Podcasting in Korea - a deep dive

• In the latest of our series of deep-dives into East and South East Asia, Guang Jin YEO looks at podcasting in South Korea. Think that podcast consumption in Korea is massive? That might not be the case any more… discover the history of podcasting in Korea and a warning to the rest of us about closed platforms and competition from others.

• Acast has launched a new feature called Interchangeable Ad Slots that increase the available inventory on Acast by 10%. Previously, sponsor messages and ads were in separate inventory, but now unsold sponsor slots can be used for ads.

  • The company has also launched Acast Amplifier in Ireland - a podcast incubator program to help three aspiring podcasters.

• In new data, Signal Hill Insights suggests that podcasting reaches almost as many 18-34s as TV. Looking at 25-54s, adding podcasts to a TV schedule would reaches an additional 15% of people who never watch the TV.

• Brand-safety firm DoubleVerify claims that ad fraud has come to audio, suggesting one company has made a tool to produce fake listeners for podcasts, so the ads within the shows are never listened-to. The article from Morning Brew suggests the problem is not to any significant scale, though.

• BIPOC Podcast Creators has been announced as the inaugural Community Partner for The Copyright Alliance.

• Audacy’s Cadence13 Studios is working with Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions to launch a scripted comedy franchise. The first show is due later this year.

• Our Editor dresses like this every day to record the Podnews Daily - as spotted by Podnews field reporter Arielle Nissenblatt. You can hear the Podnews Daily on Apple Podcasts, where you can subscribe to an ad-free version.

Moves and hires

• Joshua Anderton is joining Transistor full-time as a web developer and designer. Josh has been working for the company as a part-time contractor since October.

• Patrick Dolan has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Board at Libsyn. He became a Director in Nov 2021.

• Jenna Weiss-Berman has been named as Executive Vice President of Podcasts at Audacy. Chris Corcoran is leaving the company; Max Linsky will continue to co-lead Pineapple Studios alongside Bari Finkel.

Tips and tricks - with Phantom Producer

• It’s always helpful to look at how podcasts are made. Here are the tools and processes for The Piketon Massacre, and Hit Different.

Podcast News - with Left Over

The latest guest on Wear Many Hats is our Editor, James Cridland, talking about his main gig but also his side hustle (and how that’s changed over the years). Expect a long, rambly chat with Rashad Rastam. The show is presented by Dahsar.

Highlighting the stories of never before told Jewish entrepreneurs who overcame the odds and built legendary businesses, Big Shot launches today - a podcast that looks like a documentary and feels like a conversation at a deli. Hosted by Harley Finkelstein (Shopify) and David Segal (DAVIDsTEA), the show is also in video on YouTube and Spotify.

Podimo has launched Cold Blood: Nordic True Crime today. The Denmark-born podcast series has already been translated into 6 languages and reached #1 in the Polish charts. Now in English, each episode will delve into startling crimes from Scandinavia - crimes that have dominated headlines and gripped the region. Among others, it looks at a two year bombing spree in Denmark, where the only lead was a series of mysterious letters.

Make Me Care About is brand new this week from Magnificent Noise and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Hosted by award–winning podcast host and New York Times bestselling author Jen Hatmaker, each episode dives into a different challenge - from salt to poop to garbanzo beans. It’s distributed by Acast.

Your Place or Mine with Shaun Keaveny returned yesterday, with this travel podcast from his sofa. For each episode, a familiar face attempts to convince Shaun and resident geographer, historian and comedian Iszi Lawrence that jetting off to their favourite destination is worth the hassle. The first episode is with Rob Delaney.

Last Day has returned in a new, weekly format, hosted by Lemonada Media co-founder, Stephanie Wittels Wachs. In each episode, she will be joined by a different guest to share their own personal ‘last day’ – who they were before, and how they’ve found a way to exist after.

Hosted by journalists Vanessa Grigoriadis and Gabe Sherman, Infamous starts a four-part series today looking into the story of Dubai’s Missing Princesses - two daughters of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai — Sheikha Shamsa and Sheikha Latifa — as they attempt to break free of their golden handcuffs. It’s from Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment.