Hes also the host ofRadiolabspinoffMore Perfect, a show about Supreme Court rulings and amendments to the Constitution.

We talked to him about his career, theRadiolabteam, and the hate letters he writes to Pro Tools.

Director Me then claps and says, Nice performance!

Tell us a little about your background and how you got to where you are today.

Heres an early one.

Im not sure how, but I got it into my head early that Id be a film scorer.

I went to Oberlin College to do that.

So after about five years in the wild, I decided to give up music.

It was at that point that Karla (my then girlfriend, now wife) suggested I try radio.

I startedRadiolabin early 2002.

Its been a long, slow evolution since then.

I learned almost everything I know about journalism and reporting on the job.

A lot of mistakes later, here I am.

Take us through a recent workday.

My weeks are divided into chaos days and production days.

Chaos days are Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Production days are Tuesday, Thursdays.

Today is Wednesday, so my calendar looks like one of those redistricted maps from South Carolina.

At 4:30 I run home to be a dad for a few hours.

[Season 3 concluded in December after Jad answered these questions.]

Tomorrow, Thursday, I have no meetings.

In my calendar it just says Production.

A big pink block.

So Ill spend the day in my studio.

What apps, gadgets, or tools cant you live without?

Pro Tools:I wish I could live without it but I cant.

Heres an average Pro Tools session:

Pro Tools crashes a lot.

When it does, a little box pops up.

Ill often write messages to whoever doesnt read them on the other side.

I dont like Pro Tools.

Its a loveless marriage.

Ableton Live:This program I love.

Live is where I compose the music that gets put into Pro Tools.

I love how flexible it is.

Its just the best program.

If only it had more keyboard shortcuts, Id give up Pro Tools forever.

Granite:A little granular synthesis software that Ive used for ten years and still love.

Evernote: I put my whole life in Evernote.

Article clippings, receipts, notes from phone conversations.

Whats your workspace setup like?

Heres my home studio in Brooklyn.

Its set up for both music and podcastifiying.

Left view:

Moog Sub 37:The funnest synth ever.

Korg MS-20:Newest addition.

Pedals:Over the years Ive accumulated a ton of guitar pedals.

I find its a very fun (and tactile) way to manipulate sound.

A Lyra-8 Synth:A very, very weird organismic synthesizer that honestly has a mind of its own.

Every time I turn it on it generates a different noise, depending on its mood.

Front view:

5.

Thermionic Culture Vulture:This is basically a distortion box.

Dreadbox Abyss:Simple synth with strange built in effects.

Matched pair of Empirical Labs Distressors:Great compressors for squashing drums or really anything.

Native Instruments Kontrol 49 keyboard

10.

AKG 414:Been using this mic since 2002.

UAD Apollo 16:The heart of my setup.

All audio goes in and out of this.

Whats more important than people think about creating radio and podcasting?

People are always surprised at how much time we spend looking for stories.

Well often spend months calling and reading and conducting interviews only to then kill the story.

Well often spend months calling and reading and conducting interviews only to then kill the story.

Whats your best shortcut or life hack?

Waking up at 5 a.m. Its a beautiful little window of time where I can hear things differently.

Director Me then claps and says, Nice performance!

Somehow that little bit of dissociation helps turn rage into amusement.

Heres a meeting hack thats by no means original: I have meetings while walking.

Better for the meeting to feel like New York City.

I have meetings while walking.

Better for the meeting to feel like New York City.

Take us through an interesting, unusual, or finicky process you have in place at work.

Our whole process is unusual and finicky.

It had the opposite effect.

No one wanted to look at the board cause its crazy-making.

So now we stash the thing in our studio.

But I still do like this process.

And weve simplified it quite a bit over the years.

Weve borrowed a lot of process ideas from other fields.

Well draw out storyboards, sort of like film or comic writers do.

I personally have trouble with stories where the structure gets too analytical and intricate.

Oh my god, so many people to mention.

Suzie Lechtenberg, my other right (left?)

She startedMore Perfectwith me a few years ago and is nowRadiolabsExecutive Producer.

Its rare to find a creative person whos so brilliant at managing other creative people.

The person I lean on most on a daily basis is Shima Oliaee.

Shima is a unicorn.

The smartest, most talented human Ive ever met.

Hes the guy I call when Im really stuck on a problem.

Robert always manages to say the one thing thatll get me unstuck.

Ive been drafting off of his brilliance for 15 years.

Also…

Dylan Keefe, director of sound design.

In 1997, Dylan had a #1 hit.

Now he makes beautiful music forRadiolab.

Latif Nasser (Canadian story genius and host of a new series coming soon!)

Annie McEwen (expert story builder, second Canadian among us).

Molly Webster (intrepid science explorer, the force behindGonads!

Its the best team Ive ever worked with, may ever work with.

How do you keep track of what you have to do?

Shima and I useTodoistto capture and organize tasks.

But to-do lists quickly become guilt lists.

So if something really has to get done we just put it in the calendar and trust.

How do you recharge or take a break?

I watch premier league highlights or NBA highlights or really highlights from any sport that isnt golf.

Whats your favorite side project?

Conversion therapy is such a bizarre and under-recognized phenomenon in America.

It was exciting to be able to unearth these histories.

Also: Im always writing music in the gaps.

What are you currently reading, or what do you recommend?

What do you listen to while you work (when youre not doing audio work)?

Lately, a lot ofJon Hopkins.

Alex Overington turned me on to him and now Im obsessed.

His 2013 album is a masterpiece.

Ive also been really into this metal bandAzusa.

Who else would you like to see answer these questions?

Whats the best advice youve ever received?

That to be a boss, I dont have to know where were going.

I just have to be the guy that leads the search.

Whats a problem youre still trying to solve?

At this point in my career, I feel like there should be fewer late nights.

But there are still so many late nights.

That said, I do love the late nights.