The New York Times is launching a new podcast that marks its audio team’s first foray into narrative non-fiction. The audio documentary, titled Caliphate, will seek answers and context about ISIS and its role in the Middle East. Episodes will be released in the spring, and New York Times subscribers will receive early access to the series. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Questioning the top Podtrac “Snackable Podcast.” Big holiday download numbers for Alexa on Android. Start 2018 right with a hilarious podcast parody. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Mark Mulligan looks ahead to 2018. SoundCloud CEO is still serious about the company’s roots. The experts weigh in on podcast discoverability. Continue Reading
Podtrac released two special podcast ranking charts. The first lists the top 20 podcasts in the United States for 2017. The second chart is the top 10 new podcasts that were published for the first time during this year. In an impressive performance, S-Town topped both Podtrac lists. Continue Reading
Apple has acquired Pop Up Archive, the online platform of building tools to transcribe, organize, and search audio files. This acquisition includes podcast search engine Audiosear.ch, which shuttered late last month. Apple’s only comment on the development is its stock statement: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Checking in on The LA Times’ Dirty John. Labels join the podcast game. Continue Reading
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation published data from a survey about podcast awareness and consumption. Australians posted 89% awareness of the audio format. More than half have listened to a podcast, and the rate rose to 76% among those aged 25-34. Continue Reading
AdLarge Media announced the addition of hey, girl. to its cabana brand of podcast services and digital audio ad buying. Author Alex Elle created the program, where she interviews inspiring, interesting women for this show about self-discovery, sisterhood, and storytelling. Cabana is AdLarge’s division for podcast creation and ad representation. Continue Reading
Australia-based Nova Entertainment hosted a contest to help the discovery of new podcasts in the country. The winner of the company’s second Podquest competition is Wendy John with her show Doomsday. Her prize is a production and marketing grant, along… Continue Reading
WordPress has entered a partnership with RadioPublic that add support for the podcast tech business’ embed player. The deal allows audio shows from any hosting solution to be easily shared to websites powered by either WordPress.com or Jetpack. Continue Reading
Australia is building up a strong coterie of local podcast talent. The latest company to launch in support of the podcasting industry is called Ear Buds. The Melbourne-base podcast network takes a local approach, featuring shows that “reflect the sound of the city.” Continue Reading
The Podtrac publisher rankings showed little change after a comparative shake-up in June. The updates for the latest month are that Radiotopia, a regular name on this list, has been combined with the shows from parent network PRX. Both are now listed together as PRX, and landed at No. 4. Continue Reading