Will Becton is a podcast producer, engineer, and co-founder of Jett Road Studios, an independent podcast production company and development network he runs with his wife and creative partner, Amber Becton, in Los Angeles. Before launching Jett Road Studios, Will spent 12 years at CONAN and Team Coco, where he became the lead engineer for Team Coco Podcasts and was the original engineer of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.

At Jett Road Studios, Will and Amber created Jett Road Studios Presents, a development series in which each episode serves as a pilot for a different original podcast. In 2025, two of those pilots received Signal Awards: Dwelling with Lauren Weedman and miXed GENeration with Eddie Gorton. The first Jett Road Studios Presents pilot to go to series, Bad Elizabeth, hosted by Gideon Evans and Kathy Egan-Taylor, launched in 2025. The show was named “Best Podcast of the Week” by The Guardian and featured in “Shows We Love” on Apple Podcasts.

Jett Road Studios is now preparing to launch Three-Day Champion, a storytelling podcast with a game show twist, hosted by Christine Walters and featuring guests including Andy Richter, Dan Taberski, and Negin Farsad.

How many years have you worked in podcasting or audio?

6–10 years

What is your current role, in your own words?

I am the founder of Jett Road Studios, an independent podcast studio in Los Angeles, where I work as a podcast producer, engineer, and videographer.

What types of projects do you typically work on?

Much of my work is rooted in comedy, going back to Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend during my Team Coco days. Many of the hosts I work with now at Jett Road Studios are people I first met while performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York in the early 2000s. Even outside shows that record at Jett Road, like The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi and Wrong Turns with Jameela Jamil, tend to lean toward comedy.

How many years have you been a Signal Awards judge?

This is my first year!

What excited you about joining the Signal Awards Judging Academy?

Amber and I loved coming to New York for the Signal Awards party last year, and we’re still in touch with many of the people we met over the course of that week. Joining the Judging Academy feels like a great opportunity to connect with more talented and passionate people in the podcasting community.

What is one recent podcast you’ve loved and would recommend?

Yes, Also with Suzi Barrett is a really thoughtful interview show about improv comedy. The guests are always great, and I love hearing improvisers like Jeff Hiller (Widow’s Bay) and Jim Woods (Jury Duty: Company Retreat) talk about how their improv training informs both their work and their lives.

What separates good audio storytelling from great audio storytelling?

I think there is a sense of full immersion that comes with great audio storytelling, and that’s the result of all the elements coming together, both technically and creatively. The “driveway moment” you get from listening to a great episode of This American Life means everyone did their job well, and the sum of those parts washed over the listener in a special way.

What project are you most proud of and why?

I am most proud of the pilot series my wife Amber and I produce called Jett Road Studios Presents. Each episode is a pilot for a different podcast, and it allows us to work with talented friends like Lauren Weedman, Eddie Gorton, Kathy Egan-Taylor, Gideon Evans, and Christine Walters. The podcast industry is at a really interesting moment, and I’m proud of the work we’re doing and the community that is forming around it.

There’s a lot of uncertainty about where the industry is headed, but we’ve found that creating the work we want to make, with people we believe in, feels like the best way forward. Nobody is coming to save us.

What podcasting trend, challenge, or opportunity has your attention these days?

I started out as a video editor and worked in TV and film for many years before I began engineering and producing podcasts, so the rise of video podcasting is something I have mixed feelings about. Video can be great when it’s done well and doesn’t interfere with the intimacy of a show, but I still think audio is usually where the heart is.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to emerging creators?

Try to identify what makes you unique and make that central to the work you create.

What are you currently listening to? (podcasts, music, anything)

I usually listen to Pod Save America when there’s a big political event, but honestly, I mostly enjoy the banter between the hosts. Past Due with Ana Marie Cox & Open Mike Eagle is a show I discovered more recently that I really like. My daughter and I listen to music together on the way to school, and Arctic Monkeys and Gorillaz have been in heavy rotation lately.