Sound Judgment

Elaine Appleton Grant spent decades as a journalist before turning her attention to the craft of audio storytelling, and Sound Judgment is the result. The biweekly show brings in top podcast hosts, producers, and editors and gets them to break down their creative decisions in specific, useful detail. It's not a vague conversation about 'finding your voice.' Grant plays actual clips from her guests' shows and asks pointed questions about why they made particular editorial choices, from pacing decisions to how they handle sensitive interviews with vulnerable sources. One episode might feature the team behind a Pulitzer-nominated investigation explaining how they structured their narrative, while the next covers practical strategies for growing a podcast audience. With 49 episodes and a perfect 5.0-star rating from 46 reviewers, it's clearly resonating with its audience. Grant is a thoughtful interviewer who knows when to let a guest run and when to steer the conversation back to specifics that listeners can actually apply. The show appeals to two audiences at once: working journalists and producers looking to sharpen their audio skills, and podcast enthusiasts who want to understand why their favorite shows sound the way they do. Episodes run about 40 minutes, long enough to get into real substance but short enough to finish during a commute.