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Inside Podcasting

Inside Podcasting (Jan 28th, 2020)

1. On a recent episode of Brave, Not Perfect with Reshma Saujani, the former co-hosts of KUOW's Battle Tactics For Your Sexist Workplace candidly discuss what it was like to discover the public radio station had decided to cancel their podcast. "I don't think it's a big secret that we, like many other places, are trying to figure out what it looks like to try and make a show that has a lot of downloads, in a field where there are approximately 80 gajillion different podcasts," says Jeannie Yandel, who still works at the station. (Co-host Eula Scott Bynoe was a contract employee and is now out of a job). If you are interested in helping Bynoe and Yandel continue the show, send an email (or a big bag of digital cash) to btswpodcast@gmail.com. — BRAVE, NOT PERFECT

2. In the wake of Kobe Bryant's death, Johnny Peterson from Straight Up Podcasts has collected the following episodes that feature the basketball star:

[hat/tip Podcast Business Journal on the above]

  • On Sunday night, The Bill Simmons Show released a tribute episode, in which the host and Chris Ryan discuss Bryant's legacy (more where that came from here).  
  • The NBA Champion himself had created an original podcast for kids called The Punies, which "shares important life lessons on how to play with joy and limitless imagination, the way sports should be played."

RIP Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and all who died with them. 

3. Welcome to "In the Box," a new feature that includes items from my inbox that I don't have time to cover in more depth. 

In the Box — shows

  • Oz Gothic is a six-part audio fiction series that "delves into Australia’s dark heart." Listen to a trailer for the show, which is being hosted by the Radio National Fictions feed here.
  • Shame Piñata takes a deep dive into "rites of passage for real-life transitions." Here's the trailer.
  • Wonder Media Network has launched Ordinary Equality, which looks at the Equal Rights Amendment. Refinery29 named it a new podcast to look forward to in 2020.

 In the Box — news

  • Podcast analytics and research firm Podsights has raised $1.5 million in funding. 
  •  MTV UK is creating companion podcasts for some of its most popular shows.
  • On Air Fest has announced its headliners, which include The Daily's Michael Barbaro, Fortune Favors the Bold's Ashley C. Ford and 99% Invisible's Avery Trufelman.
  • The short-form finance podcast Robinhood Snacks is celebrating 10 million downloads with a blog post.

4. After Joe Rogan endorsed Bernie Sanders on his podcast last week, the Sanders campaign touted Rogan's words with this snazzy video. Unsurprisingly, reactions were mixed. Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David called for Sanders to reject the endorsement, saying the podcaster has  “attacked transgender people, gay men, women, people of color and countless marginalized groups at every opportunity.” And presidential candidate Joe Biden chimed in with "Transgender equality is the civil rights issue of our time. There is no room for compromise when it comes to basic human rights." Other voices, some from marginalized communities themselves, argued the opposite case. "Bernie didn’t endorse anyone. Rogen [sic] said he’d ‘probably’ vote for Bernie. He can vote for whoever he wants...BTW I’m trans," wrote @azjillybean. It's a complicated world. — FORBES

5. Did you know that Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and podcaster Ronan Farrow went to college AT AGE 11? Neither did I. In a two-hour interview with Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, the child prodigy discusses his unusual academic experience, the ups and downs of growing up in a privileged household, why he's not "the vanguard of the #MeToo movement," and much more. It's a great listen. — ARMCHAIR EXPERT

6. Rainy Day Podcasts, a production company formed by Mick Jagger, Jagged Films' Victoria Pearman, producer Steve Bing, and A History of Violence writer Josh Olson, has announced a "first-look" deal with Warner Bros. to create "up to" seven narrative shows. According to a story in Deadline, "the company will produce a slate of podcasts spanning genres including comedy, drama, documentaries and talk shows." 

7. In a wonderful blog post for Pocket Casts, The Mysterious Breakmaster Cylinder explains his/her/their creation process behind (approximately) 10 podcast theme songs. "Now for [Outside/In's] theme i ran after a bee with a little tascam recorder, that bee is in the intro. There wasn’t time to sign a release, please find the bee," writes BmC. This post is pure joy. 

8. Disgraceland creator Jake Brennan has launched 27 Club, a show which looks at the lives of legendary musicians who have died at age 27. "Scandalous, tortured, dramatic, incredibly talented, these artists torched a wild path to their early graves and shifted and shaped our culture along the way," reads a show description. Jimi Hendrix is the subject of season one. 

9. According to Saturday Night Live, our favorite form of media may have Satanic origins. In last weekend's show opener, Alan Dershowitz (played by Jon Lovitz) pays a visit to hell, where he learns that the Devil herself has a podcast. "I invented them," says a gleefully evil Kate McKinnon. 

[Thanks to Inside Podcasting reader and CentreSteer host John Kostuch for bringing this to my attention!]

10. New Yorkers can get a behind-the-scenes look at how WNYC Studios makes its hit show 10 Things That Scare Me at a live show at the Greene Space tomorrow night. Tickets are $15 and the fun starts at 7 p.m.

This newsletter was written and curated by podcast junkie and recovered publicist, Skye Pillsbury. Over the years, Skye has crafted digital media strategies for brands like Yahoo! and Microsoft and worked regularly with media outlets such as the New York Times, Rolling Stone and NPR. Skye was famous for 49 minutes when she and her son were featured in an episode of Gimlet Media’s Heavyweight podcast. Follow her on Twitter @SkyePillsbury.

Edited by Beth Duckett, staff writer at Inside.

We're at work on Season 2 of the Inside Podcasting podcast and hope to have more to share soon. In the meantime, you can catch up on the first season which included interviews with:

Ian Chillag, the creator of Everything is Alive 

Jessi Hempel, who hosts Linked In’s podcast Hello Monday

Martine Powers, who hosts Post Reports from the Washington Post 

Leon Neyfakh, the co-creator of Slow Burn, who is now the host of Fiasco 

Madeleine Baran, the investigative reporter behind In the Dark

and Inside CEO Jason Calacanis, who hosts This Week in Startups

You can find the show wherever you get your podcasts. Let us know what you think!

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