UK’s LBC launches daily news podcast for evening commute

We learned from James Cridland’s podnews that UK publication LBC is getting on the bandwagon of daily news podcasts. The Daily Debrief will release new episodes in the afternoon, reaching commuters on their way home from work. Host Richard Suchet offeers listeners analysis and detail on the day’s top news stories. The first episode explores the costs of the UK’s split from the European Union and previews Wednesday’s budget.

Daily Debrief episodes are about 10 minutes long, we’re told. (The debut is 11 minutes.) The production is as professional as you’d expect. An unusual use of musical underscoring feels perplexing to us — it seems to unnecessarily dramatize portions of the news narrative.

Producing a daily podcast is a massive undertaking, but this is a niche that we’ve seen gaining ground lately. NPR’s Up First and The New York Times’ The Daily are market leaders in this category, both morning shows. Digital darling Vox Media is planning to debut its own A.M. news project in Q1.