Podcast Review

NEW ARTICLE: 7 Podcasts I Wish Would Come Back "Hearing the news that Longform will be saying goodbye to listeners after twelve years, I reluctantly consigned the show to a mental list that I have been writing since the pandemic. It’s a roster of shows that “I couldn’t live without,” until suddenly I was forced to." - Alice Florence Orr https://lnkd.in/gzbfV5dz

Hey podcasters: you can't please everyone.

Hey podcasters: you can't please everyone.

I loved the latest list on Podcast Review, themed around "7 Podcasts I Wish Would Come Back". It made me realise that there's a whole bunch of podcasts whose demise I still haven't truly gotten over. I also very much related to the feeling of being asked your favourite podcast and then hesitating because the one you actually really love isn't a snazzy new release but a dusty gem from a bygone era. (Is it the podcasts I miss, or the bygone era itself? Who's to say!) My personal favourite discontinued relics also include The High Low and Reply All, and I would add in Baby Geniuses, Do the Right Thing, Boners of the Heart, The Things We Do For Love and – the podcast that got me into this whole thing in the first place – Adam & Joe. You can read Alice Florence Orr's list here... https://lnkd.in/eQDMZHEf

We're about to have an election in the UK. One of the main talking points of this political cycle has been how many people get their information, not from debates or manifestos, but through analysis on political podcasts. It got me thinking about what makes a "good" political podcast, the difference between audio and TikTok, and how I feel about the role of podcasting in this controversial and sensitive space. During this process, I came out with another takeaway: Podcasts wouldn’t be the phenomenon they have become without politics. The industry likes to point to the success of true crime as the catalyst for podcasting’s mainstream popularity. But speak to some of the hosts who have made it big in the last five years, and they’ll point, often begrudgingly, to Joe Rogan as the reason they can make podcasting their full-time career. You might take umbrage with this for moral reasons. Fine. I switched to Tidal when Rogan was bought by Spotify. But the political divisions we see in society have been easily capitalized on by political podcasts across the ideological spectrum. If the aim is to create a vacuum where only one ideology exists, why not start a podcast? Not all political podcasts are nurturing polemical silos. Many attempt to at least understand where the other side is coming from. And while they risk offending everyone and satisfying no one, there is bravery in championing a bipartisan approach. In my recent list for Podcast Review, I chose a range of shows that occupy different positions on many things, but they share a common theme: curiosity towards difficult issues. What is your favorite political podcast? https://lnkd.in/eKCy7Cxb

NEW ARTICLE: The 9 Best Love and Relationship Podcasts "Audio is an intimate format, so it’s hardly surprising that love and relationship podcasts have flourished in the way they have. That said, sharing stories from the front line of your love life can be tricky to sustain, especially as hosts move past their awkward dating phase. Some of the best shows simply don’t last." Read why these podcasts might just save your relationship: https://lnkd.in/g2DugtdQ

NEW ARTICLE: The 9 Best Love and Relationship Podcasts "Audio is an intimate format, so it’s hardly surprising that love and relationship podcasts have flourished in the way they have. That said, sharing stories from the front line of your love life can be tricky to sustain, especially as hosts move past their awkward dating phase. Some of the best shows simply don’t last." Read why these podcasts might just save your relationship: https://lnkd.in/g2DugtdQ

Read more about The Atlantic's Good on Paper! https://lnkd.in/eyeznpfB

I wholeheartedly chime with what Michelle is saying. I've been writing for Podcast Review for over five years. We've always championed authentic reviews and podcast discovery, but it's getting harder and harder to reach listeners with the recent Google SEO changes. We're worried that people will rely increasingly on large publications (hello, domain authority) that tend to talk about the same shows, over and over - or Apple's discovery page, which we know is easier for big pods to capitalise on. I've also seen no evidence that TikTok, Reels or YouTube views translate into actual podcast subscribers. (If anyone has these stats, I'm all ears. But a TikTok user is not the same as a podcast listener.) Socials help build personal brands - but what if you're not selling a book or a speaking gig? What if you just want to make a great podcast? I've been sharing podcast recommendations every week on BBC radio. This seems like the most logical pipeline for a new listener. After all, radio and podcasts are cousins. But there's no way to track or substantiate this. We have over 11,000 newsletter subscribers, and we are grateful for their trust in us to deliver real recommendations. Just as small pods are desperate to expand, so are we. So what's the solution?