The podcast factory making 3,000 episodes a week

• How many shows do you make every day? A new podcast network is using AI to flood podcast directories with more than 3,000 new episodes a week - and only four content staff. It’s from a company called Inception Point AI, headed up by former Wondery COO Jeanine Wright; shows are made for an apparent cost of just $1 an episode; and Spreaker’s programmatic ads mean shows can get into profit after as little as 20 listeners. Should you want to listen, here’s (at random) Knitting, hosted by Lila “Crafty” Walker: there’s no disclosure that the show is AI generated (though the show’s reviews have worked that out, calling it AI slop).

  • On that, Wright tells The Hollywood Reporter: “I think that people who are still referring to all AI-generated content as AI slop are probably lazy luddites.” The Luddites were English textile workers, opposed to the use of automated machinery due to concerns about worker pay and output quality. Where do we join?

• Can AI be used for good? There are plenty of non-English podcasts that deserve a wider audience - and Paris-based Worldcrunch might have cracked the code to do it, with the launch of AI-powered (but human curated) translations. The company has launched Murder in Perugia, an investigative podcast series about the Amanda Knox affair, first created by Italian journalist Antonio Iovane.

• ART19 has signed Beasley Media Group as a client.

• NPR published “the best student podcasts in America”, as the winners of the broadcaster’s Student Podcast Challenge.

• CBC has launched its new fall 2025 podcast slate. New shows include See You in Court - “The stories behind the legal battles that changed Canada — and the unlikely people who made it happen.”

• Predictive analytics company Flightpath has announced a partnership with Backyard Ventures, a content creator partnerships firm.

• The Locked On Podcast Network tell us that August 2025 was the biggest month in its history, with over 43 million listens and views. The previous high was back in April.

• In Indonesia, podcast listeners prefer video podcast content over audio-only, according to new research from Populix revealed at Radiodays Asia.

• In Europe, The Audio Marketplace launches next week. The platform connects podcasters, media organizations and audio producers, and is a marketplace for trading high-quality audio material.

• The Podcasting Industry Report from PodMatch for September was released, with useful data to compare your show against.

• People writing about Todd Cochrane over the last day include Rob Greenlee, Dave Jackson, Mike Dell, Dan Franks and Chirag Desai.

Thank you to Buzz Knight, who (among other things) makes the music history takin’ a walk podcast, for becoming our latest personal supporter. (Just in time to mention his “week to remember”, which started yesterday!) It’s supporters like Buzz that help us keep Podnews free for everyone. Thank you, Buzz. You can support us here.

Case Study: Top Podcast Increases Ad Inventory

Paid content

A globally recognized Top 10 podcast in the Society & Culture category had sold out its ad inventory, creating a waitlist of eager sponsors. To meet demand, the team needed to find new listeners and expand ad opportunities.

Partnering with Audiencelift.com, they launched a targeted growth campaign. Episode-specific trailer ads featuring well-known guests were promoted across premium publishers like Variety and Yahoo!, boosting listener engagement.

The results were impressive: over 4 million media impressions, more than 300,000 episode listens, and an average cost per listen of $0.05. By scaling its audience, the podcast unlocked new monetization potential and strengthened sponsor alignment.

Want results like these? Learn how Audiencelift.com helps podcasts reach new listeners and maximize their ad inventory.

People News

• Dave Delaney is seeking a business partner producer to help him scale his fast-growing podcast.

Tips and tricks - with Patreon

• Getting your own dot-com is the most sensible thing you can do to own your podcast. Some podcast hosts like Buzzsprout allow you to use your domain name for your podcast website; or companies like Podpage will let you have a more advanced website wherever you host your show, all powered by your RSS feed. (There’s a discount for Podnews readers). And there’s always GoDaddy to grab a domain - use these codes to save on your own dot-com.

Podcast News

Parenting is hard. Talking about the world with your kids? Even harder. Raising Us, hosted by Elise Hu, is a podcast created just for grownups who want help talking to their kids about what’s happening in the world today. It launched yesterday.

Launched on Monday, Star Trek: Khan is an all-new scripted podcast expanding the Star Trek Universe. It explores the untold events on Ceti Alpha V, chronicling Khan’s descent from a superhuman visionary into the vengeful villain seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

TrumpWorld is new from Channel 4 News today, landing just a week ahead of Trump’s second state visit to the UK. It will take audiences beyond the churn of daily headlines and into the heart of America’s political thrill ride.

Marketing Brew Weekly is brand new today. The latest show from Morning Brew dives deep beyond the marketing headlines to give industry insiders everything they need to know to stay ahead of the curve each week. Hosted by the team behind the hit Marketing Brew newsletter, Marketing Brew Weekly offers expert marketing takes in a chatty, engaging format.

What Your Therapist Thinks is a new mental health show where actual, licensed therapists open up about what they’re really thinking, while answering the internet’s most burning mental health questions. The show launches today, leading up to World Mental Health Day.

How To Get Wet When You’re Dry is a new podcast about love and lust without the liquor. Several years into recovery, host Anna Wolfe is back on the dating scene and discussing life’s big questions with expert guests. From “How do you get under somebody without being under the influence?” to “How do you do life without your social lubricant?", the episodes are honest, complex, but funny too, offering hope through levity. There is a lightness to topics you’d expect to be heavy, like addiction, shame, and failed relationships.

In mastered. the Business of Music, you’ll join CCMA-nominated hosts Jenna Weishar and Logan Miller for a crash course in navigating the music industry. Launching with four episodes, this limited series pulls back the curtain with insights from record label execs, booking agents, managers, and more. Whether you’re an artist or an industry professional, you’ll get practical tools and insider strategies to take your music career further.

Launching today, The Missing Sister is a powerful new investigative podcast from Free Turn exclusively on Wondery+. Award-winning journalist Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff tells the under-reported story of Joy Morgan, a 20-year-old midwifery student from South London, who vanished on Boxing Day in 2018, after attending a party at her controversial church, Israel United in Christ (IUIC). It was later discovered that she had been murdered by a fellow member of the congregation.

In Soapbox Sessions Heather Larson and Derek Ross give you your weekly dose of all things Nostr + AI. It’s our Soapbox about what’s new, what’s cool, and what’s coming. We want to make it easy to understand and keep up with everything going on in the decentralized world of Nostr and AI as we work to rebuild the Internet.

When it comes to mysteries about our health, there are no shortages of new leads to chase. Nice Genes! has just started a new season, investigating the genomic breadcrumbs shaping the way we age, treat diseases, and even watch TV. We’ll uncover how “poo water” can tip us off to pandemics before they spread, to why some of the fittest athletes suddenly collapse on the field. And if you thought you smelled a “rat,” well, you’d be correct, because we’ll also learn how our rodent sidekicks are helping us sniff out the world’s deadliest infectious disease.