Inside News Nerds
Welcome to a special series documenting how News Nerds is booked, recorded, edited, written, and produced.
By Ezra Graham
Part 2: The Interview
This was an interesting article to write. It forced me to reckon with who I've learned from and the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which I copy them. Do I have a different interviewing style than others? I hope so. I'll let you be the judge.
Here’s my process:
First, I coordinate a date and time that works for both myself and my guest. Usually, this falls at about 4:15 MST because of school. In some cases, I have to record in the counselor's office at school, which I hate because I always seem to mess up when I record there. I then send them a Zoom link so that we can connect virtually. I usually do not send a list of questions in advance (when I started recording the podcast, I did send a list in advance, but I think that I get better answers when I catch interviewees off guard, sounds a little twisted but it works).
Before the interview, I always do my research. Structure and research are the two most important parts of making a good interview. I read, watch, and listen to everything that I can find about my guest and if I'm lucky, I get sent a free advance copy of a book from the author’s publishing house. This always makes me feel special. Research helps me to get a sense of what defines my guest, what they're passionate about, and questions that I can ask that they have never considered before.
Often, I either procrastinate too much or simply have not enough time to read a full book, so I have a simple approach to reading books: I just read the most I can. Skimming has always felt like cheating me. It's the kind of thing that will always nag me, like eating that piece of chocolate that I really shouldn't have or lying to get my way (which I'm good at). On many weeknights I brew myself two strong cups of the tea in the house that has the most caffeine and read until I cannot understand what I'm reading.
I try to ask questions that are open-ended and that will encourage my guest to share their personal experiences and insights. Here are some topics I find particularly interesting when writing a skeleton for my questions:
Forgotten history
Origin stories
Historical throughlines
Secrets of an industry
Generational gaps
Origin stories are particularly interesting to me because they often are very revealing about a guest but are not often talked about. Because of this, I often ask about childhood, career changes/beginnings, and research. One of the reasons that origin stories are not talked about in pop culture is that talk show hosts in particular don’t talk about origin stories because of time constraints and the necessity to promote their guest’s latest gig. Consequently, nothing is known about origin stories and nobody talks about them.
I take notes (both mental and physical) on everything I find, from their blog posts to their other interviews, and use that information to write questions. I always write down every question that I've considered asking my guest, and then I narrow it down to 8-12 questions, depending on the length and focus of the interview. I try to organize these notes as best as possible on the "notes" app, but I am never successful with organization (or remembering how I organized something).
Recently, I recorded an interview with Jonathan Eig, the author of the upcoming book, King: A Life, a monumental biography of MLK Junior. Below is the process of how I formulated, organized, and narrowed down the questions you can hear me ask in the interview, which was published last week. Eig’s book, which I genuinely think is worth reading if you want to understand not only King, but his era, will be published on the sixteenth.
When me and my guest finally log onto Zoom, I always feel awkward until the moment that I introduce them and ask my first question. Terry Gross once said that she feels comfortable asking anything when she's working and for the most part I feel the same. On the other hand, yes, I have decided not to ask very personal questions on some occasions. I always introduce my guest by saying, "Thanks so much for being with us," which I stole from Scott Simon when I was holed up at home with the radio during pandemic-era schooling. "Welcome," sounds ungrateful. "Hi," sounds goofy.
During the interview itself, I always try to actively listen to my guest's responses. This allows me to ask informed follow-up questions that I might not have thought of before we met. I ask more follow-ups than I used to because I’ve learned how to listen better and I am more comfortable doing so.
After the interview is over, I usually wait to edit the interview for a few days, mostly on Wednesdays when I record everything else (see a later edition of this series for more on my Wednesday schedule). I edit the recording as needed on a free audio editing app called Audacity, and I always try to send my guest a copy of the finished episode so that they can share it on social media.
Stay tuned for Inside News Nerds, Part 3: Editing. Thanks for reading.
