Law&Crime launches show exclusively with Wondery+

• Law&Crime, a legal and true crime network, has launched a new show - as an exclusive on Wondery+. Luigi will launch on March 24, following the case of Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing a health insurance company CEO - and asks whether it’s a standard murder case, or a new cultural moment.

• Radiotopia from PRX released its new shows for Q2/25 - three podcasts will join the network, alongside a new series from Song Exploder’s Hrishikesh Hirway.

• California loves Conan O’Brien; Colorado prefers Anderson Cooper; while Massachusetts likes Ellen Pompeo. That’s the findings of the most searched-for celebrity-hosted podcasts in the US, according to podcast host RSS.com. The data also includes podcasts hosted by athletes.

• Spotify 🎶 is rolling out an expanded set of emoji reactions 😀 to comments 😡 about your podcast 🎤. YouTube 📺 has comments ✍️ for everything (though in YouTube Music 🎸 you can only see 👀 them on mobile 📱 not desktop 🖥️) but in YouTube you can only thumbs up 👍 and thumbs down 👎. 💩

• Eddy by Headliner now offers automated transcripts, helping podcast SEO and producing context-aware promo assets. The tool, which is included for all Headliner Pro users, learns from corrections you make, too, so if you were also sponsored by CoHost, there’d be no changing “co-host” to “CoHost” every time you produce a transcript, ask us how we know.

• Looking for some website inspo? Transistor has produced a Podcast Website Gallery, which the company says is “an archive of awesome and interesting podcast website designs for your inspiration”.

• Google’s Gemini now has a podcast-generating tool called “Audio Overviews”, which appears to be the company’s NotebookLM product but now in the main, free, Gemini AI.

• The Australian Podcast Ranker was released for February.

  • Two significant changes in the top ten: It’s A Lot with Abbie Chatfield up 17 places to #5 (she interviewed PM Anthony Albanese in mid-Feb), and Kyle & Jackie O, who released 85 episodes in February, almost double the amount of January, are up twenty places to #6.
  • SCA’s LiSTNR returns to #1 in sales representatives, bolstered by good performance from SiriusXM; ARN’s iHeart is top publisher.
  • The data also includes category rankers; “Kids & Family” scores highest for women, “Sports” highest for men. Who’d have thought it?

• The Daily Mail has launched The Crime Desk, a premium podcast subscription including an ad-free show archive and exclusive episodes of The Trial+. They’re using Supporting Cast and Apple Podcasts premium subscriptions.

• Pod The North reports on an initiative to place a small red maple leaf on Canadian-made podcasts. It comes as Canadians reject many parts of US influence and culture, following the new US administration’s actions. There’s a graphic to download.

• To many, the British town of Congleton in Cheshire sounds quite similar to Paddington or Downton, except we’ve been there and it isn’t. Nevertheless, there is now a new podcast studio on Congleton High Street.

• Further reading:

  • Spotify highlights the podcast content it brought to SXSW. (They talked about video a lot)
  • Simplecast posts a recap of On Air Fest 2025

Some readers got Podnews a full twelve hours late yesterday (if by “some” we mean “all”). We’re sorry for the technical snafu, and thank you for your patience yesterday.

Moves and hires

• Jared Easley is now Director, Member Content, Programming and Education for the NAB, working on educational and membership content at NAB events. The role also includes executive production and hosting The NAB Podcast.

She Leads with CARE

Paid content

She Leads with CARE is a limited podcast series hosted by actress and producer Bellamy Young. Join Bellamy to learn about the difference we can make in our own lives – and the lives of those around us – when we care.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Daria Khrystenko had to leave her home, her father, and her grandmother behind to find safety for her young son and her mother. 

As a teacher, Daria knew the importance of stability and education, especially for children displaced by war. Fleeing to Poland, she found purpose again by working with CARE to help Ukrainian children integrate into Polish schools.

Through this work, Daria ensures that children forced to leave everything behind can find a sense of normalcy, hope, and belonging. In this episode, actress and CARE Ambassador Bellamy Young speaks with Daria about her experience as a refugee, the resilience of Ukrainian families, and the power of education in crisis.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Tips and tricks - with Pod Predictor by Coleman Insights

• Who should host your branded podcast? Probably not your CEO - Kattie Laur writes for Pacific Content.

Podcast News - with Airwave History +

On Airwave History+: The History of WWII Podcast covers the last great war in intimate detail. It’s produced and narrated by Ray Harris Jr, who has a degree in history from James Madison University. “I’ve been waiting years for someone to do a podcast on WWII and couldn’t wait any longer,” he says.

A new spin-off of sci-fi podcast Mission To Zyxx is on the way, says Maximum Fun, garnering coverage in The Verge.

The Tamsen Show has joined the fwd. network. Hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker Tamsen Fadal, this groundbreaking podcast creates a trusted space for women navigating midlife, empowering them to not just survive, but thrive through midlife and beyond. It’s an Authentic Wave Media Original Production.

The Talent Trade is all about finding the right person, for the right opportunity, at the right time. But how exactly do you do that the “right” way? Host Stephanie Maas shares more than 25 years of experience about what it takes to be a top recruiter in today’s “talent trade” market, using a four-prong system focused on recruiting, business development, planning, and managing your mindset. It’s real, honest information about how to build your desk, perfect your niche, and stand out among the crowd in your search career.

Good Hang with Amy Poehler launched yesterday - a video podcast with Spotify’s The Ringer. The first two episodes include Tina Fey and Martin Short. Amy will talk to famous people about what makes them laugh, what they found funny recently, and more; it’s with Paper Kite Productions.

Season 2 of Apocalypse Radio, a full-cast audio drama, starts today: a story of loyalty, laughter, and love in the zombie apocalypse. Follow Will and Mason as they’re evacuated to a moon colony to escape the zombies… but have they really escaped, or will the virus follow?

Podcast Promotion in the wild

Podnews reader Dalton writes: over St Patrick’s Day weekend here in Chicago we plastered stickers along the river advertising our podcast Underbelly: The Rebel Kind. It’s the true story of a Chicago trucker turned spy in the IRA during the 1990s. Visitors to the dyed river this weekend were met with QR codes linking them to the show.

Podcasting will grow if we market it more. Is your podcast being promoted somewhere in the wild - other than on a podcast? Let us know by hitting reply.