Month: January 2017

Pod Save America has Over 1,000,000 Listens

~ jen

Pod Save America was started by the people that hosted the Keepin It 1600 podcast. Pod Save America was launched in early January of 2017, and it already has over 1,000,000 listens.

Pod Save America is hosted by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor. Jon Favreau served as Barack Obama’s head speechwriter from 2005-2013. Jon Lovett was a speechwriter for Hillary Clinton and a presidential speechwriter in the Obama White House. Tommy Vietor served as President Obama’s National Security Spokesman. Together, they are the founders of Crooked Media (a name inspired by some of Trump’s tweeted complaints about the media).

Pod Save America is described on iTunes as “a freewheeling conversation about politics, the press, and the challenges posed by the Trump presidency”. The first episode of Pod Save America was posted on January 9, 2017. On January 18, 2017, the Pod Save America Twitter account announced they had over a million listens:

That impressive number of listens happened before they released episode 4, which was titled “Obama’s Last Interview”. As you may have guessed, the episode was an interview with President Barack Obama. The last time President Obama was on a podcast was back in June of 2015, when he was on WTF with Marc Maron.

Jezebel Launched a Podcast

~ jen

Jezebel has launched a podcast called Big Time Dicks, that is described as “a podcast to ready you for Trump’s America”. The concept is based upon a similarly named Jezebel column.

Jezebel often reports on legislation (both local and federal) that is harmful. They have explored these “garbage policies” in a Jezebel column called “Big Time Small Time Dicks”. Jezebel noticed that Trump’s election has inspired these lawmakers to “write doubly oppressive bills doubly fast”. This provided the inspiration for Jezebel to launch a podcast.

Big Time Dicks brings listeners an in-depth look at the laws and lawmakers that are intent on harming people on the local, state, and federal levels. The podcast has already posted an introduction episode and an official Episode One titled “Welcoming Our New Dicktator”. Additional episodes will appear every week.

Mandana Mofidi is the executive director of Big Time Dicks. Levi Sharpe is the producer. Senior Jezebel reporter Prachi Gupta, Jezebel reporter Joanna Rothkopf, and other Jezebel staffers will appear on the podcast to explore policy on a wide range of topics including “heartbeat” bills and what repealing the Affordable Care Act would really mean. They are planning to speak with lawyers, government officials, activists, and other experts on the podcast.

Spreaker Updated How it Counts Downloads

~ jen

Spreaker posted an update on its statistics. Spreaker will now be using IAB guidelines to determine what constitutes as a “download.”

Spreaker points out some of the complications that arise when someone tries to figure out what to count as a “download”. Spreaker is in a unique position to check on this because they are able to control their platform from end to end. This means that Spreaker can see that most incoming media file requests to their platform come from human-operated apps, and that others come from pieces of software that work automatically.

That’s part of what makes figuring out what counts as a download difficult. Spreaker provides further explanation:

And there’s yet another complication; even legit apps that “stream” podcasts make multiple requests for the same file. The Apple Podcast app, for example, makes lots of requests, even for small episode bits, in order to prevent users from using too much bandwidth. However, that results in tens, sometimes hundreds of requests for a single episode file by the same user.

To solve this problem, Spreaker looked at a detailed guideline produced by the IAB and has published their own up-to-date document that describes the type of filtering Spreaker is applying in order to remove duplicates. Spreaker wants you to know that you have the exactly the same number of listeners as you had before these changes were made.

Spreaker’s Listener Analytics document provides more details about how downloads and plays are counted. It’s worth reading over if your podcast is on Spreaker.

Midroll Media Partners with Intelligence For Your Life: The Podcast

~ jen

Midroll Media has partnered with a new podcast that was recently released. Intelligence For Your Life: The Podcast features names you might recognize. It appears to be a collaborative work.

Intelligence For Your Life: The Podcast is based on the hugely popular syndicated radio program “The John Tesh Radio Show” and “Intelligence For Your Health with Connie Sellecca”. Those two programs are heard on more than 350 stations nationwide by 23 million listeners per week.

Intelligence For Your Life: The Podcast is hosted by John Tesh, Connie Sellecca, and Gib Gerard. The podcast is a new program created specifically for the podcast audience. The hosts share their experience and wisdom on personal development, along with the latest cutting-edge tactics, tools, and routines for health and wellness, relationships, career, and fitness.

In addition, the hosts interview scientists, doctors, authors, and world-class performers to provide listeners with actionable intelligence on topics like brain hacks for better memory, effective morning routines, the latest research on sleep, job-hunting strategies, and more.

Midroll Media will be helping produce and distribute Intelligence For Your Life: The Podcast. The podcast is availble on iTunes, Stitcher, and all major podcast platforms. New episodes are released every Tuesday.

Podcast Movement 2017 Announces Speaker

~ jen

Podcast Movement 2017 will take place in Anaheim, California, on August 23-25, 2017. Last year, they slowly revealed who their speakers would be, one by one. This year, Podcast Movement 2017 is following that same pattern. They have announced who one of the Keynote Speaker of Podcast Movement 2017 will be. You can expect to see additional speakers revealed as we get closer to the event.

Podcast Movement 2017 announced that Dan Carlin will be the speaker who will headline Podcast Movement 2017. In the announcement, Podcast Movement 2017 stated that they have tried for three years to bring Dan Carlin to the Podcast Movement stage with no success. This year, they were successful.

Dan Carlin is the host of two popular independent podcasts: Hardcore History, and Common Sense. Dan Carlin is an American political commentator and podcaster who was once a full-time radio host. Podcast Movement describes Dan Carlin this way:

Part storyteller, part analyst, Carlin has mastered the art of looking at subjects from multiple angles and dissecting and thinking about them in original ways. He isn’t afraid to go deep or to inject historical context into modern debates. Whether it’s history or current events he’s discussing, his passion is contagious, his approach is refreshing and his ideas tickle your brain in all the right places.

Podcast Movement points out that it is rare for Dan Carlin to take the stage at live events.

The Undone Podcast is Done

~ jen

Everyone starts a podcast with the intent of keeping it going as long as possible. Unfortunately, circumstances may change and cause a podcast to come to an end. Such is the case with the Undone podcast that has informed its fans that it is done.

Undone was a podcast from Gimlet Media. Undone was hosted by Pat Walters. The show was about how big stories we thought were over were actually the beginning of something else. The very last episode of Undone was posted on January 23, 2017. It is about the Space Shuttle Columbia.

The same day that Undone’s very last episode was posted, an explanation appeared on the Undone Facebook page.  It said:

Hey everybody, we’re sorry to announce that Undone will not be coming back for a second season.

Making this first season was incredible and we’ve loved seeing how the stories resonated with you. Which made this decision really hard. Undone was performing well, but the show requires a very particular kind of editorial support, and as we got into the first season, it became clear that as of right now, we don’t have everything we need for it to keep growing and experimenting and finding its way. Gimlet is a start-up. Some things we try are going to continue on for a long time. And some things won’t.

So after a lot of thought and discussion, we reached the decision to stop making the show. We’re tremendously proud of the work we’ve done this season, and overwhelmed with gratitude for all of you who have listened, posted reviews, and written to us. Thanks also to Retro Report, the documentary film series we worked with on coming up with the idea for the show; to Gimlet; and to our fantastic team. We’re excited to bring you new stories and other projects down the line.

Pat Walters provided further explanation on his Twitter account:

It’s always sad when a podcast that was doing well, and had a lot of fans, comes to an end. The right thing to do was to reach out to fans and explain why the show was ending, and I think Pat Walters handled that very well.

DARPA has a Podcast called Voices of DARPA

~ jen

DARPA is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It dates back to the launch of Sputnik in 1957. DARPA comprises of approximately 220 government employees in six technical offices, including nearly 100 program managers, who together oversee about 250 research and development programs. DARPA even has its own podcast, which is called Voices from DARPA.

DARPA’s new podcast series, Voices from DARPA offers a revealing and informative window on the Agency’s program managers. In each episode, a program manager from one of DARPA’s six technical offices – Biological Technologies, Defense Sciences, Information Innovation, Microsystems Technology, Strategic Technology, and Tactical Technology – will discuss in informal and personal terms why they are at DARPA and what they are up to.

The goal of the Voices from DARPA podcast is to share with listeners some of the institutional know-how, vision, process, and history that together make the “secret sauce” DARPA has been adding to the Nation’s innovation ecosystem for nearly 60 years.

At the time I am writing this blog, the Voices from DARPA podcast has six episodes that have been released. You can listen to the episodes on Blubrry, (which hosts the podcast), or on YouTube, or you can get it from iTunes.

Episode 1 is called “Molecule Man”. It features Dr. Tyler McQuade, a program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office. He reveals his vision of accelerating scientist’s ability to discover and make a vast variety of new molecules for medical, military, and other applications.

Topics covered in other episodes include: DARPA’s Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) program, the agency’s work on developing semiconductor materials, a mission to push electronic and electromagnetic technology along new frontiers, and more.

Otto Radio Wants Audio Producers and Sound Engineers

~ jen

Otto Radio App LogoOtto Radio is an aggregator that allows people to create a dedicated radio station about any topic they choose. They have a variety of podcasts that are accessible for people to listen to, as well as links to related news. Otto Radio is seeking an Audio Producer and Sound Engineer.

Otto Radio states that “at the end of the day, it’s not about the products we create, it’s about the people we affect.” They are looking for others who are equally passionate and committed to their craft, who strive to improve and learn from their experiences, and who get the most out of their abilities. Otto Radio says: “If you want your work to feel like a calling, this could be the place for you.”

They are seeking audio producers and sound engineers.  This is not one job for one person. Instead, Otto Radio is looking to build up a network of freelance audio producers and sound engineers. They want people who have experience with radio and/or podcasting.

The skills they are looking for include:

  • Recording on professional audio equipment
  • Researching/sourcing sound effects, music, and external audio
  • Sound editing
  • Mixing in music, sound effects, actuality, and external audio
  • Writing for audio
  • Audio mastering

Otto Radio is looking for both on-call and regular freelancers who can work with them for several hours a day. The job ad describes the location as “flexible”. Those who are interested can apply for these positions directly through the Otto Radio website.

Podbbang! – PCN 039

~ jen

PCN iTunes artworkIn this episode, Shawn and Jen talk about a Korean podcasting platform that is more popular in Korea than iTunes is.  We debate the value of transcription of podcast episodes, and ponder if Shortcut (and services like it) can really make audio more sharable.

Ironically, we also get into a discussion about the importance of consistency in podcasting (despite the fact that we haven’t been super consistent.)

Links mentioned in this episode:

* Podcasts become a viral hit with Koreans
By Song Kyoung-Son for Korea Joongang Daily

* This American Life listeners are sharing audio in unexpected ways
By Elizabeth Hansen for Columbia Journalism Review

* Podcast Blogging
By Jessica Rhodes (on JessicaRhodes.biz)

* ‘Stop Podcasting Yourself’ and the Reliable Consistency of Podcasts
By Noah Jacobs on Splitsider

* 21 Podcasts to Help You Outsmart Your Competition in 2017
By Jeremy Goldman for Inc.

Thank you to: Dave Nelson of Galactic Network and Grizzly Smith of Grizzly’s Growls Podcast for their comments.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Paste Magazine Launched the Pod People

~ jen

Paste Magazine has started offering something new called The Pod People.  For the first time, Paste will be offering a weekly rundown of podcast episodes that are interesting and noteworthy. They are open to suggestions for future editions of The Pod People.

The Pod People is a feature in Paste Magazine’s media category. It is curated by Muira McCammon, who is now a podcast reviewer for Paste Magazine. She has also written for Slate, Waypoint by VICE, Atlas Obscura, and more. The Pod People is described this way:

We’re new! We love podcasts – from the wonkish to the witty, from the quirky to the cool. We’re here with a mission: to give you a weekly rundown of podcasts that ponder questions big and small, that get us to look at the world a wee bit differently. We want to shine a light on emerging podcasters, marginalized voices, and episodes that might’ve gotten lost in the archives. And best of all, we need your help!

Avid podcast listeners can send an email to podpeople@pastemagazine and tell them about your favorite podcast episode “from weeks, months, or years ago.” Let them know why that episode is special to you.

The first edition of The Pod People features six episodes of six different podcasts including: The Moth, The Nerdist, Prime Minister’s Questions, Love Me, The Allusionist: Small Adventures in Language with Helen Zaltzman, and Métis in Space. The episodes selected are variety pack of topics. The Pod People provides podcast listeners with a weekly sampler of interesting episodes from podcasts that they may have missed out on.