No Harm In Asking

Learning from the best of the best. Crime Junkie has been at or near the top of the charts since 2019. With great power (and profits) comes great responsibility. Join Mike and Eric in a discussion around the ethics of profiting off other people’s painful stories.

Crime Junkie is a weekly true crime podcast dedicated to retelling many of America's most compelling murders. Host Ashley Flowers takes us through the details of a crime she’s been obsessing over that week in a straightforward, easy to follow format with suspense twisted in and few “full body chills”.

On No Harm In Asking, hosts Eric Byron and Michael Kerr are on a journey to gather insights into why podcasts succeed or fail and to explore the myriad of different patterns, structures, topics, techniques, and personalities that have evolved this industry. Through our podcast, we hope to inspire and encourage the next generation of storytellers and visionaries.

Mike and Eric listened to many Crime Junkie episodes for this review, including MISSING: Mekayla Bali, MURDERED: Jenny Lin, Part 1 & 2, MURDERED: Shari Smith & Debra Helmick, SERIAL KILLER: Khalil Wheeler-Weaver and the MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF: Ellen Greenberg with her co-host Brit Prawat (indeed they're easy to listen to). You can find them here:

https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/

They also have a full social media presence on Twitter at @CrimeJunkiePod.

Follow us on Twitter at @noharmaskingpod so you don't miss a review!

Eric also publishes his podcasting journey titled "A Podcasting Journal" on Substack at https://ericbyron.substack.com/

Please check out our sponsor:

Qollab.me - the free to use interview planning, preparation and collaboration tool
https://qollab.me/

S-Town, a seven "chapter", 6-plus hour podcast was released on March 28, 2017. The podcast was downloaded a record-breaking 10 million times in four days, and had been downloaded over 40 million times just a few months later. This week Mike and Eric review S-Town, along with The Trojan Horse Affair, Brian Reed's follow-up to S-Town. Drawing on both comparisons and contrasts between the 2 series, we attempt to highlight the techniques and styles that makes Brian’s podcasts so ground-breaking and a must-listen for anyone doing podcasts that involve storytelling.

S-Town begins when a middle-aged man, living in an Alabama town he despises, emails Brian and asks him to investigate a murder that he believes has been covered up by the local police. In The Trojan Horse Affair, an unlikely duo chases down the origins of a mysterious letter that caused a national scandal in England.

On No Harm In Asking, hosts Eric Byron and Michael Kerr are on a journey to gather insights into why podcasts succeed or fail and to explore the myriad of different patterns, structures, topics, techniques, and personalities that have evolved this industry. Through our podcast, we hope to inspire and encourage the next generation of storytellers and visionaries.

All 7 chapters of S-Town can be found here:

https://stownpodcast.org/

They also have a full social media presence on Twitter and Instagram at @stownpodcast (although updates seemed to have stopped after they were acquired by the New York Times).

The Trojan Horse Affair is available here:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/podcasts/trojan-horse-affair.html

Check us out on Twitter at @noharmaskingpod.

Eric also publishes his online journey titled "A Podcasting Journal" on Substack at https://ericbyron.substack.com/

Our sponsors:

Qollab.me - the free to use interview planning, preparation and collaboration tool
https://qollab.me/

Discovery Shark Week
https://www.amazon.com/stores/SharkWeek/page/24092A27-AAC4-45E1-96B2-C4019C4CB766?ref_=ast_bln

Are people born podcasters or can the skill be learned? Obviously, it can be learned, but sometimes it's worth taking a look at the people that were clearly born to do it. Ira Glass serves as the director, senior producer, host, administrator, librarian, researcher and (perhaps most importantly) lead visionary for This American Life. To be fair, Ira did put in his time at various newsrooms cutting tape and doing odd jobs, but it very much seems like this was his life's calling.

This American Life is a weekly public radio program and podcast that began in 1995 and now comprises over 780 episodes. The jury is still out as to whether we'd search this one out on a weekly basis, indeed it's a lot to process, but the way they intertwine often three, four or even more seemingly disparate stories into a cohesive unit is pure genius.

Heard by more than 2 million listeners each week on over 500 public radio stations in the U.S., and with another 2.3 million people downloading each episode as a podcast, there are many great lessons in here for any podcaster.

On No Harm In Asking, hosts Eric Byron and Michael Kerr are on a journey to gather insights into why podcasts succeed or fail and to explore the myriad of different patterns, structures, topics, techniques, and personalities that have evolved this industry. Through our podcast, we hope to inspire and encourage the next generation of storytellers and visionaries.

Mike and Eric listened to The Possum Experiment, Ghost in the Machine and Tell Me I’m Fat, all of which are discussed in our review. You can find them here:

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/

They also have a full social media presence on Twitter at @ThisAmerLife and Ira can be found at @iraglass.

Follow us on Twitter at @noharmaskingpod so you don't miss a review!

Eric also publishes his podcasting journey titled "A Podcasting Journal" on Substack at https://ericbyron.substack.com/

Please check out our sponsors:

Qollab.me - the free to use interview planning, preparation and collaboration tool
https://qollab.me/

Discovery Shark Week
https://www.amazon.com/stores/SharkWeek/page/24092A27-AAC4-45E1-96B2-C4019C4CB766?ref_=ast_bln

Use promotion code: 10SHARKWEEK

Like the saying goes "Go niche or go home". Oh, actually, that's apparently not how the saying goes, but if you've listened to any of our reviews on the No Harm In Asking podcast, you're probably aware that we think it should. While building a brand in a narrow subject, like grammar, might seem like an uphill battle, if you can ultimately pull it off you might just find yourself with a fascinating career.

One of our favorites is Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, who has built up such a following that many of her episodes are now provided by fans and other guest contributors, which she simply reads, leaving her time to focus on promoting her tips and books helping us all communicate better.

Five-time winner of Best Education Podcast at the Podcast Awards, Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing and feed your love of the English language. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer.

Mike and Eric listened to "Wick-ED Fun Pronunciations. Deviled Eggs." and many others, including lots of great short tips on YouTube. Find her podcast on Apple Podcasts here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grammar-girl-quick-and-dirty-tips-for-better-writing/id173429229

All things Grammar Girl and her complete collection of Quick and Dirty Tips podcasts can be found here:

https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl/

Mignon is very active across social media where she does a stellar job. Show her some support on Twitter at @GrammarGirl!

Follow us on Twitter at @noharmaskingpod so you don't miss a review.

Eric also publishes his podcasting journey titled "A Podcasting Journal" on Substack at https://ericbyron.substack.com/

Please check out our sponsor:

Qollab.me - the free to use interview planning, preparation and collaboration tool at https://qollab.me/

When your podcast starts to get rolling, like really rolling, like Adam Grant rolling, how far do you venture from your core focus? People have tuned in for some time, the podcast has averaged over a million ears per episode and spent multiple weeks as the #1 show on the entire Apple Podcasts chart. Surely you can try a few different things. Change it up. Expand your audience perhaps? Then again, maybe not?

On WorkLife, host Adam Grant, organizational psychologist, best-selling author and Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, takes you inside the minds of some of the world’s most unusual professionals to explore the science of making work not suck. From learning how to love criticism to harnessing the power of frustration. But one thing’s for sure, you’ll never see your job the same way again.

While Mike and Eric might disagree on whether Adam tops Malcolm Gladwell for pure listening enjoyment, if there's one thing we do agree upon, it's that we wish we were as smart and successful as Adam Grant and hope that we come across as having as much fun doing what we do as Adam seems to be having.

In this episode of “No Harm In Asking” Mike and Eric review the May 4, 2022 show of WorkLife titled "Taken for Granted: Jon Batiste on the art of pushing your limits". We also review a few others that are more representative of Adam's usual format and style. It can be found here on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/taken-for-granted-jon-batiste-on-the-art-of-pushing/id1346314086?i=1000560201232

Everything Adam can be found on his website at https://adamgrant.net/

Adam can also be found on Twitter at @AdamMGrant.

Check out us on Twitter too at @noharmaskingpod. We greatly appreciate it.