News podcast consumption examined

• The Digital News Report 2025 from the Reuters Institute is being launched as we send today’s update. One part of the data focuses on the changing landscape for news podcasts across countries, looking specifically at the US, UK and Norway to add further context.

  • The data suggests that YouTube is the main access point for news podcasts in the US - in the country, 15% access a news podcast weekly. One fifth (22%) of their US sample say they saw news or commentary from Joe Rogan in the week after the inauguration (and 14% from Tucker Carlson).
  • The percentage of weekly news podcast listeners in the UK is half that of the US. Interestingly, in the UK, Goalhanger’s The Rest is Politics is quoted as the #1 news podcast, with Global’s The News Agents at #2 and PoliticsJOE at #3. The BBC only appears at #4 and #5, with Americast beating Newscast.

• The winners of the Publisher Podcast Awards 2025 were announced. The podcast of the year went to Political Fix from the Financial Times.

• The fiction podcast app Apollo shut down last month, it’s emerged. “We’ve poured our hearts into building a space for fiction podcast lovers”, said the founders in an email, ”and while we’re incredibly proud of what we created, we haven’t been able to grow the listener base enough to sustain the service long-term.”

• Audio remains the primary mode of podcast consumption despite growing video options, says a new study from Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights.

• Eva Longoria’s Hyphenate Media Group has taken an equity stake in the My Cultura Podcast Network, iHeartMedia’s podcast network dedicated to elevating Latino voices and stories.

• A new podcast project management tool, Northflow, has officially launched. The product is built specifically for podcast agencies and teams managing multiple shows, promising to “make podcast production easier for the people who do it every day”.

• The Associated Press has signed with SoundStack for the company’s suite of tools for audio streaming and content repurposing.

• SiriusXM Media has announced a partnership with Innovid to bring better data around digital audio performance to media mix models - offering measurement solutions and clear evidence of ROI for brands and advertisers.

• The power of open standards for creators and independent businesses are highlighted by Justin Jackson, the co-founder of Transistor, in this part of a video from The Nathan Barry Show which was released over the weekend.

• As Pocket Casts moves to support “podroll”, creator-led podcast recommendations, joining podcast hosting companies like Buzzsprout, Blubrry, Transistor and RSS.com, we thought we’d take a look at who, so far, are the most recommended podcasts by creators.

Moves and hires

• Kamal Ahmed has announced that he has left the Daily Telegraph’s podcast The Daily T, a year after its launch. He was also the newspaper’s Director of Audio. “The Telegraph has asked me to continue with my column and landing big interviews. Other exciting projects are taking shape.”

• A few weeks ago, Michael DeAloia stepped aside as CEO of Evergreen Podcasts. He’s started a new position as Venture Fellow at Pegasus Angel Accelerator.

Tips and tricks - with Memberful

• Thinking about CALLING YOUR PODCAST ALL CAPS, or perhaps just not using any capital letters at all? Science says that all-lowercase is feels warm, all-uppercase feels competent. Mind, your Editor says all uppercase FEELS SHOUTY.

Podcast News - with Podcast Movement

In the financial lifestyle podcast About That Wallet this week, a show designed to help the sandwich generation build strong financial habits and make smarter money decisions, financial expert Kevin Matthews II shares his take on what tariffs might mean for the price of things you buy - and how to teach your children about money.

Man vs Mind is a timely, relatable new podcast about male mental health and everything going on inside a man’s mind. From therapy and fatherhood to anxieties, hang-ups, obsessions, gym guilt and crying at TV ads, it’s real talk without the preach: brutally honest, funny and refreshingly candid, from two bang-average guys.

In 2012, a woman was found with her hands bound in the Mojave desert; but it wasn’t the only crime that had took place there. Devil in the Desert unravels the tangled life of Hossein Nayeri, the mastermind behind one of the most brutal crimes in California history. It’s new today from ABC Audio and 20/20, and is hosted by ABC News chief national correspondent Matt Gutman.

Bold & Boutique is a new podcast that explores the craft behind AI characters, interaction design, marketing and brand identity. Season 1 dives into the rise of AI characters and virtual brand ambassadors, with real-world insights from a decade of building branded voice experiences. It’s hosted by Phoebe Ohayon — a seasoned voice branding strategist with global clients like Mercedes and McDonald’s — and Maikel van der Wouden.

Grumpy Wizdom is a new podcast hosted by Talib Jasir, the founder of the Afros & Audio Podcast Festival. With poetic narration, lived truths, and soundscapes that breathe, Grumpy Wizdom walks with you through the hard-earned lessons on becoming, belonging, survival, and the words we live by. This isn’t self-help. It’s self-remembering.

IRL: Online Life is Real Life returns for a new season, produced with PRX. This season - there are fears about AI taking our jobs or becoming too intelligent in the future. But what about the AI that’s already here, just beneath the surface of our daily lives? Bridget Todd goes deep into the ways AI has infiltrated our social relationships and human rituals, from finding love to being our neighbor.

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