By the Minute, NPR's Sam Sanders Changes Up Podcast

quotWe have to meet the audience where they are People are feeling angry stressed tired and burned out and we have to find a way to speak to those emotions in the showquot he explained As a former NPR political reporter Sanders is comfortable with both breaking news and intimate interviews He knows when to be serious and when to lighten up and his approach is resonating with listeners Since January 2020 It39s Been a Minute39s weekly users have grown 172 with a current average of 375000 weekly downloadsOverall NPR39s podcast audience is surging and in June the organization ranked as the 1 podcast publisher in the US according to Podtrac rankingsIt39s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders is one of NPR39s rising podcast stars However in response to the ongoing COVID19 crisis and protests over racial inequality and police reform Sanders said he39s had to pivot Typically the show39s Tuesday episodes offered an indepth interview with a newsmaker or comedian and the Friday show was a roundup of weekly news Now the podcast focuses on fewer topics There39s less comic relief and more deep dives into news and longer interviewsquotWe realized pretty quickly when the pandemic began to take hold and once the protests happened that people weren39t looking to laugh right now They were kind of looking for a good cryquot Sanders said adding quotI do hope that when life begins to feel somewhat normal we can laugh a bit morequotAmong his recent episodes Sanders is particularly proud of those that make emotional connections To share listeners39 perspectives on being a parent of black children he recently hosted a frank conversation on race and parenting with two women his own Aunt Betty and Morning Edition executive producer Kenya Young who is African American and the mother of three boys Another memorable show was a quotSocial Distancing Survival Guidequot to help listeners stay afloat during quarantine Guests included a celebrity chef offering recipes a comedian sharing tips on laughing and a psychologist advising about maintaining relationshipsHe recalled another particularly poignant episode that featured comedian Laurie Kilmartin discussing how she used an iPad to communicate with her mother during her illness and death from COVID19 quotShe found joy humor and uplift in this darknessquot Sanders notedquotI39m proud of how we39ve been able to lean into these two big emotional storiesquot he said quotI want people to leave a little more uplifted cheerful and optimistic than they were beforequotLike so many Americans the coronavirus crisis has transformed Sanders39 personal and professional life To be closer to his mother brother and nephew he relocated temporarily from his Los Angeles home to San Antonio His work conditions have changed too Previously Sanders would interview subjects in NPR39s LA studios but he now hosts the show remotely He said he misses the emotional connections that come with facetoface conversations but he is adjusting to the new normalAs a black man Sanders said he is determined to have honest conversations about race In LA he lives downtown and witnessed firsthand as protestors flocked to his neighborhood each night for weeks To give his listeners a firsthand look he talked to protestors and local business owners including the proprietor of his favorite taco shopIn coming months Sanders intends to apply that same personal lense to the 2020 presidential election During the 2016 election his NPR beat was covering the intersection of politics and pop culture and he also spent months on the campaign trail with thencandidate Sen Bernie SandersOn It39s Been a Minute Sanders said he wants to explore the emotional side of politics and the impact technology and the Internet has He plans to invite colleagues from the NPR political team and NPR Politics podcast to join him as guestsLike many political veterans Sanders expects election night could be the beginning of a highly contested election quotThe nation is incredibly divided this election could be close we have questions on how people can and will vote and we have a president who is extremely litigiousquot he said quotWe are preparing for the story to last more than one nightquotAnother area where Sanders is focused is advancing diversity In a podcast industry largely dominated by white male voices Sanders stands out as a black and gay host He would like to see podcasting become more inclusive including women people of color and LGBTQ hostsquotYou have to set aside assumptions about who listeners are They39re curious and open minded and they39ll follow a good story regardless of color of person telling itquot he said quotJust do it Hire usquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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By the Minute, NPR's Sam Sanders Changes Up Podcast

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