A new fictional podcast drama debuts in Australia

A new fiction podcast drama has debuted. Six Cold Feet is sponsored by a thriller publisher, and is made in Brisbane QLD, Australia (as are we).

Also new, The Folded Lie, a podcast about a killing during Australia’s Great Strike a hundred years ago, is launched in Sydney NSW, Australia.

EXCLUSIVE: Chapter points. Are they a waste of time? Podnews looks at podcast app support for chapter points, made trendy and exciting by Marco Arment’s Forecast chapter point editing tool, and conclude… well, this is one article that doesn’t obey Betteridge’s Law.

On the heels of Sonix and the BBC’s Discourse tool, Descript: a(nother) “wordprocessor for audio”. The man behind this, Andrew Mason, is formerly of GroupOn. Takeaway: raw editing of speech is no longer a skill.

HotPod 144 is out. “I am struck by a distinct sense that we’re smack dab in the middle of a really slow but considerable change,” says Nick Quah, looking back at 2017.

Is Apple losing its grip on the podcast market? The Hustle points out that Apple’s share has dropped over the past two years from 70% to 55%.

Which podcast categories have the most titles? Steven Goldstein investigates. Music, surprisingly, is #3.

Nielsen publishes a new study on the effectiveness of podcast advertising. “Almost 70% of respondents said the podcast spots they heard in the study increased their awareness of new products or services.”.

Of note: Google recommends your audio is -16 LUFS for Google Assistant (eg Google Home). If podcasting needed a standard, this is it.

RadioPublic post “17 podcasts that started in 2017 that I can’t imagine a world without”. The first one? A Piece of Work, a podcast about modern art.

Jacobs Media point out that evergreen content is a winner - highlighting Serial’s enduring popularity.

Steven Goldstein interviews KIRO’s Rachel Belle about her podcast, Your Last Meal.

Listicle: 8 Star Wars podcasts you need to listen to.