AI makes podcast ads for news publisher

• Australian news outlet news.com.au is using AI voices to bring the latest news headlines to podcast ads. The tools, from Creative Fix and Audiostack, allow advertising to be updated in real time. Hear what the ads sound like in the Podnews Daily podcast.

• Following the launch of the iZotope VEA plugin, premium microphone company Earthworks Audio has announced it is to offer a complimentary VEA license on top of their free RX Elements license with any streaming or broadcasting vocal microphones.

• In Saudi Arabia, Thmanyah has launched a new Arabic-language podcast app. The company also runs the Thmanyah Ad Network, a monetisation service for podcasters.

• In Mexico, Podimo has formed a strategic alliance with content marketing company Troop, which will operate Podimo in the region.

• In the UK, production company Listen is celebrating 1.24mn viewers of its “visualised podcast”, which airs on BBC 2 television. Presenter Ed Gamble clarifies that The Traitors: Uncloaked is an “in-vision format for your eyes that you can also hear with your ears, [and is therefore] nothing like a TV show actually”. The audio podcast is on BBC Sounds; the TV show (yes, we’ll go there) is on BBC iPlayer.

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• Earworm, a UK-based podcast agency, has announced plans to expand into the US.

• Tomorrow, Nick Borenstein from The Webby Awards is chatting with Podcast Movement’s Dan Franks about “how AI can empower and transform the landscape of podcasting.” The event is free at 1pm EST; you can register here.

• Podfest is later this week; some of Libsyn’s team will be there, they say.

• In the US, President Biden made a welcome new statement, according to “very real video games news site” Hard Drive.

The Tech Stuff - with RSS․com

• Caution: The Elfsight Podcast Player widget, a paid-for podcast player, is downloading audio on page-load: against IAB guidelines, and defrauding advertisers. We contacted the company last week to report the issue and invited them to comment. We’d suggest you use Spotify or Apple’s players.

• The Jordan Harbinger Show has four analytics redirects: but how many redirects is too many? John Spurlock has worked up a test feed to see. Apple Podcasts (directly, within the app) doesn’t like 20 or more redirects; Pocket Casts on Android doesn’t like 21 or more - try it in your app and let him know.

• Transcription software Whisper.cpp was updated to v1.5.4 two weeks ago. (Here’s how to get it on your Mac).

• We’ve phased out all use of Google’s AMP and tweaked a few other bits in our privacy policy. Later today, if you’re in need of a quiet nap, feel free to read it.

Tips and tricks - with Patreon + Spotify

• What is the perfect podcast length? (The Podcast Sessions) (our take)

• Best Practices for Recording a Podcast: RedCircle looks at equipment, your space, and… you.

Podcast News - with Airwave

From Airwave: Season 3 of The Art of Crime is titled Queen of Crime: Madame Tussaud and the Chamber of Horrors. It chronicles Madame Tussaud’s long and distinguished career, kicking off in pre-revolutionary France and wrapping up in Victorian London; and charts the evolution of the Chamber of Horrors, a special showroom in Tussaud’s wax museum that displayed effigies of notorious criminals. Just as each episode advances the narrative of Tussaud’s life story, each is also structured around at least one noteworthy criminal or crime depicted in the Chamber.

Sustainable Supply Chain is a newly re-branded podcast focusing on sustainable practices, leadership, and innovations transforming supply chains globally. Host Tom Raftery says “Typically 90% of a company’s emissions originate from its supply chain. Addressing this substantial segment is both a challenge and a necessity for a sustainable future.”

Tenacious Teacher is new from Friendship Public Charter School, with host Candice Tolliver Burns sitting down with the most tenacious people inside and out of the US’s classrooms to discuss their experiences, perspectives, and vision for transforming education.

A new mini-series is to appear within the 99% Invisible feed, called The 99% Invisible Breakdown: The Power Broker. Co-hosted by Roman Mars and The Daily Show's Elliott Kalan, it’s a celebration of The Power Broker by Robert Caro, a 1,100 page bible for those into urban design.