Podcast storytelling training. Designed for you.

The Podcast Love Storytelling Bootcamp is a 7-week, 5 day/week, fully remote podcast training program running from Oct 2, 2023 - November 17, 2023. Our mission is to identify, nurture, and empower emerging voices in narrative podcasting to help push the industry forward.

We have a buy-one-give-one model: Each full-paying participant allows us to provide free admission to a peer experiencing financial hardship. Our first cohort is capped at ten students.

Where Alex’s alumni have made podcasts:

Personalized Learning Track

We strongly emphasize developing your own voice, literally and metaphorically. In addition to 100+ hours of collaborative classroom time, we work with you to develop a personalized learning track tailored to your vision and career goals.

Unique Access and Collaboration

You’ll meet tons of podcast storytellers, from hosts of top podcasts to heads of networks, in our exclusive Q&A sessions. Plus, our program relies deeply on collaboration with your peers, inside the classroom and out. You also get lifetime access to our alumni Slack channel.

1-on-1 Coaching & Career Mentorship

In addition to our in-class workshopping and edits, you get 25 hours of 1-on-1 time with our incredible team. We provide you deep editorial feedback, mixing/sound design help, career advice, and more. We’ll also do our best to help you get your foot in the door with gigs.

Buy One, Give One

Each full-paying participant allows us to provide a free admission to a peer experiencing financial hardship. This allows us to provide exceptional service to all of our students. We hope to continue to broaden access to the industry further as we progress.

100+

25

hours of classroom
instruction

1

hours of 1-on-1 coaching

150+

free scholarship for each full-paying student

alumni Alex has taught

Adriana Tapia, Producer, VICE

“Alex is an incredible teacher, producer, and person. His classes gave me the skills I needed to start my career in audio and the confidence to discover my own storytelling voice.”

Featured Guests

  • Bethel Habte

    EDITOR, THIS AMERICAN LIFE

  • Chris Bannon

    HEAD OF GLOBAL AUDIO, CONDE NAST

  • Erick Galindo

    HOST, IDOLO: THE BALAD OF CHALINO SANCHEZ

  • Henry Molofsky

    SENIOR PRODUCER, PINEAPPLE STREET STUDIOS

  • Jennifer Ferro

    PRESIDENT, KCRW

  • Megan Tan

    HOST, NOW OR NEVER

  • Sean Rameswaram

    HOST, TODAY, EXPLAINED

  • Theo Balcomb

    FOUNDER, THE DAILY

Curriculum

The bootcamp is seven (7) weeks long, with three hours of classes a day, and quick turnaround work. A typical day might include:

  • Zoom classroom sessions M-F, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. PST (featuring dynamic lectures and peer workshopping)

  • 1-on-1 meeting with a coach

  • 2-3 hours of independent work on a piece

You’ll create two short narrative audio pieces for your professional portfolio. You’ll do everything yourself, from ideation all the way through post-production. You won’t be alone though; you’ll get lots of editorial and tech support from our staff and your peers.

We have six core units, including: Voice, Story, Tape, Edits, Sound, and Business.

  • To understand your own style, you have to embrace your voice. Lessons include:

    • Theory of voice

    • Development of personal voice

    • Storytelling genres/styles

    • Scripting for the ear

    • Vocal performance

    • How to use your voice

  • We dig deep into the inner workings of story. Lessons include:

    • Elements of story

    • Narratological theory

    • Generating ideas

    • Turning ideas into stories

    • Pitching stories

    • Research

    • Outlining

    • Giving and receiving editorial feedback

  • The tape you procure is the heart of your story. Lessons include:

    • Using recording gear

    • Fair and accurate reporting

    • Booking interviewees

    • Iinterview prep

    • Conducting interviews

    • Scene-building and procuring nat sound

    • Selecting best tape

    • Integrating tape

    • Writing around tape

  • Stories only become good through rigorous drafting and editing. Lessons include:

    • Honing your voice

    • Collaborating

    • Solving story problems

    • Script formatting

    • Hitting deadlines

    • Killing darlings

    • Fact-checking

  • We teach you how to make your stories sound professional. Lesons include:

    • Training your ears

    • How to edit tape smoothly

    • Using music

    • Sound design

    • Mixing and mastering to professional standards

  • Learn all the tools you need to be a working podcaster. Lessons include:

    • Developing IP

    • Monetization

    • Growth

    • Networking

    • Invoicing

    • Fair pay

    • Contracts

    • Fair use/licensing music

    • Production timelines

    • Budgeting

    • Job hunting

    • Portfolios

    • Staying current

Sam Eagan, Producer, VICE

"Alex’s courses built my foundational understanding of story and taught me how to sniff out the good ones. His connections throughout the audio industry bring some of the most talented podcasters in the world into the classroom with you. But above all else, he is just an absolute joy – one of the kindest mentors I’ve had the privilege of knowing and working with.”

Team

  • Alex Kapelman

    FOUNDER / LEAD INSTRUCTOR (he/him)

    Alex has led and produced shows that garnered critical acclaim, award nominations, and millions of listens. He led podcast development and production for Conde Nast; produced for WNYC, Gimlet, and Audible; and consulted for Red Bull and the ACLU. He’s taught narrative audio at NYU since 2016.

  • Ben Montoya

    SOUND COACH (they/them)

    Ben has produced, mixed, scored, and sound designed shows for WIRED, Pitchfork, Audible, Vox, and Sonos. They’re currently developing a project with a major podcast company. Their previous podcast, The Fear and Now, used multidisciplinary studies to analyze the aesthetics of horror in audio fiction.

  • Betty Ming Liu

    LIFE COACH (she/her)

    Betty specializes in helping people work through their stuck points to become better storytellers and communicators. She’s a credentialed life coach (PCC) since and has decades of experience as a journalist (The New York Daily News, Crains, Newsday) and professor (NYU, The New School, and more).

  • Maura Walz

    EDITORIAL COACH (she/her)

    Maura has edited podcasts for VOGUE, iHeartMedia, Gimlet, Wondery, CBS, Crooked Media, and many more. Previously, she spent a decade reporting and editing news coverage of American public schools for outlets including Chalkbeat, KPCC/LAist, and Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Jo Corona, Producer, StoryCorps

“Alex’s classes paved my transition into the world of narrative audio storytelling; he cares deeply about setting his students up for success and it shows. I also just have really great memories of that time because his classes were a fun and safe space to learn and grow.”

$6,750*

*Price does NOT included gear. Our recommended kits cost anywhere from $250-$1,000. Please contact us for more details.

Cost

Full Scholarships and Payment Plans Available

We will offer full, need-based scholarships in our first cohort of up to ten people. If you’re interested in applying for a scholarship, please indicate it in the application form. You can elect to pay in installments over the course of several months. To inquire about scholarships of payment plans, please contact us.

  • Your full payment allows a peer experiencing financial hardship to receive a full scholarship.

  • 100+ hours of classroom instruction with engaging lessons, dynamic exercises and breakout rooms, and live workshopping.

  • 25 hours of 1-on-1 coaching on storytelling, editorial, tech, sound design, scoring, reporting, and career advice.

  • Professional mixing and mastering to make your pieces portfolio-ready.

What’s included:

  • Two months of Hindenburg software for free.

  • Exclusive Q+A’s with some of the top executives, hosts, producers, and editors in podcasting.

  • On-demand, timely support from Alex and our team of coaches for when you need a helping hand.

  • Lifetime access to Podcast Love’s exclusive Slack group and community.
    Small class size, with a cohort capped at ten students.

Paras Shah, Host and Executive Producer, Just Security Podcast

“A few months ago, the Just Security Podcast was just an idea on paper. We started from scratch and now have thousands of listeners every episode. Throughout the process, Alex pushed us to develop our unique voice as a show – to build something special in a crowded podcast and audio landscape. Alex, Ben, Maura, and Betty are the real deal — we can’t thank them enough!”

Email us

Have questions on anything here? Fill out the form below and Alex will get back to you pronto.

Schedule a call

Alex is available for 1-on-1 calls to discuss the bootcamp, Podcast Love, or anything you’d like. If the availabilities listed don’t work for you, just email us and we’ll find a time that works.

Coming Soon

We’re planning to launch free and low-cost offerings in the future, including: a 3-month night course, webinars, newsletter content and more. If you’re interested in other offerings, please contact us.