Month: October 2018

Anchor added a Cover Art Creator

~ jen

Anchor announced that it now has a Cover Art Creator. This was made possible because of a partnership between Anchor and Unsplash, a website that has a vast library of high-quality images that people are allowed to use for free.

Anchor points out that having eye-catching artwork for your podcast is an impactful way to attract new listeners. Anchor’s partnership with Unsplash enables people who are not artists, photographers, or designers, to easily create great cover art for their podcast.

The Cover Art Creator can be accessed by people who have their podcast on Anchor. It provides a curated image library. Anchor says that this library is “totally free to use even if you’re monetizing your podcast.” The Cover Art Creator also provides customizable fonts and layout of your podcast name on top of the image that you have selected.

To celebrate this new feature, Anchor will be sharing on Twitter and Instagram all podcast cover art made with the Cover Art Creator. They will use #AnchorxUnsplash. Anchor and Unsplash will select the very best 10 podcast covers and promote their respective podcasts on social to get those podcast in front of even more listeners.

Werk It 2018 will be in New York City

~ jen

Werk It 2018 will take place at venues across New York City from November 12, 2018, through November 17, 2018. It is a Women’s Podcast Festival that is produced by WNYC Studios.

Join Werk It: A Women’s Podcast Festival, the inimitable annual gathering for women shaping the future of podcasting!

Werk It is for women+ in all stages of their careers working in or hoping to break into audio and digital media. Past attendees have come from 23 states and 13 countries. They have been producers, hosts, writers, reporters, editors, engineers, social media managers, marketers, sound designers, video producers, and more.

Although Werk It is focused on empowering women, they encourage podcasters and podcast fans who identify as genderqueer, non-binary, or other who feel inspired by what we’re doing to join them at the festival and be a part of their community.

Werk It launched in 2015 with a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to expand women’s voices in podcasting. At the time, research showed that only 20% of all podcasts in the iTunes top 100 chart were hosted by women. Their mission is to get to 50% or more. By giving women opportunities to learn new skills and make professional contacts, Werk It is one way we will get there.

Visit the Werk It 2018 website to see their long list of this year’s presenters. In addition, you can also check out the 2018 Conference Schedule. It includes things happening on their Main Stage and Second Stage, as well as some Sessions.

Spit is a Podcast About DNA Testing

~ jen

Spit is among iHeartRadio’s newest podcasts. It is from 23andMe, a company that makes direct-to-consumer DNA tests. Genealogists take these kinds of DNA tests in order to find out more about their ancestry as well as the health related information found in their DNA.

Spit is an iHeartRadio podcast with 23andMe where host Baratunde Thursdon sits down with the most interesting cultural influencers of our time to explore how DNA testing gives us a new perspective on who we are and how we are all connected.

For those who are unaware, the name of the podcast relates to how 23andMe’s DNA test kits work. The participant fills a vial with some of their saliva (also called “spit”). That sample is used by researchers who extract the person’s DNA from the cells in their saliva sample. The genetic data is then analyzed, and the person will receive a report about what was found.

At the time I am writing this blog post, one trailer and four episodes of Spit have been released. Episode one features John Legend and Anne Wojcicki. Episode two features Wyclef Jean and Alven Tillery. Episode three features Melissa Etheridge and Sara Lamm, and episode four (the most recent episode) features Pete Wentz and Dr. Green.

Each episode delves in to interesting topics and concepts relating to genealogy and genetic testing. Some topics include:

  • How Are We All Related
  • What Does it Mean to Be “Family”
  • Does Race Really Exist or Did We Create It?

The 23andMe blog that talks about Spit says that more episodes are to come. I think this podcast will be popular with genealogists, family historians, and people who took one of 23andMe’s DNA tests. It was smart of them to include famous people in the episodes because that will attract listeners who aren’t especially interested in DNA testing.

Winners of the 2018 Podcast Awards

~ jen

The winners of the 2018 People’s Choice Podcast Awards have been revealed! The announcement was made during the International Podcast Day Live event.

Here is a quick look at the podcasts that won each of the categories:

  • The Adam Curry People’s Choice Award:Fantasy Football Today
  • Arts: We Like Drinking
  • Manager Tools Business Category: Extraordinary Women Radio with Kami Guildner
  • Comedy Category:2 Girls on a Bench
  • Grammar Girl Education Category: Our Fake History
  • Rob has a Podcast Entertainment Category: We’re Drunk & We Know Things
  • Games & Hobbies: Trivial Warfare
  • Government & Organizations: Democracy Works
  • Health: A Better Night’s Sleep
  • Kids & Family: Cool Facts About Animals
  • Feast of Fools/Fun LGBTQ Category: Derek and Romaine
  • Mature: Turn Me On
  • Coverville Podsafe Music Category: The Modern Vinyl Podcast
  • The Majority Report Politics & News Category: Consider This
  • Religion & Spirituality: For the Love with Jen Hatmaker
  • The Skeptics’ Guide Science & Medicine Category: Curiosity Daily
  • Society – Culture: Travel Oddities
  • ESPN: Fantasy Focus Football Sports Category: The Fantasy Footballers
  • This Week in Tech Technology Category: Why’d You Push That Button
  • TV & Film: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fan Podcast

Please visit the Podcast Awards website to see lists of all of the other podcasts that were nominated for each category. You can also check out lists of past winners from previous years. A video of the 13thAnnual Podcast Awards 2018 Ceremony is available on the website.

Overcast has been Improved

~ jen ~ 1 Comment

Overcast 5 has been improved for Apple Watch. Marco Arment, creator of Overcast, stated in his blog post that: “Overcast’s previous Apple Watch app really sucked.” He was able to make improvements to it after watchOS 5 was released.

Some improvements include:

Auto-Sync to Watch: This feature automatically tries to send your most recent podcasts to your Apple Watch whenever it gets a chance. “Just pick up your Watch and go”. This feature prevents the problems of having to manually sync anything and waiting for slow transfers.

Watch-crown volume control: The new design maintains the same scrollable pages of the previous version of Overcast 5, but they are now obvious, tactile cards. This design is more discoverable.

Search: You can search your podcasts and current episodes from the main screen, or go into a podcast’s screen to search its entire archive.

Siri Shortcuts: and support

For full details, you should go check out the blog post by Marco Arment. He suggests that you update your devices and then go get Overcast. I think these improvements have the potential to make life much less frustrating for people who like to listen to podcasts on their Apple Watch.