Deez Interviews: Meet the rising star podcast producer whose All Things Considered resume line item is, yep, intimidating af

Happy Friday Deezers!

Before we get to this week’s amazing interview with podcast potentate Rikki Novetsky, there’s a little ~personal news~ to share:

In the next week, yours truly is shipping off for a new adventure and joining BuzzFeed’s global adaptation team! I’m equal parts excited and terrified, but also, of course, enormously sad to leave The Atlantic. It’s been two of the best years anyone springboarding into this wild industry could hope for, and I will miss the team incredibly.

Unfortunately, all this change (one subway stop’s difference is a huge adjustment, ok) means that, for the next month, Deez Links will be going on hiatus. Thanks in no small part to my Atlantic family (Famlantic???), this newsletter has grown beyond my most madcap dreams and connected me with some truly cool people (AKA, you all!). I’m excited for an excuse to take a few weeks to think about what’s next for Deez Links, and maybe make it go get a makeover and a blowout. Any ideas & suggestions would be v. appreciated — you can hit “reply” directly to this email, or reach out directly at deliarcai@gmail.com.

aNyWaY, as I’m sucking up this sad tears/snot mixture going on here, I’m honored to introduce our final Deez Interview…

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The interviewee: Rikki Novetsky (@rikkinovetsky)
The current job: Associate producer at Pineapple Street Media
The hustle: Think about opening up your podcast app and clicking on your favorite show. Everything that happens before that moment is the responsibility of a producer: deciding the topic of an episode, guest booking, and technical side of things — which includes recording in a studio, editing the audio, and adding music.

You've spent the last few years at two of the most exciting names in audio — NPR and Pineapple. How do the outlets compare?

Ah, so many differences. NPR is a company with hundreds of employees in a huge building with multiple public tours walking around every day. NPR is also a massive news operation, so there's a sense of urgency and excitement flitting around the newsroom. Pineapple is a small (adorable, plant-filled) office in Brooklyn. We're a player in a young and constantly evolving industry. It’s much more experimental and creative because my bosses are constantly figuring out what they want the company to look like, and I’m fortunate enough to go along for the ride.

Big-time podcasting, ummm especially at NPR!! sounds hard to break into. How did you do it??

I have to start off by saying that I got really lucky. I definitely tried really hard too, but I can’t underestimate the timing and the luck. I was very involved in campus journalism (shoutout to my ladies at The Eye, if any of you are out there) so I had that going for me. But I didn't know anything about audio or podcasting. I started listening to a lot of podcasts after graduation because I moved to a new city with no friends (heyyo DC) and I needed something to fill all that silence. After a gig at The Atlantic, I ended up getting an internship at NPR's All Things Considered. The internship program there is incredible and I got a ton of audio training and experience.

What advice do you have for people who want to start their own podcast?

If you're looking to start your own podcast just for fun and without advertisers, go ahead and experiment! Make sure your audio quality is good and you know how to do basic editing, and you're off to the races. Transom.org is an incredible resource for people who are just starting out. Their tools page will teach you all about the best recording and editing equipment and their techniques page is a good source for info on *the craft*. NPR also has a really amazing training page with all sorts of resources, like tips on recording outside of a studio or how to train your voice for your show. If you're looking to get really famous from podcasting, well... be really excellent at what you do?

I’ve loved learning from you about the lesser-known production standards of this industry, i.e. don’t pair music with news. What are some other details most of us wouldn’t otherwise have thought about?

This is an interesting question because the podcast industry is very young and everyone is out there trying to figure out what makes a good and ethical show. Not putting music under news items is an NPR rule because it's considered manipulative to the emotions of the listener, and therefore sort of making an editorial statement on the news (read more about that here). But The Daily doesn’t follow that standard whatsoever. They put ominous music under Trump all the time. I sort of like it TBH. Other things that producers will notice but other people won’t is whether you can edit well — does an interview sound choppy? Do you mis-cut a breath? Things like that.

And finally, what are two underrated podcasts that you recommend Deezers to start listening to ASAP?

I'm going to politely not answer this question and plug my two favorite shows I've worked on at Pineapple: (1) Still Processing, a NYT culture show hosted by Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris and (2) Never Before with Janet Mock, a Lenny Letter interview podcast hosted by the incredible Janet Mock and featuring all your celebrity faves. Give us some downloads!!!

Okay here’s another thing you didn't ask for: the absolute best newsletter about podcasts is Hot Pod by Nick Quah. It's widely read and respected within the podcast world and if you're interested in knowing more about what's going on in the *industry at large*, it's wonky and snarky and wonderful in all the right ways.

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All right, Deezers, I’m expecting you all to have launched amazing successful ‘casts of your own by the time we speak again, now that you have been officially blessed by Novetsky and her podcast prowess.

See you soon! In the meantime, cash me online at @deezlia.

Like Deez Links? Forward to your future co-host!