Made to be heard.
Original podcast series, narrative documentaries, and bespoke audio storytelling — built with editorial precision, deep sonic craft, and the oxford comma. Because audio stories just sound better with the oxford comma…
“Great stories happen to those who can tell them.”— Ira Glass
— it puts you inside one.
Hearsay Studio is a podcast production studio rooted in the traditions of longform audio journalism and narrative radio. We exist to make audio that earns its place in people’s ears: original podcast series, narrative documentaries, branded audio, and bespoke sound experiences.
Hearsay was founded by me, Jonathan A. Davis. Firstly, because I have a great face for radio. Secondly, because I believe the best podcasts aren’t just content; they’re stories that needed to be told. I work with brands, institutions, independent creators, and mission-driven organizations to find and shape those stories, from first concept to final mix.
End-to-end podcast
production & strategy
Podcast Launch
Skip the awkward years. We help you launch a great show right away — from concept and strategy to production and distribution.
- Concept & series development
- Format & structure design
- Pilot production
- Launch strategy & distribution
- Host coaching & prep
Podcast Promotion
Grow your ideal audience with proven podcast marketing strategies. We help great content find the listeners who need to hear it.
- PR & media outreach
- Paid & organic audience growth
- SEO-optimized show notes & copy
- Cross-promotion & partnerships
- Community building
Video Podcast Production
Expand your reach with a video podcast. YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine — we help you show up there.
- Video strategy & planning
- Recording & production
- Clip & highlight editing
- Full-length episode production
- Platform optimization
Private Podcasting
Revolutionize internal communication with a company podcast. We produce content your team actually wants to engage with.
- Internal communications audio
- Employee storytelling
- Private distribution setup
- Leadership & culture content
- Ongoing series production
Enterprise Podcasting
Build brand awareness and authority with a thought-leading podcast that reaches the decision-makers who matter most.
- Brand podcast strategy
- Corporate storytelling
- B2B audience development
- Executive thought leadership
- Mission-driven content
Podcast Editing
Industry-leading podcast editing that creates a show your audience can’t hit pause on. We handle the technical so you can focus on the content.
- Story & structural editing
- Audio cleanup & polish
- Sound design & mixing
- Music & bed production
- Engineering & mastering
Distribution & Analytics
Getting your podcast heard is just the beginning. We set up smart distribution, write episode copy, and build dashboards so you know exactly what’s working.
- Multi-platform distribution setup
- Episode summaries & show notes
- Listener analytics & reporting
- Performance benchmarking
- Growth strategy insights
Narrative Podcasting
Stand out by creating a truly engaging, story-driven podcast. Our roots are in longform narrative journalism — this is what we do best.
- Original series development
- Audio documentary production
- Investigative & reported audio
- Character-driven storytelling
- Full sound design & score
The Wedding Podcast
Your wedding weekend — produced as a beautifully crafted, sound-immersive podcast. A one-of-a-kind keepsake that captures what photos and video can’t.
- Love story documentary episode
- Ceremony & reception capture
- Guest interviews & messages
- Full production & sound design
- Private, secure distribution
A process built for
stories that matter
🔍 Discovery & Strategy
We start by deeply understanding your story, your audience, and your goals. Every project begins with listening.
💡 Development & Ideation
We shape concept, format, arc, and editorial direction — building the blueprint before any recording begins.
🎧 Production & Craft
Field recording, interviews, scripting, editing, sound design — every element handled with precision and care.
🚀 Launch & Growth
We help you get the work into the world — distribution, analytics, promotion, and audience development built in from the start.
🎙️ Reporting & Interviewing
We know how to get in the mix, earn trust fast, and ask the questions that unlock the real story. Field-tested in newsrooms and on the ground.
✍️ Editorial
Structure, arc, pacing, clarity. We make stories work — whether shaping a series concept or tightening a single episode down to the bone.
🎛️ Production & Sound Design
From raw tape to final mix: editing, engineering, music, sound design, and mastering — handled with professional-grade precision.
📈 Strategy & Growth
We think about audiences from day one. Show positioning, distribution, analytics, SEO, promotion — we build shows designed to be heard.
💡 Development & Ideation
We help find the concept, shape the format, and write the pitch. Some of our best work started as a vague feeling that something needed to be said.
🤝 Project Management
Deadlines met, budgets respected, communication clear. We integrate with your team or operate fully independently.
Craft, rigor,
and story instinct
Hearsay Studio was founded by me, Jonathan A. Davis. I’m an award-winning audio journalist, podcast producer, and story editor in the San Francisco Bay Area, Oakland to be exact. I built this podcast studio as a place to make the kind of audio I’ve spent a career chasing: longform narrative journalism, powerful interviews, and stories that earn their way into someone’s headphones. I work with an amazing fleet of producers, editors, and engineers so that we can bring you everything you need in a full-service one-stop-podcast-shop.
Previously, I have produced for The Journal — Spotify × The Wall Street Journal’s podcast about money, business, and power. My work on The Intersection — a podcast from KALW, where I served as associate producer and editor — won The San Francisco Press Club’s First Place for Best Radio Documentary. I served as story editor on Season 4 of College Uncovered, a GBH podcast series. The season won First Place for Best Information Podcast by the National Headliner Awards. Prior to that, I was awarded The Carter Center “Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism” and the “Benjamin von Sternenfels Rosenthal Grant for Investigative Mental Health Reporting” which funded an investigative series about the psychedelic medicine movement. Those stories aired nationally on NPR via Reveal and PRX, and won First Place for Excellence in Health Care Journalism by The Association of Health Care Journalists.
I started in radio at KPFA — the legendary Pacifica Network outpost in Berkeley, Ca — and shortly after, joined KALW, San Francisco’s NPR affiliate station, as a reporting fellow. Beyond this, I’ve reported, recorded, and produced for Audacy, CBC, Freakonomics, Kerning Cultures, NPR, PBS, Pineapple Street Studios, Saveur, Slate, Sonic Union, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Ultraviolet, and WNYC. I’ve also helped start, produce, and provide counsel for numerous independent podcasts and chatcasts.
Before podcasting, I worked in management consulting, financial services, sustainability, philanthropy, and the non-profit world. I hold a B.S. in Accounting & Business-Management and a B.A. in Sustainability Studies from the University of Florida. I work to bring those unique experiences and perspectives to the podcasts we create.
Hearsay Studio works with clients in Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, the wider Bay Area, across California, all around the United States of America, and throughout the Milky Way Galaxy.
Ready to make
something worth hearing?
Whether you have a fully-formed idea or just a feeling that there’s a story that needs to be told — let’s talk.
Get in Touch