Gimlet Academy is a new five-episode series from podcast pioneer Alex Blumberg, and Spotify for Podcasters, that teaches the craft of audio story-telling.

While many people have tried their hand at creating a podcast, most have found it’s not as simple as it seems, especially when it comes to making a hit. “People misunderstand how much time and work it takes to make something that will hold an audience’s attention,” says Alex Blumberg, co-founder of Spotify-owned Gimlet Media, an influential leader in podcasting.

That’s what led him to create a special podcast for Gimlet employees about the secrets to making a great show. Now, for the first time, those secrets are being made public in the new podcast Gimlet Academy, – hosted by Blumberg and released in partnership with Spotify for Podcasters – that explores how to make compelling audio stories.

Personally, I think its a great idea to offer information like this to brand new podcasters who want to make a story-driven podcast of their own. To my surprise, it does not appear that a Spotify subscription is required in order to access this content. As a test, I clicked on the first episode, on the Spotify website that talks about Gimlet Academy, and it played – even though I do not have a Spofify subscription. There are five episodes to listen to.

Making sure that content that explains how to make podcasts that tell a story easily accessible to those who are brand new to podcasting, or who want to switch to audio storytelling, is fantastic! This is a great way to encourage people to share their stories and learn new podcasting skills.