About Yellow Armadillo Studios

 

Our Mission

 

I founded Yellow Armadillo Studios in the fall of 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic ended my public radio job as a daily talk show producer. I have a decade of experience in media, and have spent the past 5 years specializing in interview and talk shows at both the national and local level.

I disagree that there are “too many” podcasts. If you want to share your voice, let’s do it together. You don’t have to want to get rich or get acquired— just wanting to speak is enough of a reason. My focus will always be on you and your story— and on helping you connect with the audience you want to hear it.

My favorite people to collaborate with are professionals and academics looking to expand their reach and share their expertise with a wider audience.

about US

Melody Rowell

FOUNDER & Executive Producer

I’ve loved podcasts for over a decade. Being from Colorado and attending college in Kansas City, I spent a lot of hours in the car driving across Kansas, listening to This American Life and Stuff You Should Know. When I moved to Washington, DC, podcasts were a necessary part to my commute-- shows like Serial, Criminal, Reply All, and 99% Invisible. 

But I didn’t think I could have a career in audio until one day, it seemed like the only choice. I was working in the photography department at National Geographic. I’d been assigned to write a piece accompanying photos of people fleeing wildfires in Canada. I called each of these survivors to hear of their escape and what they planned to do next, with only the belongings that could fit in their cars. As I listened to them, I could tell that whatever I wrote would fall flat. Because of my incessant podcast listening, I realized that what was missing from my written words was the emotion and passion that can only be found in someone’s voice.

Shortly after that I applied and was accepted to the Transom Story Workshop in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. It’s sleepaway camp for wannabe producers, and the teachers boast that it has a more exclusive acceptance rate than Harvard. I spent 9 weeks on Cape Cod learning the ins and outs of radio production-- how to operate a mic and recorder, how to edit audio, how to conduct an interview, how to incorporate music in an audio piece. It was life-changing. When I got back to DC, I quit my job at National Geographic and set out to freelance.

Since then, I’ve worked primarily on talk shows-- niche podcasts about the Supreme Court, a nationally-broadcast NPR show, and a daily, local talk show that covered the arts and culture scene in Kansas City. It’s harder than it sounds to have an engaging conversation meant for a wide audience-- and I pride myself on coaching and prepping hosts to carry on those conversations. I also get a thrill out of editing audio to make it as listenable as possible for the audience-- think cutting out sirens, barking dogs, humming air conditioners, and screaming children. If I’ve done my job right, you won’t think about me at all.

GABE BULLARD

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT

The first time I heard a podcast, I had to download the file from an RSS reader and sync it to my iPod with a FireWire cable. I was in college at the time, studying to be a journalist and spending long hours in the campus studios experimenting with new ways to tell stories through sound. Two years later, I had my first job in the field, and I've worked at the intersection of journalism, sound, and technology ever since. I've reported radio stories, edited award-winning journalism, built new programs, and updated old podcasts for a new era. I've worked on documentaries, newsmagazines, and talk shows on the local and national level. Through it all, I've been focused on solid reporting, informed conversation, and technological innovation. As a producer and editor, I gladly pick up any task that needs doing, whether that means fine-tuning FOIA requests or working on an app that brings listener voices into on-air conversations. No matter what kind of project I'm working on, and no matter what my role is, my goal is always to make a compelling show that satisfies a creator's vision and an audience's curiosity.

jon peck

audience CONSULTANT

I have an insatiable thirst for building communities around the brilliance of journalists, artists, scientists and anyone with an authentic personal story to tell. 

I thrive working on shows that are helping make this world a better place. With On Point, 1A and The Moth in particular, I learned that you have to ask people to do more than just listen. By inviting your audience to share their thoughts, ideas, and emotions, you not only foster a loyal listenership, you spur growth. 

In my career, I have grown into an expert at identifying and understanding the unmet needs of the audience. I build engagement, marketing and promotional strategies that speak to those needs directly. As far as I can tell, this is the best tactic I know of to help quench my insatiable thirst. 

Here’s a summary of some of what I’ve accomplished on this path:

  • Grew the national audience for 1A from WAMU and NPR terrestrial and on-demand broadcasts. 

    • 1A became the fastest growing weekday public radio show during my tenure with 430 stations and 4.5 million weekly listeners (Nielsen courtesy of Act1, P12+, Weekly Cume, Spring ’21). 

    • A member of the hiring team for the new host of 1A, Jenn White. 

    • Managed digital advertising campaigns for both WAMU and 1A.

  • Executed audience development plan, and produced email newsletter for the critically acclaimed podcast Through The Cracks.

    • Audience exceeded 1.2 million downloads in an eight-episode season with no ad budget.

  • Partnered with NPR to grow Here & Now from 170 stations, 1.3 million weekly audience (2012) to 449 stations and 4.5 million weekly audience (2016).