June's top podcasters, will analytics change podcasting, and Everyone Else

June’s Podtrac “top podcast publishers” list is out. A strong debut for ESPN, and in total, June was 13% larger than May. Their release focuses on US numbers, but globally, the list is:

• 1. NPR (97.1m downloads/streams)
• 2. HowStuffWorks (35.4m)
• 3. WNYC Studios (34.1m)
• 4. ESPN (30.3m)
• 5. This American Life / Serial (22.7m)

5 myths about podcasting attempts to debunk myths including podcasting’s discovery problem, and whether it has no measurement.

Pocket Casts gets an update on Android. Notably in the excellent release notes: “Podcast title sort now ignores 'The’. You might think that’s meh but wow you people wouldn’t stop emailing us about it!”

Here’s what happened the last time audio producers got better data - a piece from NiemenLab about radio ratings and the PPM, and the changes in radio that they were directly responsible for. “It’s not clear what a clickbait podcast might sound like, but if there’s money to be had in making it, we’ll probably find out soon.”

Will data make podcasts better: or will it stifle the creative process asks Fred Jacobs. “Great user data could be the catalyst that vaults podcasting into the mainstream”.

Do I need a mixer for my podcast? asks Ascetic Productions. As the piece acknowledges, it depends what you’re actually making: but it’s a worthwhile read.

In the UK, the rules around what the BBC can make have changed: they can now make podcasts that aren’t just a rehashed radio show. Production house WiseBuddah has made a true crime podcast for them. “Listeners liked it … but said some of the episodes were too short (17-20 minutes) so we changed them to make them longer”

The British Radio Times magazine (a TV and radio listing) publishes a “podcast of the week” feature. This week it’s Everyone Else, a twenty-minute “human experience” podcast.