Amory Sivertson

Amory Sivertson is the co-host of Endless Thread. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Endless Thread on Twitter here.

Kindly introduce yourself and tell us what you do!
Hi! I'm Amory Sivertson, co-host and producer of Endless Thread, which is a podcast from WBUR (Boston's NPR) that brings stories from Reddit to life. I promise you don't need to know a thing about Reddit to enjoy the show -- we dig in to little-known histories, we solve quirky internet mysteries, we explore fascinating Reddit communities like r/childfree, r/widowers, r/UnsentLetters, etc., and we highlight unique personal stories that will help you understand your fellow humans in a new way.

How did you get introduced to the audio space? Have you always loved it, before podcasting?
Music is my first and forever love (if you're curious: https://listentoamory.com/), although I've definitely given myself over to podcasting as of late. I was an acting major in college, and I saw audio journalism as just a different kind of storytelling. I was curious about it, applied for an internship at WBUR, and the rest is history. I was lucky enough to start on a show called Radio Boston, a daily "magazine-style" local news program, which turned me into a Swiss-army knife of a producer. I got to produce live, call-in discussion segments, and I got to produce more narrative feature pieces. The features were my favorite because I could get really nerdy about the way tape was used/written around, the music, the pacing. It felt like a space in audio journalism where the facts were still king, but the storytelling and the production were given the emphasis they deserved. Podcasting has allowed me to lean into this much further, which, in turn, has made me approach music production in a more deliberate (read: nit-picky) way. So I've come full circle!

Some of the episodes sound like a LOT of work was put into them. How do you decide if a story is worth the extra work? (Like traveling to a cave?)
I'm glad they sound that way because a lot of work was put into them! That being said, for the episodes that have required us to go the extra (often literal) mile, I don't think there was ever any question whether we would or not. Of COURSE we were going to drive to Pennsylvania to look for an abandoned mountain of dishware in the woods. Of COURSE we had to try caving if we were going to do whole episode about it. Of COURSE we were going to go to the glitter factory to try to find out who their secret biggest customer is. The conversation usually goes something like...

One of us: "I mean... we've gotta do THIS (insert crazy thing)..." or "We've gotta go HERE (insert crazy place).."

The other two of us: "HELL YES."

One of us: "Great, it's settled."

All of that is to say, we know when a story is worth going all out on because the idea of doing so makes us energized, not exhausted.

What is your favorite episode? Where should people start?
Geedis, forever and ever amen.

What’s something listeners don’t understand about podcasts and what goes into making them?
It's a lot of hard work to make something sound easy. And also, nothing can make it sound fun if it isn't. So have fun and work hard.

What do you hope the show does for people?
I hope it makes people feel less alone -- either because they relate to what they're hearing, or because they like spending time with us. I hope it makes them more curious about, and compassionate towards, their fellow humans. We've done our jobs right if you want to tell someone about what you've just heard soon after you finish listening to it.

Women in podcasting are constantly being criticized for their voices. What is your relationship with yours? How would you describe your voice?
How many chapters would you like this book to be? Kidding... half kidding. One of my dream jobs is to do voice-overs, actually. Animation voice acting, cleaning product commercials, nature documentaries -- you name it, lemme at it! My voice is my primary instrument and I can do some truly crazy shit with it. My relationship with it is playful, frustrating, rewarding, surprising. The only times I've really cringed at my voice are when I can hear myself trying too hard, or not being authentic, or letting my insecurities get the better of me. I have a noisy mouth, so that drives me crazy, and I haven't found the right combo of magic foods/potions to help with it (our sound designer has a special mouth noise plug-in just for me, which is equal parts great and gross!). But basically, I appreciate the voice I have, and I hope I have the opportunity to use it for music, podcasts, and side projects for decades to come.

Last thing I'll say is, to the men who criticize women's voices: hahahahahahaha are you hearing YOURSELF right now?

Do you think there are any rules all podcasters should adhere to?
Rule #1: Rules are made to be broken. Learn them, appreciate them for what they are, and then go rogue and make something no else is making.

Should podcasters read their Apple Podcast reviews?
Yes, but mayyyyybe have a little whiskey first and do dramatic readings of them? You'll definitely see stuff that makes you go, "Nah, I'm good." But you'll probably also read something you hadn't considered before, and then you can choose to take it or leave it from there. It's pretty clear when someone is being a troll vs. when someone has taken a moment to leave sincere feedback. And given that reviews really do help MORE people find your show, you should have a sense of what people are saying.

Ultimately though, you have to believe in what you're making, and you have to remind yourself WHY you're making it and why you're making it the way that you're making it. Is your podcast primarily a creative outlet for you and you don't actually care who listens or likes it and who doesn't? Great! Don't read the reviews. Are you making the podcast for an audience to really get something out of it? Give the reviews an occasional scroll to see if you're succeeding at that. But as long as you're solid on what you love about your show, you'll have an easier time accepting the constructive feedback for what it is and saying "Haters gonna hate! (hair flip)" to the rest of it.

Is there anything I didn’t ask you that you’d like to talk about?
Climate change is real, elephants > humans, go for a walk, and dessert is worth it.

Thanks, Amory!