Spotify adds new podcast discovery feature

• If getting your podcast discovered is hard, then this new feature might help. Spotify has launched Prompted Playlist for Podcasts, a tool that lets you build podcast playlists just by asking for something - like “Create a podcast playlist with the biggest entertainment news”. The tool is available for Premium users in English in selected countries. We gave it a go, and we approve of its top choices.

  • Spotify’s article says that “more than 34 million podcasts are discovered for the first time every week on Spotify” - so anything that helps get new shows found will benefit us.

• George Soros’s Soros Fund Management is investing into MeidasTouch Network, the owner of The MeidasTouch Podcast. Terms weren’t given. The investment company became the largest shareholder in Audacy in February; and invested in Crooked Media in 2022.

  • Fun fact: Soros was described as “the man with the midas touch” in TIME magazine in 1993. He is now.

• Ausha has expanded its growth suite with Ausha Visibility Ads, adding the ability to buy ads on Spotify and YouTube for your podcast. Specifically adapted for podcast growth, the tool is available today in beta.

• An event for agencies, businesses and brands in Manchester, England, has been announced. HARK Live will be on April 29.

• Podpage now transcribes podcast episodes automatically. The resulting transcriptions are available on your Podpage website (here’s an example). The tool is free for Elite members; and supports speaker identification, timestamps, and clean paragraph formatting; transcripts are marked-up for Google, too.

• Radio stations broadcast something once and then, more often than not, it just disappears. Ozen has launched a new tool called PodcastBot, an AI-powered broadcast-to-podcast platform that turns live shows into polished, on-demand podcast content.

• There’s no hiding audio ads from our title sponsor, Podscribe - they’ve just announced SiriusXM Radio airchecks, listening across SiriusXM channels; they’ve also added automated pixel email scheduling, and if you’re a publisher wanting to give your podcasters access to a login for their show, now you can.

People news

• Literary Mama has grown the team for its podcast This Mama Is Lit - with two new co-hosts Sam Field and Tiffanie Drayton, and podcast producer Dana Wiker.

Tips and tricks - with the Podnews Report Card

• Just getting booked to appear on a podcast isn’t your goal, says Lyndsay Phillips. If you want them to do something - buy your thing, subscribe to your show, get your newsletter - you need to have more of a plan. Writing for Podnews, she tells us how to prepare, perform and propel.
• Which microphones and headphones should I buy? The Podglomerate gives us their tips. (Extra tips from us: keep your microphone about a palm’s width away from your mouth; and to turn an echoey room into a decent-sounding studio, start by putting a rug on the floor and closing your curtains.)

Podcast News - with Airwave

For your Webby Consideration: Culture Kids for Best Individual Episode - Kids & Family. It’s a multiple award winning podcast and nonprofit organization on a mission to make a multicultural mindset the default for the next generation.

The Black Mother Wound Podcast has joined iHeartMedia and Charlamagne Tha God’s Black Effect. The show was selected from the “Pitch Your Podcast” booth at the 2025 Black Effect Podcast Festival last year; and is a weekly space for Black women navigating the complicated, often painful relationships they have with their mothers – and the lasting impact those relationships have on their lives.

Parks & Pages is new from WDW Magazine - a new weekly show dedicated to Disney parks and cruises, history, storytelling, film and streaming, and fan culture. Each episode features a mix of timely discussions and deep dives, from Disney history and behind-the-scenes insights to travel tips and new experiences.

From early March, but it took a long car ride for it to appear in our ears as a surprise, Rob Walch interviews one of the biggest names in podcast advertising, Dan Granger, in the podCast411 podcast.

Family Lore is new today from Audacy - investigating those stories that are passed down through generations, turning ever more fanciful. How much is really true? Each episode starts with an irresistible family story, and digs deeper to find the real history.

Soccer Moms is new from iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell’s Big Money Players network; a fully improvised comedy podcast hosted by two seasoned improv comedians Katie Rich and Holly Laurent - set on the sidelines of a suburban youth soccer league.

Dad’s Anytime Stories is a new story time podcast to be enjoyed all day, created by a school teacher and Dad who turned his own bedtime creations into one of the most popular children’s podcasts in the world. The first season visits the popular Cards of Power universe, a fictional world of Wizards, magic, and a boy called Carter who embarks on epic adventures with his magical friends.