Taking the show on the road

• The Fracture to Flourish podcast, a podcast focusing on foster youth aging out of the system, is taking its show on the road, literally, with a wrapped trailer journeying 1,800 miles across the US. We’ve more pictures from along Route 66, including Nashville, and the road to Amarillo.

• Sounds Profitable released its latest research into the advertising landscape, focusing on attention and trust. The report shows that podcasts top the charts for audience trust in both content and advertising, with listeners more likely to view them as accurate, credible, and free from misleading claims. And, nearly half of podcast listeners say the advertising they hear feels authentic and natural — a key differentiator from social media and traditional spots. The study is a free download.

• African Business write about what they call The unrelenting rise of video podcasts in Kenya, which contains analysis of some of the biggest shows in the country.

• Heritage Radio Network and FoodFM have announced a content-sharing agreement for food and drink shows, which it’s claimed is the first transatlantic partnership for the genre.

• Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, which was removed from Spotify after he called for Dr Anthony Fauci’s beheading, is back on the platform after an almost five year ban. The show had remained on Apple Podcasts and the Podcast Index. It self-hosts. (Apple is now able to remove specific episodes from its directory; it wasn’t in 2020).

• It’s the turn of Platform Media to suffer a phishing incident, just weeks after Acast suffered one. Be cautious of random emails out of the blue, asking you to accept a Docusign document.

• Further reading:

  • DW asks whether podcast authenticity is overrated - or essential.
  • NPR CEO Katherine Maher has published a statement about funding of local radio and TV stations, correcting some media reports and highlighting the effect of removal of public media support.

Thank you to Matt Kellogg, VP of Sales & Business Development at SoundStack, for becoming our latest personal supporter. It’s generosity from people like Matt that ensures that Podnews is free to everyone. You can be like Matt, and become a supporter.

People News

• Blubrry CEO Todd Cochrane celebrated his birthday yesterday. Cochrane literally wrote the book on podcasting in 2005 - Podcasting: The Do-It-Yourself Guide, in which he appears using a fancy microphone and a Sony Vaio, and shows how to find podcasts on Podcast Alley - where his show was #5 in the world. Happy Birthday, Todd!

Tips and tricks - with Memberful

• Given that 71% of podcast listeners found a podcast on social media, Headliner posts How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Podcast (Without Posting 24/7)

• Valentina Kaledina from Castbox posts Why to diversify your revenue streams - and how to start thinking about it. “There are many ways you can generate income with podcasts or media content: there are donations and subscriptions, sponsorship and branded content, programmatic ads and grants as well as other income opportunities such as events, merchandise and optioning your IPs for books or films.”

Podcast News

In What’s a Podcast?: The Revolution Redefined, Dan Granger sits down with Ira Glass - talking about Serial, promotion, and… whether video has a place in podcasts. Is Ira for video, or against it?

Production studio QCODE and hit podcast And That’s Why We Drink have launched the Para Pods Network - a new podcast network dedicated to celebrating and elevating creators across genres. The flagship launch show is Ladies & Tangents.

In OP Said this week, you’ll hear 3 real-life best friends tear into Reddit’s wildest dilemmas with judgment-heavy, emotionally sharp debates. Fiercely authentic and female-led, it’s a brutally honest gossip group chat on everything from cheating confessions to toxic work meltdowns — no wonder they’ve built a cult following across TikTok and YouTube since launching late last year.

Christian testimony podcast Compelled is now airing on American Family Radio stations - more than 170 radio stations across 34 states of the US. It runs Sundays, 2-3pm Central Time, reaching 500,000 people. We’re told the show is re-editing older episodes to fit the exact radio time length; and selling their own radio ads.

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth has joined the Acast network. Gyles - a British writer, broadcaster, ex-MP and TV star - talks to famous and fascinating people about their first memories and first experiences. Previous guests have included Judi Dench, Stephen Fry, Alison Hammond, Joanna Lumley, Lulu, Richard Ayoade and Sir Keir Starmer.

Stone Fable launched The Grimoire Diaries yesterday - a ten-part audio drama from viral horror creator William Moore and author Alex Edwards, the show "follows one man’s descent into a world hidden beneath rhyme, ritual, and rot. Expect folklore, eldritch magic, cursed objects, and characters you’ll love too much to trust.”