# Plan a Podcast: Good Ideas to Great Episodes with Jeff Emtman

Canonical URL: <https://www.creativelive.com/classes/plan-a-podcast-good-ideas-to-great-episodes-jeff-emtman>

## Overview

There’s a big difference between a great idea and a great podcast. Just ask Jeff Emtman, who founded the successful documentary podcast “Here Be Monsters.” Before he ever picks up the microphone, Jeff has an elaborate preparation ritual, a process involving bathtubs, strategic forgetfulness, and good old-fashioned journaling.

Jeff will show you how to zoom in on the important parts of a story and forget the fluff, conceptualize sound and a story’s “dream tape, ” and use self-doubt and existential dread as a creative tool. You’ll come away with real-world techniques for preparing for your podcast so that you can make your best work.

In this class, you’ll learn how to:

- Get over your fears of actually starting work on an episode and take the first leap.
- Compartmentalize and benefit from pre-production jitters.
- Focus on research at the beginning, not story structure.
- Prepare for the interview, both practically and conceptually.
- Use sound to deepen the impact of an episode.
- Doubt your story so you can find its flaws and improve it.
- Experiment with and subvert conventional structures.

## Instructors

### Jeff Emtman

Jeff is a photographer, musician and podcaster. His art is focused on belief and fear, with his best-known project being Here Be Monsters, a podcast about the unknown that he started in 2012.

## Pricing

**Tuition:** $29