iHeartMedia becomes exclusive rep for Pushkin Industries; co-production in the works

iHeartMedia announces today that it has accomplished a partnership with Pushkin Industries, the audio production company founded by Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg in 2018. The alliance makes iHeartMedia the exclusive sales partner for Pushkin podcasts. Two of the best known shows are Broken Record and Revisionist History — the latter being how Gladwell arose to podcasting stardom.

Beyond the sales effort, the two companies will co-produce new shows, with a project timeline stretching over the next two years. Two of those shows are sketched out in today’s announcement:

Double Date: An interview show hosted by American icons Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue, who have been married for 40 years. The two will sit down with other celebrated power couples for fun, sexy, poignant conversations about what really makes a marriage last. Guests will include Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, and Sting and Trudie Styler. The first season will include 10 episodes.

Lost Hills: an investigative true crime series from The New Yorker’s staff writer Dana Goodyear. It tells the story of the 2018 murder of scientist Tristan Beaudette, who was shot in the head in front of his two young daughters while camping in Malibu Creek State Park. “Lost Hills” is a tragic true crime story played out against the sometimes ridiculous backdrop of Malibu. The first of three planned seasons will include 8 episodes.

“We started Pushkin to share the joy Jacob and I have found in creating and producing podcasts,” said Malcolm Gladwell. “Working with the team at iHeart will allow us to spread this joy at an even bigger scale.”

“Conal Byrne and the team at iHeart have been instrumental in popularizing podcasts,” said Jacob Weisberg. “We’re looking forward to working with them to push the boundaries of what’s possible in audio even further.”

“This content partnership brings some of the most highly-regarded titles in podcasting to our network, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to help Pushkin elevate their successful podcasts even further,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “In addition to adopting and supporting their existing award-winning shows, we’re eager to collaborate with the brilliant minds at Pushkin to create new originals as well. We’re honored to join forces with some of the best in the business as we bring these esteemed podcasts to listeners everywhere.”

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Brad Hill