If you’re a fan of narrative podcasts, “Serial”, “This American Life” or “S-Town”, then you have podcast extraordinaire Julie Snyder to thank.
Although we rarely actually hear her speak in the podcasts, Snyder has served as a producer for “This American Life” and then later co-creator and producer of “Serial.” She has acted as a creative force behind the intricate and suspenseful stories that viewers of the podcasts have grown to obsessively listen to.
In a recent phone interview with her, Snyder discussed the intricacies of creating a podcast, the evolution of “Serial” over the years, and her favorite career memories to date.
“Serial”, an investigative journalism podcast, started as a nonfiction story that spanned over multiple episodes. Season one focused on the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, while season two focused on Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. However, season three took a deeper dive into the criminal justice system as a whole.
When asked why “Serial” started exploring the larger apparatus of the criminal justice system rather than a single case, Snyder explained how her lifelong interest of the criminal justice system and criminal justice reporting influenced the most recent season.
“I have always been interested in the criminal justice system and how it is reported. After the first season [of “Serial”] there was so much interest in the criminal justice system and talking about what was wrong with it and reforms… I think a lot of that was spurned off things like the Black Lives Matter Movement which has been an incredible catalyst.”
Snyder went on to explain how, although shinier cases like Adnan Syed may give you a glance into aspects of the criminal justice system, they are not indicative of what typically happens in a courthouse everyday, and how they aren’t the type of cases that most reporters pause over.
Curiosity like this is key to podcasting. However, there’s more than simple interest that goes into creating as successful of a podcast as Snyder has. When asked about her tips towards podcast success, the queen of podcasting explained that time budgeting, the willingness to abandon certain stories, fine tuning and a lot of feedback are key. According to Snyder, the first and second episode of a series will be edited around 15 to 20 times.
Despite the dead ends and multiple edits she has faced throughout her podcasting career, there have been just as many highlights. When asked what her favorite memory of “Serial” was, she described the terrifying yet extremely gratifying and fun moments of the first season with production team Sarah Koenig and Dana Chivvis, as well as a moment on their last episode of the first season.
“Right at the very end of the first season [of “Serial”] Dana Chivvis laid out this very succinct and articulate theory on why she thought it was improbable that Adnan didn’t do it [kill Hae Min Lee]. I remember right at the end, Sarah just whispered into the microphone ‘you’re fired’ and it was just the funniest thing. It really showed our relationships with one another.”
