Bumper’s measurement dashboard goes free

• A measurement tool combining data from different sources, the Bumper Dashboard is now available for every podcast, free. The tool’s new “Bumper Score” will also be available - what the company calls a standard benchmark that compares podcast performance in context. The company has also announced MCP server access for AI assistants.

• Koolio.ai, a podcast production platform, has unveiled a significant upgrade. The tool aims to combine recording, editing, sound design and publishing; it now allows collaboration and automated audio cleaning and mastering tools.

• It’s Black Music Month, and The Almanac of Rap podcast is celebrating with a “podcast mixtape”, highlighting a handpicked collection of independent podcasts covering music, culture, history and wellness. The list is available on Castbox.

• In Indonesia, Podcast Day Asia is to return this year as Podcast Creators Day. It’s part of Radiodays Asia (you can just register for Podcast Creators Day if you prefer). Our Editor, James Cridland, will be speaking at the event in Jakarta; Podnews is a sponsor.

• How are lawyers and legal professionals using podcasts in Canada? A new study from One Stone Creative examines these shows; suggesting that podcasting is effective for law firms.

• What did you miss at The Podcast Show, London? The Podglomerate writes a recap and analysis about what they saw - and what it means. So did Rachel Corbett from NOVA Podcasts in her monthly newsletter.

• Podcasting’s Dirty Secret: No One Wants Their Real Numbers (Me Included) - Steve Raizes tells us that “Standards Do Not Get Voted In. Someone Imposes Them”, and asks whether you (or your show) could survive being measured in public. (Here’s a link to the public download figures for our podcast).

• The entry deadline of the Independent Podcast Awards has been extended. You’ve now got until June 22.

The Tech Stuff - with RSS.com

• Alberto Betella has proposed an AI Content Disclosure flag in RSS, and is asking the Podcast Standards Project to adopt it. There is a standalone demo of proposed UI patterns, and an invitation to comment on Github. Podnews already supports this tag on a channel level.

• In the Podcasting 2.0 podcast, Adam Curry proposed “The Podcast Data Collective”, publishing follows, plays per episode and completion rate by time for all podcasts. The data would come from a variety of independent apps, which are estimated to be 10% of all consumption. The data would be free in beta.

• 61.2% of May’s new podcast episodes were available over IPv6. (Mobile networks in some parts of the world are IPv6 only). AWS Cloudfront only does IPv6 if you turn it on; and 27% of podcast hosts haven’t done so. The data is from John Spurlock’s Livewire.

• The audio and video tool ffmpeg can run in your browser using WebAssembly. One developer has made this front-end for ffmpeg which runs completely on your browser; it’s also open source. Their front-end is video only; but perhaps someone would like to build an audio version that normalises audio to the correct LUFS level, adds a bit of compression and limiting, spots or removes large silences, or even produces a visualised version for video platforms.

• Tom Rossi’s suggestion to help podcast hosting companies to better identify apps that download video files, which we reported last week, has gone down like you’d expect; with Marco Arment one of the noisiest detractors. But, as our Editor suggests - it could mean a whole new economic model for podcast apps.

People news

• Andrea Roten has been named Business Development Executive at PodcastVideos.com.

Tips and tricks

• Wonder what The Bumper Dashboard - which goes free today - is like? We reviewed it when it first launched.

• Want free stats for all your downloads (not just Apple, YouTube and Spotify)? Get set up on OP3 for free.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: Since 2006, My History Can Beat Up Your Politics has been using history to elevate today’s political debates. The Columbia Journalism Review calls it thoughtful, nuanced, and highly engaging. It’s hosted by Bruce Carlson.

First America has been announced by Pushkin Industries and Critical Frequency - a new narrative podcast that explores the untold story of the United States’ origins through the unwritten Native history of the country. It’s hosted by Rebecca Nagle, and launches June 22.

Stick to Football is off to the World Cup! The show, hosted by Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Jamie Carragher and Jill Scott, will broadcast from New York throughout the World Cup. The show is from The Overlap.

Clara & Munroe Are Into It is new from British broadcaster Clara Amfo and activist, model and writer Munroe Bergdorf. The two are bringing their unrivalled access – from the red carpet to the studio – and encyclopaedic knowledge of pop culture to unpack the moments dominating culture. They’re unpacking the moment to get into it and want you to be too.

In So Glad You Asked with Dr. Ruta Nonacs and Allie Hales, you’ll hear real questions from moms, answered by clinicians from the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health. The second season brings a refreshed format pairing expert voices like Emily Oster, Jessica Zucker, and Pooja Lakshmin with listener-submitted questions, offering clear, stigma-free guidance on everything from anxiety and depression to infertility and partner mental health.

Podcasts in the wild

Podnews reader Kattie spotted this sticker for Bad Music Club in a “local record shop in Brantford Ontario, Canada”. (It might work better if it had said it was a local music podcast, in our view, but it’s still very nice artwork).

See any marketing for podcasts in the real world? Snap’em and send’em to us.