Noah Adams Listened for the Person, Not the Talking Point
Noah Adams, the writer, broadcaster and storyteller who hosted All Things Considered for 18 years, died Friday at his home in Yellow Springs, Ohio, at 84, according to his wife, Neenah Ellis. Adams would ride trains across the country or spend days in small towns talking to whoever he came across; he asked questions and listened. Melissa Block, who produced pieces alongside him before hosting the show herself, remembered him as 'always observing.' Ira Glass has repeatedly cited Adams's interviewing style as an inspiration for the feel and tone of This American Life.
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The train-and-small-town method is the real tribute: report where people are, not where the press conference is.
Listening is only half the craft; Block's 'always observing' points to the other half — the little notebook and the shorthand.