Freakonomics

SiriusXM Launches New Freakonomics Radio Network Streaming Channel

~ jen

SiriusXM announced the launch of a new Freakonomics Radio Network streaming channel. For this channel, the first to be dedicated to a podcast, the team behind Freakonomics Radio, one of the most enduring and popular podcasts in the world, will curate and present episodes from its deep archive, along with selections from other popular shows on the Freakonomics Radio Network, including No Stupid Questions, People I (Mostly) Admire, Freakonomics, M.D., and new programs to be launched later this year.

The Freakonomics Radio Network streaming channel is available to subscribers now on the SXM App.

For over a decade, Freakonomics Radio has delivered storytelling and reporting that is both rigorous and entertaining. Hosted by Stephen J. Dubner, the show takes a curious-minded, data-driven approach to exploring real-world behavior and uncovering “the hidden side of everything.” Entering its twelfth year as one of the biggest podcasts on the planet, Freakonomics Radio is now growing faster than it ever has before, setting a listenership record in 2021.

SiriusXM’s Freakonomics Radio Network channel is the only place where listeners can tune in 24/7 to hear not only the latest episodes of Freakonomics Radio, but also a selection of provocative classics from the show’s 500-episode archive like, “Abortion and Crime, Revisited”, “The Economics of Sleep”, and “The Stupidest Thing You Can Do With Your Money.”

“The SiriusXM audience is amazingly large and diverse,” said Stephen Dubner, “and we can’t wait to get our stuff in their ears.”

“It’s exciting to be able to take a show as groundbreaking and successful as Freakonomics Radio and give listeners, new and old, an entirely unique way to experience it,” said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s President and Chief Content Officer. “We can’t think of a better partner to launch this first-of-its-kind streaming channel with than Stephen and his team.”

In addition to its flagship show, the Freakonomics Radio Network produces some of the most listened-to podcasts – for a combined reach of over 160 million listeners last year. They include No Stupid Questions, where Dubner and co-host psychologist Angela Duckworth explore the weird and wonderful ways in which humans behave; People I (Mostly) Admire, in which the unorthodox economist Stephen Levitt speaks with other high achievers to ask questions that only he would think to ask; and Freakonomics, M.D., hosted by Bapu Jena, an economist and physician who explores the intersection of economics and healthcare.

The Freakonomics Radio Network channel is just the latest example of SiriusXM’s commitment to providing multiple platforms for audio creators. Recently, the hosts of the award-winning horror comedy podcast Last Podcast on the Left launched Open Lines, a live weekly call-in show on SiriusXM’s Faction Talk (channel 103) after bringing their podcast back to wide distribution through Stitcher; and the popular advice expert, host, and digital creator Tinx launched the It’s Me, Tinx Live radio show on SiriusXM Stars (channel 109) following her chart-topping Stitcher podcast, It’s Me, Tinx.

Streaming access is included with all of SiriusXM’s trials and most popular plans. Subscribers can listen with the SXW app and with Amazon Alexa, the Google Assistant or however they stream at home. Go to www.siriusxm.com/ways-to-listen to learn more.

Freakonomics Announces Hire of Gabriel Roth as Editorial Director

~ jen

In 2021, the Freakonomics Radio Network set a listenership record with over 160 million downloads across its four podcasts: Freakonomics Radio, No Stupid Questions, People I (Mostly) Admire, and the new Freakonomics M.D. Now the podcast network is expanding on their current growth with the hiring of a new editorial director, Gabriel Roth, alongside consultant Jared Hohlt.

Before joining the Freakonomics Radio Team, Roth worked at Slate for seven years, where he oversaw podcasts and helped launch the groundbreaking series Slow Burn, along with many other shows. Before coming to Slate, he was city editor at the San Francisco Bay Guardian and is the author of a novel, The Unknowns (Little, Brown, 2013).

Roth joins the Freakonomics Radio leadership team of host and founder Stephen J. Dubner and longtime Executive Producer Alison Craiglow. “I’ve been a fan of the Freakonomics Radio team’s work for more than a decade, and I’m thrilled to get the chance to work on their terrific podcasts and help grow the network,” he says.

His former colleague Hohlt, Slate’s editor-in-chief for three years, has also begun helping Freakonomics Radio as a part-time consultant. Roth will oversee all existing shows in the network, with a special concentration on the flagship show, and Holht is focusing especially on two new podcasts, one in the early stages and the other in piloting mode, while helping with the existing shows as well.

Entering its twelfth year as one of the biggest podcasts on the planet, Freakonomics Radio is now growing faster than it ever has before. In addition to the flagship show and podcast network both setting listenership records in 2021, the Freakonomics Radio staff has tripled in size in the past two years alone.

The flagship show Freakonomics Radio will celebrate its 500th episode at the end of March and has been joined in the past few years by the podcasts No Stupid Questions, a show exploring the weird and wonderful ways in which humans behave, with hosts Dubner and research psychologist Angela Duckworth; People I (Mostly) Admire, a show where Dubner’s Freakonomics co-author Stephen Levitt interview unorthodox high achievers; and Freakonomics M.D., a show exploring the intersection of economics and healthcare with Harvard physician and economist Dr. Bapu Jena. The team also has several new shows in development to launch on the Freakonomics Radio Network this spring.

Norm Pattiz of PodcastOne: “We were looking at acquiring Stitcher.” – PCN Show 008

~ shawn ~ 1 Comment

Norm PattizIn response to the article I posted yesterday about the recent dust up between PodcastOne and Stitcher, I was contacted today by a PodcastOne rep who said that the company’s Chairman/CEO, Norm Pattiz, was willing to do an interview to try and shed some light on the situation. I’m presenting that interview today (with Norm’s permission) as my November contribution to the Podcaster News Show.

Some highlights from our discussion:

  • PodcastOne was, at one point, considering acquiring Stitcher.
  • Stitcher is still syndicating some of PodcastOne’s show, despite PodcastOne’s request that they stop.
  • PodcastOne hasn’t seen any significant decrease in downloads since Sitcher removed PodcastOne’s shows.
  • Pattiz says Sitcher doesn’t have a “robust” revenue generating system.

Hear all of this and more in the full podcast episode below.

Original image by PeteSessa from Wikimedia, used under Creative Commons license.

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