I listen to podcasts a lot … too much, let’s go ahead and say.

According to Stitcher Smart Radio, I have listened on that app alone to nearly 3,000 hours of podcasts and more than 14,000 episodes. At the time of this writing, I carry a 54-day listening streak.

I’m a reporter in TV news, but as a consumer I choose podcasts far more. And I often think the two have little in common. Podcasts run way longer, often function as a talk show or long-form interview, and of course lack the video component that is so essential in my work. But some podcasts tell stories. Some episodes seem like extended versions of what a television reporter would produce every day.

And one particular episode – the two-part “Long Distance” by Reply All – kept me so hooked and contains so many storytelling lessons that I felt the need to dissect it, for all our benefits.

“Long Distance” premiered last year and reran as a single episode last month. I learned about it last weekend, when a friend at brunch claimed it as his favorite but wouldn’t reveal anything about it. I clicked on it that night before bed, thinking I’d listen for 15-20 minutes and then resume it the next morning. I listened to the whole thing. And I found it ripe with lessons for any storyteller, regardless of medium. Here’s my view on how the producers and reporters developed such a fascinating episode:

(By the way, I’d highly recommend listening to the episode first, but I’ve written this post to stand on its own.)

2:30: They introduce a question that attracts a natural desire for an answer. Namely, haven’t you ever wondered who’s behind those scam calls that we all sustain? Reporter Alex Goldman receives such a call, saying his iCloud has been compromised.

2:55: They introduce a journey into the unknown. Less than 30 seconds after asking that question, reporter Alex Goldman shows he’s willing to go places that most of us won’t. He calls the number.

3:00-8:00: They operate with transparency and provides an early payoff. The first call is a hit. Goldman reaches an operator named Alex Martin and proceeds to have a ridiculous conversation with him. He plays nearly all of it. In those five minutes, he gleams so much information about the mind of the scammers that he could have ended the episode there and left listeners satisfied. But of course, he pushes on.

8:00-23:00: They build his story with reveals. Every few minutes, the listener learns something fascinating about both the call center scam universe and Goldman’s personal journey. Goldman and the Reply All team operate like renegade investigators, and his conversations with the call center operators are rich, humorous at times, and nearly always surprising.

23:00-35:00: They do their homework. I’d stack their investigative findings and methods against any major news operation. As a listener, I know I’m in good hands.

45:00: They set up a massive cliffhanger. Most of us don’t get to do multi-part reports, but it’s worth noting the one-two punch at the end of Part One that makes Part Two a mandatory listen. There’s a huge reveal, followed by another bombshell that tells us what’s coming in the next episode. Brilliant.

***SPOILERS FOLLOW***

46:00-1:20:00: Again, they continue to raise the stakes. Study any graph of a narrative arc, and you’ll see the same general idea: build and build with rising action until you reach a climax. Goldman and his producer head to India to track down the call center that initially targeted him. Their trip becomes (A) a mystery in which they keep learning more relevant details, (B) a race against the clock, in that they want to get into the call center before their trip ends, and (C) a journey with a seemingly increasing concern about danger.

1:20:00-1:25:00: They end with a climactic scene. Here, however, is my one complaint. Goldman and his producer reach the call center’s front door but can’t get it. He ends up having a confrontational phone call where one of the main bosses of the scam operation continues to demand, “What is it that you want?” Goldman responds, “I wanted to know who was the person who called me and tried to scam me, and I figured it out.” The problem is, he figured it out in Part One. He really didn’t learn much in Part Two, which makes the triumph and defiance in Goldman’s speech ring somewhat false. (Goldman said on the Longform podcast that he had a dream scenario for how the India trip could have played out, which didn’t happen. He also said the call center bosses had likely expected him to blackmail them, which he didn’t realize during the trip.)

In spite of the ultimate fizzle, the ride is extraordinary. I’m not a loyal listener of Reply All, but I admire the heck out of what they accomplished here.