A small, cozy podcast studio seen from across the room

[Show name], episode [number]: [Episode title]

Format

Promise

Host and guest

Length

Recording

Publish

Run sheet

Fill in the start times before you write a line.

Starts

Part

Length

Written as

Leads

0:00

Cold open

Tape or word for word

Theme and intro

Word for word

Segment 1

Notes

Mid-roll ad

Word for word

Segment 2

Notes

Segment 3

Notes

Outro and credits

Word for word

End

  • Write for the ear. Short sentences, one idea each. A listener can't scroll back.

  • Say where you're going before you go, and where you've been when you get there.

  • Read every word-for-word part aloud once before the session. If you stumble, rewrite it.

HOST, GUEST mark who speaks. Italic lines are cues for the edit. A slash (/) is a short pause; a double slash (//) is a full stop and a breath.

Cold open

A moment of tape, or one or two lines from the middle of the story. Write it last.

HOST:

MUSIC: theme in, five seconds, then under

Intro

HOST: This is [Show name]. I'm [name]. /

Today's story or question, then the guest and why they're here.

By the end of this episode, you'll

MUSIC: theme out under the last line

See an example intro and ad read

Small Plates, episode 41: Who invented the sandwich? · a food history show

HOST: This is Small Plates, the history of the food on your table. I'm Dana Okafor. /
The sandwich is named after an earl who was too busy gambling to stop for dinner. // Or so the story goes. /
My guest today is Priya Raman, a historian of eighteenth-century London, who has read the earl's letters. //
By the end of this episode, you'll know who really made the first sandwich, and why the earl got the credit. //

HOST: This episode is sponsored by Breadline, a bakery delivery service. / I've had their rye on my doorstep every Friday since spring, // and it's still the best part of my week. / Your first box is half price at breadline dot com slash plates. / That's breadline dot com slash plates. //

Segment 1

Copy from this heading down to the divider for each segment.

  • Job:

  • Signpost:

  • Points and questions:

  • Tape:

  • If running long, cut:

  • Bridge to the next segment:

Interview questions

  1. Warm-up:

  2. Core question:

  3. Core question:

  4. The one that matters most:

  5. What should a listener try?

  6. Where can people find your work?

Ad read: [Sponsor]

  • Slot and length:

  • From the sponsor's brief:

  • Don't say:

  • Approved by the sponsor:

HOST: This episode is sponsored by [Sponsor]. /

What it is, one true detail from your own use of it, and the offer.

Go to [web address] and use the code [CODE]. / That's [web address], code [CODE]. //

HOST, back from the break:

Outro

The promise kept, in one sentence; one call to action; what's next time.

HOST:

[Show name] is hosted by [name] and edited by [name], with music by [name]. Thanks for listening.

MUSIC: theme up, then out

For the edit

Cue log

Cue

Source and timecode

In and out words

Length

TAPE 1

TAPE 2

MUSIC 1

Pronunciation

Name or word

Say it

Checked with

Show notes

  • Title:

  • Description:

  • Timestamps:

  • Links mentioned:

  • Sponsor:

  • Credits:

Before you hit record

  • The start times on the run sheet add up to the target length

  • Intro, bridges, ad read and outro read aloud once with a timer

  • The ad read says it's an ad in its first line and fits its slot

  • Every tape and music cue logged with a source, in and out words and a length

  • Hard names checked with a source and written as they sound

  • Script on a second screen or printed, in large type, with page numbers