Month: November 2018

Alan Alda will Host M*A*S*H Reunion on his Podcast

~ jen

Alan Alda is the host of a podcast called Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda. He became well known for his role as Captain Benjamin Franklin ‘Hawkeye’ Pierce in M*A*S*H. There will be a M*A*S*H reunion on Clear+ Vivid with Alan Alda.

Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda is described on Apple Podcasts as:

Learn to connect better with others in every area of your life. Immerse yourself in spirited conversations with people who know how hard it is, and yet how good it feels, to really connect with other people – whether it’s one person, an audience, or a whole country.

It continues to point out that the people interviewed by Alan Alda are “luminaries in our culture. What links them all is their powerful ability to relate and communicate It’s something we need now more than ever.”

Alan Alda was interviewed in WTOP. During the interview, he revealed that an upcoming episode of Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda will feature a cast reunion from TV’s M*A*S*H. It will be a first of its kind reunion of the M*A*S*H gang in the digital age. Alan Alda said:

“We were going to record it [on Nov. 14], but we had to postpone it because Jamie Farr … almost lost his house in the [California] fire. Loretta Swit and I will be talking from New York, Mike Farrell will be in a studio in L.A., Jamie Farr will be on the phone from his house in Bell Canyon, and Gary Burghoff will be on the phone from Northern California.”

Loretta Swit played Maj. Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan. Mike Farrell played Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt. Jamie Farr played Cpl. Maxwell Q. Klinger. Gary Burghoff played Cpl Walter ‘Radar’ O’Reilly. It seems fitting to have the reunion of M*A*S*H on a podcast that is about really connecting with other people. The show was extremely popular and many people connected to it.

You can listen to the full WTOP interview on its website.

Leon Neyfakh is Leaving Slate

~ jen

Leon Neyfakh announced in a thread of tweets that he will be leaving Slate “to start something new”. He is the host of Slate’s Slow Burn podcast. It appears that the “something new” will be a podcast called FIASCO.

The description of Slow Burn on Apple Podcasts says:

Leon Neyfakh excavates the strange subplots and forgotten characters of recent political history – and finds surprising parallels to the present. Season 1 of Slow Burn captured what it felt like to live through Watergate; Season 2 does the same with the saga of Bill Clinton’s impeachment.

There is not a whole lot of information in the thread of tweets about FIASCO. Leon Neyfakh described it this way: “It will be about the past – why the history we half-remember played out the way it did, and what marks it left on the world we live in.”

Also according to the thread of tweets, Andrew Parsons will be the executive producer of FIASCO. Andrew Parson was the person responsible for sound on Slow Burn. Michelle Kaplan will become an assistant producer of FIASCO. She served as a researcher on Slow Burn Season 2. Leon Neyfakh says that Slow Burn “will continue to evolve and flourish under Slate’s care.”

The first season of FIASCO will arrive in the first half of 2019. It will be about Bush v. Gore and the battle over the 2000 election. The second season of FIASCO will appear later in 2019. It will tell the story of the Iran-Contra scandal. To me, it sounds like fans of Slow Burn will probably enjoy listening to FIASCO.

Post Reports is a New Podcast from The Washington Post

~ jen

The Washington Post is launching a new podcast called Post Reports. It is set to launch on December 3, 2018. It is a news podcast that, unlike others, will not be posted in the morning. Post Reports will publish each weekday at 5pm EDT.

Each twenty-minute episode of Post Reports will be composed of multiple segments, offering savvy observations on news developments, a behind-the-scenes look at how stories were reported by Post journalists and, at times, lighter subjects that offer some relief.

Digiday reported that Post Reports will be The Washington Post’s first multi-part daily podcast. Each episode will have three segments: a “newsiest” segment, followed by a deeper dive segment, followed by a lighter segment.

There is reportedly a team of eight people who will be working full time on the Post Reports podcast. This includes five new audio producers who were hired specifically for this podcast. Based on the information about this new podcast from the Washington Post, it appears that Madhulika Sikka might be the executive producer of Post Reports.

Those who are interested in Post Reports can sign up to be notified when the first episode is released.

ESPN Radio will Broadcast Podcasts on Thanksgiving Day

~ jen

Will you be spending many hours traveling this Thanksgiving? Need something to entertain yourself with while visiting relatives? Do you enjoy sports? If so, then ESPN Radio has something for you!

ESPN will broadcast 30 for 30 podcast episodes on Thanksgiving Day. The broadcasts start at 1 p.m., on Thursday, November 22, 2018, on ESPN Radio. A bunch of ESPN radio stations around the country will participate. Each compelling story from the award-winning and critically acclaimed 30 for 30 unit at ESPN is one hour.

Madden’s Game – He’s a Super Bowl-winning coach and iconic broadcaster who teamed up with an upstart called EA. Here’s how his name became synonymous with an empire. Madden’s Game will start at 1 p.m. ET.

The Lights of Wrigleyville – In 1981, Tribune bought the Cubs and saw potential in night games. But residents of Wrigleyville were ready to fight against it. The Lights of Wrigleyville will start at 2 p.m. ET.

A Queen of Sorts – Poker star Phil Ivey’s elaborate 2012 scheme won him $20 million. They said he cheated. The secretive mastermind behind it all was after revenge. A Queen of Sorts will start at 3 p.m. ET.

A Queen of Sorts was episode 4 in Season One of 30 for 30. The Lights of Wrigleyville was episode 3 in Season Two, and Madden’s Game was episode 4 in Season Two.

iHeartMedia to Acquire Jelli

~ jen

iHeartMedia announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Jelli, Inc., the technology company that powers the SoundPoint programmatic platform.

The Jelli platform is the pioneering technology foundation for programmatic buying and selling of broadcast radio, and this acquisition will enable iHeartMedia to further leverage Jelli’s assets to continue to create for brands a digital-compatible buying platform for broadcast radio that includes targeting and creative optimization based on data and attribution tools compatible with the offerings of the major digital players.

In addition, “Expressway from Katz,” the industry’s programmatic buying ad exchange for the country’s leading radio groups, will continue to remain independently run by Katz, powered by Jelli.

“At iHeart, we believe marketing is both math and magic. The math is in our rich data and insights about users and how they relate to our partners’ products and services – and the magic is the incredible creative ideas we bring to our partners, such as our iconic music events, award shows, influencers, podcasts, social reach and our unique on air promotions. Jelli allows us to do something no other company can do – advertisers can now buy and use our broadcast assets, reach and impact just as they use the major digital players. We now offer heavy data and heavy creative innovation all in one place,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc.

Jelli also announced that it will be acquired by iHeartMedia in a merger intended to be closed before year-end. Jelli said iHeartMedia has been a strategic partner of theirs for years and a strategic investor.

“By paring iHeartMedia’s reach and multiplatform assets with our cloud-based advertising technology, we are positioned to provide a single platform for advertisers to reach all audiences, no matter where they are consuming audio,” said Michael Dougherty, co-founder and CEO of Jelli. “As audio consumption continues to explode, we are thrilled to be joining the iHeartMedia team, accelerating Jelli’s mission of transforming audio advertising through technology innovation.”

As part of the acquisition, Jelli will continue to operate as a company within iHeartMedia, Inc. led by President and CEO Michael Dougherty and his team. The Jelli division will continue to be based in Silicon Valley and will become iHeartMedia’s primary ad technology company.

Pandora Launches Podcast Offerings Powered by Podcast Genome

~ jen

Pandora, the largest streaming music provider in the U.S., unveiled its podcast offering, powered by the Podcast Genome Project, a cataloging system and discovery algorithm that uses a combination of technology and human curation to deliver personalized content recommendations.

Pandora will roll out beta access to select listeners on mobile devices. Those interested in early access can sign up now with general availability in the coming weeks.

Similar to how its namesake the Music Genome Project has helped become the best and easiest way to discover music online since 2005, the Podcast Genome Project recommends the right podcasts to the right listeners at the right time. It solves the questions “is there a podcast that is right for me?” and “what should I listen to next?’

The Podcast Genome Project evaluates content based on more than 1500 attributes – spanning MPAA ratings, timely and evergreen topics, production style, content type, host profile, etc. – and listener signals including thumbs, skips and replays.

Similar to the Music Genome Project, the Podcast Genome Project combines these techniques with Pandora’s expert in-house curation team to offer episode-level podcast recommendations that reflect who you are today and evolve with you tomorrow.

Can your podcast get on Pandora? It depends. Pandora has partnered with: APM, Gimlet, HeadGum, Maximum Fun, NPR, Parcast, PRX-PRI, reVolver, Slate, The New York Times, The Ramsey Network, The Ringer, WNYC Studios, and Wondery. If your podcast is not on one of these podcast hosting sites, then you can’t get it on Pandora.

NPR Launches the Student Podcast Challenge

~ jen

NPR has launched the first-ever NPR Student Podcast Challenge. They are inviting students around the country to create a podcast, then – with the help of a teacher – compete for a chance to win the grand prize and have their work appear on NPR.

The contest is a chance for teachers and students in grades five through twelve across the country to turn your classrooms into production studios, your assignments into scripts, and your ideas into sound.

Here’s how it works: A student – with the help of a teacher – produces a podcast that is three to 12 minutes long. NPR says: “Have something to say? Now is your chance.”

Students do not need a lot of fancy equipment or a studio in order to enter the NPR Student Podcast Challenge. NPR states that students should be able to do this with just a smartphone and a computer, with easily available software.

Students also do not have to be an expert in radio production. NPR is offering lots of help for students and teachers. It’s a good idea to read through it before you begin creating a podcast. One important thing to know is that your podcast cannot include music.

NPR will open up the contest to entries on January 1, 2019, and close them on March 31, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Then, NPR’s panel of judges will pick two winners: one from grades five through eight, and one from grades nine through 12.

The winning podcasts will be featured in segments on NPR programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered later in the spring of 2019.

Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend – Coming to Midroll and Earwolf

~ jen

Conan O’Brien, former long-time host of “Late Night” and presenter of “The Tonight Show”, has a brand new podcast. It is coming to both Earwolf and Midroll on November 19, 2018. The podcast is called Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.

After 25 years at the Late Night desk, Conan realized that the only people at his holiday party are the men and women who work for him. Over the years and despite thousands of interviews, Conan has never made a real and lasting friendship with any of his celebrity guests. So, he started a podcast to do just that. Deeper, unboundedly playful, and free from FCC regulations, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend is a weekly opportunity for Conan to hang out with the people he enjoys most and perhaps find some real friendships along the way.

The Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast is by Earwolf and Team Coco. Midroll is currently seeking those who would like Conan O’Brien to talk up their brand.

The starting line-up of guests on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend include: Will Ferrell, Kristen Bell, Bill Burr, Dax Shepard, Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, Wanda Sykes, and Marc Maron.