Podcast hosts are your friends: but better

• Fans trust the creators they listen to as much - or more than - their own friends, according to new research released today. The data, from SmithGeiger commissioned by Wondery, also suggests that clips are almost twice as effective as word-of-mouth in bringing new viewers to a show. 71% trust their favorite creator over social media influencers, too. The report is a free download.

• First look: Podcast ads are getting more targeted - Triton Digital announced the integration of Datonics audience data into its ad platform. The company suggests ad-buyers will gain the ability to target precisely and reach new audiences.

• Is Apple Podcasts appearing correctly in your podcast statistics? Listen to a podcast episode using Apple Podcasts (without auto-downloading it first), and it appears to make three download requests - two marked bytes=0-1 which the IAB Podcast Measurement Guidelines v2.3 say should be disregarded: the only one that counts is the one marked “AppleCoreMedia” - which hasn’t been used by Apple Podcasts as a user-agent since Mar 2023.

  • (To check the user-agent, we used our guide here. We’re running iOS 27.2 beta; but this behaviour was also present in the public release of iOS 27.)
  • The IAB Podcast Measurement Guidelines v2.3 were made final on Sep 29.

• In Scotland, a new competition has been launched to develop podcast ideas and turn them into pilot episodes. The initiative is from AudioUK’s training programme Audiotrain, Bespoken Media, and the Scottish Podcast Awards; the prize package is worth more than £3,000.

• Sound.Waves., a podcast and music summit in Ireland, has unveiled its programme for the event in less than a month.

• A new podcast, Far Away, Up Close: Global Stories from The Carter Center, was featured on NBC 11alive in Atlanta Georgia, featuring the Center’s Director of Storytelling, Soyia Ellison, and Rana Shabb, who is featured on one of the episodes. The entire piece seems as if it’s a podcast by itself - with the ubiquitous Shure SM7B in-vision at all times.

• The Podcast Service Business Playbook is a new webinar planned by the Podcast Professionals Association for Oct 29. It’s free to everyone, to help people understand the business essentials behind profitable, sustainable podcast services companies.

• Outspoken has joined NOVA Podcasts. Hosted by sisters and journalists Amy, Kate and Sophie Taeuber, the podcast delivers sharp commentary on pop culture, influencer culture and conversations shaping modern womanhood. It joins from iHeart.

Didn’t see our Liquid Studios visualisation yesterday? We’ve linked to the three versions from the bottom of our press release. We’re doing them until next Tuesday - in Spotify, YouTube, LinkedIn and new podcast apps, and they’re turning them round for us in under an hour.

Latino soldiers fighting in Ukraine

Paid content

Why would someone risk their life for a country that is not their own? What might they be searching for? Call Sign Condor / Alias Cóndor is a podcast about the thousands of Latin Americans who are fighting in Ukraine, for Ukraine.

Through the stories of our protagonist, Condor, and his fellow soldiers, this four-part series takes us inside the lives of Latin American men and women who’ve been fighting — some of them for years — in the war in Ukraine.

Through their experiences of fear, loss, belonging and even falling in love, host Carolina Chimoy explores what brought these soldiers to the front, how they’ve experienced the war, and what they’ve found there.

From DW, LA Times Studios, and Futuro Studios, Call Sign Condor / Alias Cóndor is available now: in English and in Spanish.

People news

• Ben Rosser has been appointed as Sales Director at audioadpro. He has more than 26 years experience in media and advertising.

Tips and tricks - with Audiencelift

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: Mindful Mama teaches us how to raise kind, confident kids without losing your cool? If you’ve looking for conscious, positive parenting strategies and expert advice on issues like tech/screen time, ADHD, tantrums, teens, toddlers, and more, it’s for you.

The Late Bloomer Actor, hosted by David John Clark from Adelaide SA, Australia, is celebrating five years of the show. He’s produced over 50 monthly episodes of insightful interviews with actors, Directors, Casting Directors and a myriad of other industry guests. The special anniversary episode revisits the journey of the podcast from the last five years, and is also ended with some testimonials of previous guests. (He’s one of our personal supporters, too!)

3 Finger Salute launches today, Conflict Resolution Day, bringing together three US TV journalists as the connector, the cynic and the wildcard. Joined by a guest each episode, they tackle subjects from tipping and psychics to see whether they can find any middle ground. They often disagree, occasionally agree to disagree, but never disrespect.

Women in the driving seat from Autotrader is back - with a new voice: Vicki Butler-Henderson, a TV and radio presenter and racing driver, who joins Erin Baker. The show offers an unvarnished, authentic look at life as women navigating the automotive world.

2,000 years ago, centuries before the Vikings, there was another Scandinavia. An Iron Age world. In The Ancients, Tristan Hughes uncovers the deep roots of the seafaring North, journeying through a forgotten world of elite halls, Roman encounters, and ancient burial rites.

Can a business make more money by giving it away? Business for Good marks its 200th episode today with Peter Singer, considered one of the world’s most influential living philosophers, to discuss Profit for Good - his new initiative encouraging companies to donate at least 10% of their profits. And after more than 50 years trying to change how people think about money, animals, and morality, what does Singer believe actually changes the world?

Commons Healthcare is a new narrative journalism podcast that skips the interview format to tell reported stories about the people who run healthcare. In the first episode, you’ll follow reporter Britta Lokting inside Zocdoc to profile CEO Oliver Kharraz, from the five bookings in the company’s first month to the car crash that changed how he thinks about succession.