Good news - the power is with us in podcasting

• The power is in our hands, says Losh Moodaley in an eagerly-anticipated new article for Podnews. Power might be being consolidated by the platforms that control distribution - and it’s especially the case for podcasting’s middle-class - but the good news is that there are ways to gain economic leverage and own many parts of the relationships needed for podcasting, she says.

  • It’s nice to read good news at the end of this week. So let’s have some more.

• Good news for video podcasters from Apple Podcasts: they shared early results from three shows that have begun distributing video via HLS on the platform. TED’s How to Be a Better Human (Acast) saw its unique audience on Apple Podcasts grow 93%, and new follows on Apple Podcasts have increased 113%. Toni and Ryan (Acast) saw unique audience grow by nearly 40%, and new follows are up 68%. And The MeatEater Podcast (Omny Studio) saw new follows up 151%, while “32% of non-follows who watched the video went on to follow the show within a week”.

• Great news for Audacy, which has announced a strategic partnership with The MeidasTouch Network, including one of the biggest podcasts in the US. The shows will join Audacy on Sep 1: Audacy becomes exclusive audio partner for sales and distribution. Audacy has also signed Dumb Blonde, partnering with creator and #1 New York Times bestselling author Alisa “Bunnie Xo” DeFord - another top 50 podcast.

• Thanks to the podcast:location feature in new podcast hosts, we have a great new way to discover podcasts - Podcast Radar shows podcasts on a globe, as well as a full search to find podcasts made near you, or about places near you. Brilliant!

• Numbers are going up - news podcasts grew in total audience by 8.4% in the US last quarter: it was the fastest-growing category. Triton Digital released its Q2 2026 US Podcast Ranker, which includes lots of good news if you’re wanting to get good advertiser returns: from their Demos+ service, discover smaller categories listened to by big spenders.

• People are listening - The Advertising Landscape UK Study from Sounds Profitable and Sound Insights shows that listeners are paying attention (79% of UK listeners recall a podcast ad in the last week), trust what they hear, and the best news: they act on it (44% of 18-34s made a purchase after hearing a podcast ad in the past three months).

• Good news for TPA’s future - “I’m incredibly excited about what we’re building,” says Ami Thakkar, the Executive Director of The Podcast Academy, in a letter to members.

• Good news for advertisers who want to learn what’s coming up: the IAB Podcast Upfront has announced its full agenda. The invitation-only event is on Sep 16, sandwiched between the Sounds Profitable Business Summit and Podcast Movement.

• Brilliant news, too, for podcasters in Ireland: where the SOUND.WAVES. conference has been announced for a second year, along with the All-Ireland Podcast Awards. Tickets are now available.

• Good news: lots of people are sharing their Megaphone stories with us (or with Flightpath) so we can come back to this story on Monday. Use us - editor@podnews.net - if you want to keep your name out of it: and let’s not just sit this one out. Also good news - your 50,000-view, 150-video podcast on YouTube wasn’t automatically removed this week for no reason whatsoever! On Monday, we’ll cover someone’s channel which has. But - good news -we’re not covering that today!

People news

• Great news for Lower Street: we hear that Lex Friedman is now Lower Street's fractional CRO. We don’t know if the job requires him to wear a cap or talk in a British accent.
• Good news from PAVE Studios, who have named Jennifer Passovoy, a 5x Emmy-winning producer, as Head of Unscripted Video.

Tips and tricks - with Podcast Movement NYC

• Good people, all, from Podcast Movement 2025 - you sent in your photographs, and we put them on the internet for AI to learn from. We’ll do the same next month!

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: Good Job, Brain! says it’s part quiz show, part offbeat trivia, and all awesome. Karen, Colin, Dana, and Chris school each other on some of the weirdest and most interesting facts about our funny little world.

Good news: after just over a year, Parent Unplugged has reached #1 in Apple Podcasts’ Parenting chart, and been long-listed for some awards. The show has built a community of more than 80,000 people.

Good news: Hello, Puzzlers! recently had NYT Puzzle Editor Will Shortz on the show. Lex Friedman tells us it was “lovely”.

The Podnews Weekly Review this week doesn’t have Sam Sethi on it. But the good news is - it’s got Liam Heffernan as a guest co-host. There’s some good news in there somewhere, too, honest.

Good news: Secrets From a Coach is celebrating its 300th episode. The show has got more than 72,000 downloads; 78% of listeners live outside the UK and 81% listen via their mobile phones - the weekly show focuses on positive actions to help you thrive and maximise your potential in the ever-evolving workplace, and in life.

And good news - eventually: Mark Victor Hansen got rejected 144 times before Chicken Soup for the Soul became one of the bestselling book series in history. In the latest episode of Influence Anyone, Howie Chan sits down with the legendary author, publisher, and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise to unpack the psychology behind persistence, goal-setting, purpose, and influence.

Good podcast ads in the wild

Podnews reader Adam showed us these brilliant posters for the Great Escapes podcast. It’s a recorded-on-location video podcast, taking the hosts to locations on the Great Western Railway network, where they take part in a whole range of things from wrestling to surfing to punting and more. Where better to advertise it than in their train stations - complete with a fancy QR code to help travellers subscribe?

Good Dog News

Podnews reader Sean at Flightpath says: “One of our office dogs, Ms Mae Vanderwag, got cheese yesterday with only minimal off-gassing. A win win for everyone!” What a good dog.