Ashley Ahearn

Journalist

Winthrop, WA

8/19/22

Early in this semester, the Westies have been fortunate to work with former NPR reporter and podcaster Ashley Ahern here in the Methow Valley. Ashley led a special workshop designed to give Westies skills in conducting interviews and designing podcasts.

In her work at NPR, Ashley wrote stories featured on programs like All Things Considered, Here and Now, and The World. She has since moved to the Methow Valley and worked on her own productions, including “Grouse,” a series on the endangered sage grouse, and “Women’s Work,” a podcast about female ranchers in the West. Working with Ashley allowed us to make use of her formidable podcasting experience and learn about how to make our interviews and recordings interesting and effective.

To help Westies become podcast pros, Ashley sent us out into the communities of Winthrop and Twisp, where we interviewed residents of the Methow Valley. After traveling around the dry, scenic valley to get our stories, we reconvened at TwispWorks, a retrofitted Forest Service ranger station that now serves as a commercial and community space. In the midst of native plant gardens, craft breweries, and the North Cascade Mountains, Ashley taught Westies the basics of using audio software, writing scripts, and conducting productive interviews.

All the skills Westies learned from Ashley will help us in interviewing our guests throughout the semester. This winter, keep an eye out for a series of podcasts made by us that summarize some of the amazing people and fascinating issues we have been studying! These will be available wherever you normally find your podcasts. (For those of you in the Methow, these podcasts will also be played on KTRT, 97.5 FM Winthrop, AKA ‘The Root.’)

By Sam Allen