it’s frankly impossible to keep up. But even with all the new programming available in so many forms, This American Life continues to be unique. It is absolutely one of the best storytelling venues anywhere.

A couple weeks ago I was listening to an episode of TAL and was reminded how good a program it is. The first story, or chapter as Ira Glass likes to call it, had to do with the possibility that staff reporters may have stumbled upon the original recipe for Coca-Cola. Without being a spoiler, it is worth saying that not all is as it seems. However, the power of the story is carried through to the end with the way Glass builds up the elements to the eventual conclusion.

I don’t actually hear TAL all that often now, and frankly I find myself frustrated with some of the stories that get on. Of course, I love the fact that it has become an outlet for the NPR Planet Money team.  (I’m an econ geek wannabe and Plant Money Rocks!) In any case, I am continually challenged with the way TAL spins a story and I consider it a point of inspiration for what I hope to create.