Live podcast events are “surreal” says Alastair Campbell

• Alastair Campbell, former UK government communications and strategy director and now host of The Rest Is Politics, found it “absolutely surreal” to be performing a podcast on stage at a sell-out O2 Arena. “We had something like 15,000 people there,” he said. “It was very, very odd.”

  • Campbell revealed this while being interviewed by Count Binface, a man with a garbage bin on his head who has stood three times for election as a British Member of Parliament despite being from the planet Sigma IX. (Don’t worry: this is quite a normal thing for UK politics.)

• “I went on one of the biggest podcasts in the world”, says one author, “and it didn’t sell any books.” Amie McNee went on Jay Shetty’s show - and adds that she is developing a theory that “Artists have been taught that success comes from external forces,” she says, before adding that success doesn’t come that way: it comes from word of mouth. Her book, by the way, is called We Need Your Art. Stop Messing About And Make Something..

• Talks.co, a platform connecting podcasters and guests, has launched free speaker pages to help hosts find guests. The page comes with an easy-to-use URL to help promote it.

• Thank you to Alison Innes for becoming our latest personal supporter. Supporters like Alison are the reason we can give you Podnews every day for free. Alison owns podcastologist.ca, which is an excellent domain name that our Editor is quite jealous of. You could be like Alison, by supporting us too.

Happy holiday weekend, America!

The Tech Stuff - with RSS.com

• If you’re writing a podcast app or service, PodClock has returned to your favourite podcast app. The podcast-app-testing podcast has a whole set of tests for you: from odd audio formats, to different metadata in the RSS feed, all to give your podcast app a workout. (And, more new tests to come!)

• Demo code for producing the podcast:location tag was released in July by Alberto Betella of RSS.com. The tool follows best-practice for the tag, including populating OpenStreetMap IDs, and differentiating between “creator” (where the podcast is being recorded) and “subject” (where the podcast is about). It’s written in Javascript, and supports autocompletion; it requires a key from LocationIQ (which has a free tier). We’re telling you again about this tool because a) it’s very nice, and b) all the Americans are on holiday but we still need things to write about in this section

People News

• Ryen Russillo is to leave The Ringer at the expiry of his current contract. He’s to launch a new business, which Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports will invest in.

Tips and tricks - with Patreon

• If there’s 23 things you stop doing today, ensure it’s these 23 things. Bill Wyman is keen to explain why he hates your podcast - and wants to put it right.

• A book for you to buy - from the architect of NPR’s podcasts. Eric Nuzum’s Make Noise came out in 2020, but it’s still an excellent read.

Podcast News

Buzzsprout is relaunching Podcasting Q&A today. It’s a short-form podcast that answers common questions about podcasting in 5–10 minute episodes. The show covers a wide range of topics from launching a podcast to editing audio, making the process clear and approachable.

Political strategists David Axelrod and Mike Murphy, and journalist John Heilemann, are partnering with Vox Media and bringing their hit political podcast, Hacks On Tap, to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Vox Media will be responsible for helping the show grow its audience and revenue, assuming sales, marketing, and distribution duties.

THE TRINITY SQUAD! is a scripted sci-fi/fantasy audiofiction about three young women who unlock elemental powers and must battle an empire to fulfill a prophecy. It also has original music in every episode. The show has just gone into Season 3 (the final season for the show), and it’s bigger, bolder, and more emotional than ever.

iHeart Australia’s Find and Tell returns for a new season. The show amplifies Indigenous voices through rich stories, bringing to life the diverse tales of Australian storytellers. It is hosted by BlakCast Founder, Mundanara Bayles. This season’s storytellers include Erub and Larrakia Emmy-Award-winning producer and writer Aaliyah-Jade Bradbury, Filipino-Murrawarri ARIA-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and rapper Dobby and Koori and Noongar comedian, lawyer and broadcaster Micah Kickett. (Podnews is produced on the land of the Turrbal and Jagera people.)

Where do you get the real truth about what’s happening on Britain’s high streets? In Retail Reckoning - Retail Stories from Retail Frontlines this week, you’ll hear Clare Bailey explore what the summer’s trading patterns tell us about the coming Golden Quarter this year.