Have your say: the Podnews Report Card returns

• Today marks the launch of this year’s Podnews Report Card, our fifth annual piece of research into what podcast creators think of the platforms we all use. Previous years have uncovered significant pain points which have since been fixed by podcast platforms, including an easier method of submissions to Apple Podcasts, and control of comments about your podcast in Spotify. It takes just ten minutes to give us your views; we’ll report back in mid-May at The Podcast Show in London, and in this newsletter.

• Exclusive: The 911 Podcasts sci-fi thriller podcast Cascadia has revealed six additional actors have joined the upcoming second season, which has just completed production.

• The Virginia Queer Film Festival has launched an audio storytelling program, Queer Ear. They’re looking for audio-only storytelling pieces under 25 minutes in length from podcast series, anthologies, and stand-alone projects.

• The future of podcasting is women, Acast argued in Italy, unveiling their 2026 Women in Podcasting research. It discovers that “the algorithm” may be against women creators, and that female hosts are better for advertisers than men.

• The Trump Administration’s order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS has been permanently blocked by a federal judge. NPR is one of the largest podcast publishers in North America. It comes just a few weeks after a separate judge ruled that cuts for the Voice of America were unlawful. It’s unclear what these rulings mean in practice.

• Signings: In Australia, sports podcast producer BackChat Studios has announced a partnership with the House of Common podcast network … SEC football show The OG Kickoff has joined the DBL Down Media network

First of the month corner

• Headliner is well-known as a tool that helps turn audio into video (and posts it in places like YouTube and social media). Now that many podcasts are made in video, Headliner has added a new tool called Full Circle, "a groundbreaking new feature that takes your video and, through a proprietary, seamless, easy-to-use pipeline, returns it to you as video.” It’s launching today, April 1st.

• Auralex, which makes acoustic panels for studios, have released their “relic” range, including a special NicoTine Tint vintage colour. They’re launching today, April 1st.

• History Daily, from Airship and Noiser, returns with its annual April Fool’s episode today. In a press release, we’re told that the story being told in the podcast is real (it’s about a consequential but accidental military victory in 1572), but the advertisers are also from 1572. The show is working with Magellan AI, who apparently built a parchment-based dashboard to help these 16th century sponsors get the insights they expect, according to the company’s Cameron Hendrix who dashingly appears in their press release, in a picture we suspect may be violating our rules about AI.

Tips and tricks - with the Podnews Report Card

• How can you use songs from AC/DC or The Beatles in your podcast? We’ve got all of the detail, and it’s not just someone saying the word “no”. … OK, fair enough - April Fool! This article is absolutely someone patiently saying the word “no”.
• Host-read podcast ads can be illegal and you probably don’t want that. US law is the same as the UK - and from the UK, the much-missed Paul Chantler wrote this for us in 2022.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: Queens Podcast features Katy and Nathan pairing cocktails with amazing women of history. Today: a case out of Austria which stunned the world: a woman held captive for 24 years in a hidden basement by her own father, Josef Fritzl.

Missing The Feed? Elsie Escobar and Rob Walch return to a regular podcast show today, as In & Around Podcasting returns. It is an evolving industry show that remains dedicated to the community and the creators who drive it.

The Vera House Podcast is the first Buzzsprout podcast to be available in HLS video on Apple Podcasts. Buzzsprout hasn’t, yet, been announced by Apple Podcasts as a video podcast partner.

Former Foo Fighters touring member Jessy Greene returns to the Foos Files podcast today to discuss her new album ‘The Future Holds To Love’, which features Foos keyboard player Rami Jaffee.

New from architecture and interior design PR and growth firm Upspring is Play with Matches - featuring conversations with the leaders shaping the future of architecture, design, and the built environment. It’s hosted by the company’s CEO, Tiffany Rafii.

Following a year off, the award-winning One Minute Podcast Tips is relaunching. In a new episode, you’ll hear why host Danny Brown took the extended break, why he’s bringing the podcast back, and what to expect in each snack-sized episode.

In Pursuit with Colleen Shogan is a new podcast from More Perfect and PRX, exploring lessons of America’s past to write the nation’s future. Shogan -- the former Archivist of the U.S. -- leads discussions with historians, thinkers, and public figures.

On the horror podcast Grave Tone this week, the guest is Mike P. Nelson (Wrong Turn, SNDN) who talks about his upcoming movie. The show also reviews the latest horror movies of the week.

Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin returns today. Dr. Galpin is a human performance scientist, NSCA Fellow, and coach to elite athletes across the NFL, NBA, UFC, and Olympics. Each episode draws on his two decades of experience to deliver tools and strategies for enhancing human performance.