How do you turn more than 45 hours of tape into a personal audio documentary?

In Undeniable, an episode of CBC’s Love Me, audio producer and sound mixer Xander Adams takes us inside her experience of facial feminization surgery. We’re there before and after the operation, and through the complicated aftermath. Intimate, funny, and often uncomfortable, it’s not a neat before-and-after reveal story.

On this episode, host Cory Choy, Festival Director of the New York City Podcast Awards, sits down with Xander, whose Undeniable won Trans Excellence in Audio Storytelling at the 2026 New York City Podcast Awards. They talk about:

• How Xander found her way back to making personal documentaries after a difficult period in her career
• How 45 hours of tape became a story through intense collaboration
• How the team got to a conversational voice-over 
• How sound design and mixing helped shape the story 
• How the team found the balance between discomfort, humor, intimacy, and carefully crafted sound
• How Xander knows when a personal experience is a story she wants to tell
• Where Xander is now after a second surgery

Listen to Undendiable from CBC’s Love me

Submissions for the 2027 New York City Podcast Awards are open until Nov 15. Find out more at podcastawards.nyc.

Additional links and resources from the conversation:

• Xander’s personal doc ”My Whitney” for CBC’s Love me episode “Take me Home”

Craft, Content & Creators is a production of the New York City Podcast Awards. This episode was produced by Vivien Schütz and mixed by Christian Cucinello, with support from Ivan Bronson, Lauren Molina, and Zach Treanor. Our theme music is by Santiago Aramburu.

What does a podcast sound like when you never quite know where the next episode will take you? 

Part sonic playground, part personal diary, part box of aural surprises, Creatures of the Wind is an independent podcast by audio maker Mae Nagusky, whose episodes move freely between formats and lengths. From capturing three years of her sister's childhood in a few minutes to collaging the complicated and intensive experience of childbirth, each episode is its own little world, held together by Mae’s playful curiosity and her instinct for finding meaning in the seemingly ordinary.

On this episode, host Cory Choy, Festival Director of the New York City Podcast Awards, sits down with Mae Nagusky, whose Creatures of the Wind won Best DIY Podcast at the 2026 New York City Podcast Awards. In this conversation, Cory and Mae discuss:

• How Mae uses audio and interviewing to make sense of growing up, relationships, and the world around her 
• What gave her the confidence to take the leap and start her own podcast 
• How creative challenges help her grow as an artist
• What she learned from making a new podcast episode every day for a month in Brooklyn 
• Why she embraces imperfect, unpredictable sounds -- including the wind -- as part of her storytelling
• How she navigates the boundaries between making work and living her life, especially when the two overlap

Listen to Creatures of the Wind 

Submissions for the 2027 New York City Podcast Awards are now open. Find out more at podcastawards.nyc.

Craft, Content & Creators is a production of the New York City Podcast Awards. This episode was produced by Vivien Schütz and mixed by Christian Cucinello, with support from Ivan Bronson, Lauren Molina, and Zach Treanor. Our theme music is by Santiago Aramburu.

Tending is a 6-part series that follows the ongoing struggles Black farmers face in the wake of one of America's largest civil rights lawsuits, Pigford v. Glickman.

On this episode, host Cory Choy, Festival Director of the New York City Podcast Awards, is joined by Shirlette Ammons, the creator behind TENDING: Black Farmers Fight Against the USDA. Shirlette is a musician and storyteller, but, most importantly, as she says in each episode’s introduction, she’s the “granddaughter of a Black farmer.” The show took home the jury award for Best Host at the 2026 New York City Podcast Awards, and in this conversation, we ask Shirlette about:

• How she developed her voice as a host
• How she builds trust with interviewees
• What it’s like to tell a deeply personal story

Listen to Tending on Gravy

Submissions for the 2027 New York City Podcast Awards are now open. Find out more at podcastawards.nyc.

Craft, Content & Creators is a production of the New York City Podcast Awards. This episode was produced by Emily Reeves and mixed by Christian Cucinello, with support from Ivan Bronson, Lauren Molina, and Zach Treanor. Our theme music is by Santiago Aramburu.

James Roy tells us about the importance of live music as his band, The James Rocket, prepares for their upcoming shows.

To buy their music, check out this link: https://thejamesrocket.bandcamp.com

Go see them live! The James Rocket will be playing at:

The Parkside Lounge in NY on October 9th, 2026

• Ticket Link: https://events.humanitix.com/bootleg-dan-presents-the-james-rocket-mad-painter-and-space-machine-at-the-parkside-lounge

The International Pop Overthrow Festival in NY on November 8th, 2026

• Ticket Link: https://events.humanitix.com/the-international-pop-overthrow-festival

Featuring James Roy

Produced by Cory Choy and Christian Cuciniello

Music by The James Rocket

Sound by Silver Sound

At the ballet, beauty is center stage. Dancing with Shadows pulls back the curtain to ask what that beauty costs. The seven-part docuseries traces the history of the New York City Ballet, from George Balanchine's founding vision to the allegations of abuse and misconduct that have shaped the company's more recent history.

On this episode, host Cory Choy, Festival Director of the New York City Podcast Awards, sits down with Nicky Anderson, Head of Narrative at Stak, the London-based production company behind the series. Dancing with Shadows won Best Documentary and Best Sports Podcast at the 2026 New York City Podcast Awards, and in this conversation, Cory and Nicky discuss:

• How Nicky found her way from an assistant-to-the-CEO application into Stak's narrative department
• Why Dancing with Shadows is her most personal project, rooted in her own childhood ballet training in the west of Ireland
• How the team gained access to some of America's most esteemed ballet dancers, and how they restructured the series after being unable to interview someone at the heart of the story
• The whiteboard-and-sticky-notes system Nicky uses to structure each episode and season
• Why their team records every interview on three separate mics
• How 300+ million YouTube impressions helped the series find its audience

Listen to Dancing with Shadows on Stak's Legacy series

Submissions for the 2027 New York City Podcast Awards are now open. Find out more at podcastawards.nyc.

Craft, Content & Creators is a production of the New York City Podcast Awards. This episode was produced by Emily Reeves and mixed by Christian Cucinello, with support from Ivan Bronson, Lauren Molina, and Zach Treanor. Our theme music is by Santiago Aramburu.

Welcome to the very first episode of Craft, Content & Creators, a new show from the New York City Podcast Awards. Each episode, host Cory Choy sits down with award-winning creators, documentarians, and sound artists who took home top prizes at last year's awards, digging into their creative journeys, the artistic and business decisions behind their work, and what it really takes to make exceptional audio storytelling.

To kick things off: Blake Pfeil, the creative mind behind abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast. An award-winning multidisciplinary artist based in the Hudson Valley, Blake is the creator, host, writer, executive producer, and sound designer of the series, which transforms his explorations of abandoned spaces across the U.S. into what he calls a "fantastical multimedia travelog." The show took home the jury prize for Breaking Conventions — Most Innovative at the 2026 NYC Podcast Awards.

In this conversation, Blake and Cory dig into:

• How a pandemic-era dream led Blake back to a lifelong practice of ruin-exploring and, eventually, into podcasting
• Why he cites Dolly Parton's America (and Radiolab's Jad Abumrad) as a defining influence on his approach to pacing and sound
• His process, start to finish: field recording on-site, handwritten drafts, scripting, voiceover, and full sound design
• Bringing in guest hosts and outside voices for the first time this season, after years of doing everything solo
• Balancing the show with a full-time nonprofit job and a part-time radio gig

Listen to abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast.

Submissions for the 2027 New York City Podcast Awards are now open. Find out more at podcastawards.nyc.

Additional links and resources from the conversation:

• 'Neon Moss' from Dolly Parton's America
• Blake's favorite Epidemic Sounds artists: By Lotus, Hanna Lindgren, and Lama House

Craft, Content & Creators is a production of the New York City Podcast Awards. This episode was produced by Emily Reeves and mixed by Christian Cucinello, with support from Ivan Bronson, Lauren Molina, and Zach Treanor. Theme music by Santiago Aramburu.

Welcome to the Biannual Sonic Dash Podcast presented by the New York City Podcast Awards.

The Sonic Dash is a 48-hour storytelling competition and we receive submissions from all over the world. The surprise prompt for this 2026 Summer Dash was “Go For Broke.” 

This episode, we’ll be listening to our Grand Prize Winning piece "Go For Broke or Gopher Broke?" created by Long Island-based crack improv and podcast team, “Tales From the Cloud Sea” (Matt Silverman, Megan Leahy, Karen Cassady, Travis Sharp, Amanda Lee Williams, and Eve Krueger).

Produced by Cory Choy, Emily Reeves, and Christian Cuciniello

Edited by Zach Treanor

Sound by Silver Sound

Welcome to the Biannual Sonic Dash Podcast presented by the New York City Podcast Awards.

The Sonic Dash is a 48-hour storytelling competition and we receive submissions from all over the world. The surprise prompt for this 2026 Summer Dash was “Go For Broke.” 

This episode, we’ll be listening to our second-place winning piece “Free Piano” by Michael Satow.

Produced by Cory Choy, Emily Reeves, and Christian Cuciniello

Edited by Zach Treanor

Sound by Silver Sound

Welcome to the Biannual Sonic Dash Podcast presented by the New York City Podcast Awards.

The Sonic Dash is a 48-hour storytelling competition and we receive submissions from all over the world. The surprise prompt for this 2026 Summer Dash was “Go For Broke.” 

This episode, we’ll be listening to third-place winning piece “Shooting My Shot” by Bronwen Livingstone from Scotland. 

Produced by Cory Choy, Emily Reeves, and Christian Cuciniello

Edited by Zach Treanor

Sound by Silver Sound

What if a map could justify the conquest of a nation? In 1895, as China and Japan negotiated the end of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894 - 1895), Japanese publisher Nakamura Yoshimatsu issued a remarkable map of Taiwan. Disguised as the work of a British naval officer, it subtly redrew the island to exaggerate vast 'ungoverned' tribal regions and diminish Qing authority. The result was one of the most consequential examples of persuasive cartography, a map that may have helped shape the negotiations leading to Japan's acquisition of Taiwan. Today, we explore the map, the politics behind it, and the extraordinary role cartography played in the transfer of an empire.

Take a listen as Chris Platt talks about war, leadership, and the disconnect between decision-makers and the people affected by their choices.

Written by and Featuring Chris Platt

Produced by Cory Choy and Christian Cuciniello

Sound by Silver Sound

We're back with another finalist spotlight for the Winter 2026 Sonic Dash. Today we will be highlighting a piece entitled "Meddling Kids of NYC" by Amanda Kari McHugh and Kyle Studstill.

Technical Director: Tom Fama

Produced by Christian Cuciniello and Cory Choy

Festival Directors: Mark Blumberg, Cory Choy, Emily Reeves

Take a listen as filmmaker Colin Colfer tells us about his animation process, the challenges of the craft, and what he’s working on now in the world of stop motion.

Featuring Colin Colfer

Produced by Cory Choy, Christian Cuciniello, and Ivan Bronson

Music by Ivan Bronson

Sound by Silver Sound

Take a listen as Saul Austerlitz tells us about the origin of the Brooklyn Resisters, the important work that they do, and his book entitled "How to Assemble an Activist"

Featuring Saul Austerlitz and Cory Choy

Produced by Cory Choy, Christian Cuciniello, and Ivan Bronson

Sound by Silver Sound

Take a listen as Amy Ernst tells us about how she uses her art as a creative outlet and a way to visualize a more loving world.

Featuring Amy Ernst

Produced by Cory Choy, Ivan Bronson, and Christian Cuciniello

Music by Ivan Bronson

Sound by Silver Sound

We're back with another finalist spotlight for the Winter 2026 Sonic Dash. Today we will be highlighting a piece entitled"Bo Ricky Banjo's Spiral to Hell" by Richard Kušan, Evan Sidio, and Ronnie Brown.

Technical Director: Tom Fama

Produced by Christian Cuciniello and Cory Choy

Festival Directors: Mark Blumberg, Cory Choy, Emily Reeves

We're back with another finalist spotlight for the Winter 2026 Sonic Dash. Today we will be highlighting a piece entitled "Like hot sauce, it burns" by Paloma Moreno Jiménez, Sara Schleede, Luci Jones, and Vanessa Handy.

Technical Director: Tom Fama

Produced by Christian Cuciniello and Cory Choy

Festival Directors: Mark Blumberg, Cory Choy, Emily Reeves

We're back with another finalist spotlight for the Winter 2026 Sonic Dash. Today we will be highlighting a piece entitled "Roll Play" by Tessa Zitter and Itai Rekem.

Technical Director: Tom Fama

Produced by Christian Cuciniello and Cory Choy

Festival Directors: Mark Blumberg, Cory Choy, Emily Reeves

Take a listen to our adaptation of Robert Reich's writings on our Current Political Climate.

Script adapted from the writings of Robert Reich

Produced by Cory Choy and Christian Cuciniello

Music by Ivan Bronson

Sound by Silver Sound

We're back with another finalist spotlight for the Winter 2026 Sonic Dash. Today we will be highlighting a piece entitled "Those Meddling Aunties" by Tanita Rahmani.

Technical Director: Tom Fama

Produced by Christian Cuciniello and Cory Choy

Festival Directors: Mark Blumberg, Cory Choy, Emily Reeves