The Thriving Ecosystem of Podcast Media
While legacy publications rush to cover podcasts, independent publications have been documenting and celebrating its growth for years.
Podcasting started as a tiny satellite orbiting the binary stars of Radio and Internet, but over the years, it’s grown in size and influence. The increasing gravity of podcasts has pulled an impressive collection of media into a stable orbit, full of analysis, criticism, reporting, and conversation.
Consider this article your sky map for this collection of orbiting bodies that helps us collectively understand and process what is going on in podcasting.
Industry News and Analysis
Pacific Content
A weekly newsletter for industry news and analysis. Dan Misener frequently has interesting data visualization projects up his sleeve as well.
PodMov Daily
Daily email from Brennan Tapp, the managing editor at Podcast Movement, the largest annual podcast conference. She sends out short bites of podcasting news and links to articles.
Inside Podcasting
Podcast news and analysis from Shreya Sharma. Part of the Inside family of newsletters.
Podnews
James Cridland delivers this podcast industry newsletter daily in a handy and digestible bullet-point format.
Hot Pod
Ashley Carman provides in-depth coverage and analysis of podcast industry news. Check out Hot Pod Insider for a paid subscription with additional emails each week.
I Hear Things
Personal thoughts and analysis from Tom Webster, SVP at Edison Research. Released weekly.
Podbrief NYC
A weekly collection of podcasting news, events, and career opportunities for the New York City area, written by Jonathan Baillie Strong.
RAIN News
Radio And Internet News will keep you updated on all things podcasting and audio streaming.
Podcast Business Journal
A website that sends out a daily email of podcast industry news and podcast related columns.
Pod Bible Magazine
UK based digital podcast magazine full of interviews, analysis, and industry news.
Cultural Criticism
Bello Collective
Signing up for the Bello Collective’s bi-weekly newsletter is the best way to ensure you don’t miss a thing. Subscribe for a diverse set of recommendations from contributors, podcast and cultural criticism, and industry updates. Edited by Ashley Lusk and Galen Beebe.
Discover Pods
Get playlists, reviews, and articles about podcasts. Home of The Discover Pods Awards, an annual celebration of the best podcasts of the year as voted by fans and those in the industry. Edited by Wil Williams.
RadioDoc Review
Academic critiques of podcasts and audio documentaries by an impressive collection of scholars and industry veterans.
Podcast Dept.
The New Yorker’s coverage of podcasts, mostly written by podcast critic Sarah Larson.
Podcast Review
An offshoot of The Los Angeles Review of Books that focuses on in-depth podcast reviews and recommendations.
Podmass
Criticism and reviews from The AV Club, one of the earliest media companies to take podcasting criticism seriously.
For Creators
Podcasting, Seriously
A weekly roundup from Lantigua Williams & Co. It is full of resources for creators and highlights work that focuses on marginalized people.
Sounds Profitable
Bryan Barletta writes about podcast ad tech. It strikes a balance between deep technical expertise and high level trends for readers approaching ad tech from all angles.
Podcast Pontifications
Evo Terra wants to help make podcasting better. His short and frequent newsletter is full of insight that would be useful for anyone making their own show.
The Wave
The mission of The Wave is “to help women tell their unique stories through podcasting.” In their newsletter, get equipment reviews, podcast tips, and podcast recommendations. Created by Lauren Popish.
The Audio Insurgent
Eric Nuzum, who helped create NPR’s thriving podcast strategy, explores the big picture of podcasting and audio making in this new weekly newsletter.
Own Your Audience
A weekly newsletter from Roger Nairn at Jar Audio geared towards podcast marketing.
Starting Out
A comprehensive newsletter for people entering the audio industry from Alice Wilder and Transom. Comes out about once a month.
Podcast Marketing Magic
A weekly collection of marketing tips, case studies, and inspiration from Lauren Passell, all geared towards helping you grow your podcast.
Podcast Reviews and Recommendations
Your queue is only as diverse and interesting as your recommendation sources. Subscribing to everything below will ensure your podcast app of choice never reaches inbox 0 (for better or worse).
Timber
A new publication from Jon Christensen geared towards podcast listeners of all types. Peruse the site for some fantastic profiles and interviews with creators.
Hurt Your Brain
Get recommendations on podcasts and links that will make you think. Hurt Your Brain is my side project where I attempt to learn more about how the world works, one podcast at a time.
Podcast Gumbo Newsletter
Wake up every other Wednesday morning with a set of three podcast recommendations from the delightful Paul Kondo.
Audio Dramatic
If you are looking for thoughtful writing around audio dramas, Audio Dramatic from Elena Fernández Collins is essential reading.
1.5x Speed
Hot Pod’s Nick Quah has recently launched a weekly podcast recommendation newsletter at Vulture.
Earbuds Podcast Collective
A listening playlist for the week ahead. Creator Arielle Nissenblatt works with a different person each week to curate the theme and accompanying episodes.
Podcast Plunge
New newsletter from Arielle Nissenblatt (of Earbuds Podcast Collective) that focuses each issue around one podcast episode, with other related pieces of the internet tied into the main themes of the episode.
This Week in Podcasts
Michael Yessis provides an impressive array of recommendations. He also points out guests of note appearing in new episodes of popular shows.
This Week in Music Podcasts
A new one from Michael Yessis. Well-organized and comprehensive music podcast recommendations and notes.
Great British Podcasts
From the folks behind the British Podcast Awards comes this weekly newsletter that highlights and recommends, as you might guess, great British podcasts.
Pod Squad
Weekly podcast recommendations from industry veteran Kellie Riordan.
Podcast The Newsletter
This weekly newsletter from Lauren Passell features enthusiastic recommendations, and interesting interviews with creators and industry folks alike.
Podcast Maniac
Varied recommendations, podcast playlists, and links to articles that appear on the Podcast Maniac site. Created by the self-professed podcast maniac, Nicole Beaudry.
The Browser
As the audio editor for The Browser, Caroline Crampton provides curated audio recommendations to go along with their set of five curated links. The free version provides occasional emails and the paid version is sent daily.
Audio Drama Reviews
A site from Michael Bergonzi that gives in-depth reviews of all things audio drama.
Podcast Delivery
A once-weekly newsletter from Stephen O’Grady and Evan LePage that contains one podcast recommendation per issue. They have excellent taste and the simplicity of the format is a nice change of pace.
Find That Pod
You’ll get five podcast recommendations each week from Sebastian Arciszewski. The format is stylish and the selections are wide ranging.
Great Pods Newsletter
Great Pods curates and collects podcast reviews from critics and listeners on a weekly basis. Creator Imran Ahmed keeps it fun and wide ranging.
You’re Gonna Love This Podcast
Bello contributor Rufaro Faith Mazarura curates your next favorite podcasts and features conversations with creators in this excellent podcast.
Podcasting by the Moon
A monthly newsletter sent by Alexandra Cohl of POD.DRALAND. It is full of recommendations, industry news, and reflections that all keep women in podcasting at the center.
Podcast Communities
There is plenty of community to be found outside of your inbox as well.
Bello Slack
The Bello Collective Slack group is one of my favorite things on the internet — it provides the very definition of community. Anyone can join the conversation as a member.
Podcast Brunch Club
Like a book club, but for podcasts. Local chapters are currently meeting virtually and there is a global virtual chapter where people can come together to discuss that month’s themed podcast playlist. Created by Adela Mizrachi.
WOC Podcasters
Founded by Danielle Desir, this is a community with the goal to amplify the voices of women of color within podcasting. There are over 3,700 members in the community who have access to tons of shared resources, job opportunities, and support. A paid membership also includes extensive coursework.
Transom
Transom is a place to learn the art of audio through community and workshops.
If you spend the time curating podcast people to follow on Twitter, it can become a somewhat pleasant place to spend your time. For an excellent starting point, follow this public Twitter list created by Berry from Podcasts in Color. It has more than 200 people and organizations and is effectively your cheat sheet introduction to podcast Twitter.
A few years ago, Bello Collective editor emerita Dana Gerber-Margie wrote up a list of 12 podcast groups you can join, and it’s still highly relevant. Start with The New York Times Podcast Club, where a new podcast is picked each week for discussion.
The podcasts subreddit is a great place to discover new shows or to ask for recommendations. Stop in once a week or so and sort the posts by “top” and “last week” for a guaranteed selection of interesting discussions.
Podcasts in Color
The largest podcast directory in the world for podcasts from people of color and an overall amazing tool for podcast discovery. It’s put together by Berry Syk. Be sure to follow along the conversation on Twitter with #PodsInColor and follow along on Instagram @podcastsincolor.
Podchaser
Well on its way to become the IMDB for podcasts. Also great for creating or following listening lists.
AIR Community Forum
A global community of audio professionals that serves as the modern evolution of the AIRdaily listserv. Paid membership required.
Kids Listen
A grassroots organization that advocates for high-quality audio content for children and serves as a discovery platform for young listeners.
Blk Pod Collective
A community centered around diversifying, supporting and educating the Black podcast community.
Asian American Podcasters Association
A non-profit with the mission to help Asian American podcasters find community and growth no matter where they are on their podcasting journey.
Latina Podcasters Network
A podcast community for Latina and Latinx women that helps support, develop, connect and amplify their stories, experiences and voices.
Reporters to Follow
A short list of reporters covering podcasts as part of their beat for digital and legacy publications.
- Sara Fischer, Axios
- Phoebe Lett and Reggie Ugwu, New York Times
- Ben Mullin, Wall Street Journal
- Sarah Larson, The New Yorker
- Fiona Sturges, Financial Times
- Miranda Sawyer, The Guardian
- Joshua Dudley, Forbes
See a podcast publication missing from our list? Leave us a note in the comments, or send us an email at editor@bellocollective.com.
The Bello Collective is a publication + newsletter about podcasts and the audio industry. Our goal is to bring together writers, journalists, and other voices who share a passion for the world of audio storytelling.
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