Approach and Bio
With a background in English literature and creative writing, I honed my reporting skills through years of hands-on experience, collaborating with talented journalists. My initial foray into podcasting centered on writing for audio, but I soon learned the production side in order to create my first podcast, You At Home. While it was a valuable learning experience, it lacked key storytelling elements—particularly stakes. Since then I have been fortunate to collaborate with many talented producers and writers and have honed my voice through a variety of projects. During my work on The Opportunist, I interviewed hundreds of true crime victims and strived to craft episodes that both honored their stories and took listeners on a journey. I love the sweet spot in which storytelling and reporting intersect, ensuring that each narrative is truthful while emphasizing the thematic elements, stakes, and characters that bring a story to life. After all, a great story is only as compelling as the way it's told.
Press
Host Hannah Smith unfurls each story with an eye for detail, and it's the attention to these details that often causes things to fall apart for the scammer.
- Mashable
The Opportunist is a scam podcast that emulates the format of our favorite storytelling podcasts. If you tuned out for a moment, you might believe you were listening to This American Life. This is thanks to the production and scripting, as well as Hannah Smith’s
compelling narration. It’s this juxtaposition between style and content that makes The Opportunist a winner. The show tells true stories of ordinary people who do terrible things because they have the opportunity.
- Podcast Review
Extremely well-produced and executed to near perfection, Smith has mastered the art
of storytelling.
- Pod Sauce