New CBC/Toronto Star show to focus on former Olympic snowboarder

• CBC and the Toronto Star have announced a partnership between CBC’s Uncover and the Toronto Star’s Suspicion, two hit investigative crime podcast series. A new podcast, as yet untitled, will tell the story of Ryan Wedding, a Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned FBI Most Wanted fugitive and alleged drug lord. It’ll come out later this year on both feeds.

• Podspun is a new tool that turns your podcast into a searchable archive of information. We looked at its example channel for Diary of a CEO, and asked it ways to reduce stress; it gave us five different strategies from three different shows. The tool also can generate pull-quotes, episode summaries and key insights.

• One use of AI might be to translate your show into other languages. Conor Lennon, who works for the United Nations, tried out Wondercraft’s tools on a podcast that includes our own Editor, James Cridland, speaking at about 4'15 in; he speaks French and Urdu.

• Radio is still listened-to more than three times longer than podcasts, but it’s hard to verify that the ads you bought actually went out. Podscribe has added radio airchecks to its verification tools to allow advertisers to see radio alongside podcast delivery in one dashboard.

• Podcastle has rebranded as Async, reflecting the wider set of tools the company makes available. The company first launched Async as a voice API back in July.

• Perfect Day Media has entered an ad sales partnership with Acast. Perfect Day is a podcast studio in the Nordic countries, acquired by PodX in Sept 2024; PodX also owns companies like Lemonada Media in the US, and Platform Media in the UK.

• Podsqueeze launched a standalone tool, Audio Enhancer. The tool aims to remove noise, improve clarity, and normalize your audio volume.

• Acast is running an event for podcasters in Singapore. Monetize the Mic: Podcasting for Creators will take place on Feb 5, close to Clarke Quay, and will include data about podcast consumption in Singapore as well as tips to make more money podcasting.

• An upcoming video platform, LRT Presents, promises to make video podcasts available globally across Roku, Amazon Fire, Play station and Xbox. “As any distribution avenue there is a fee,” the company tells us (though podcasts don’t pay any fee to be distributed on Spotify, YouTube or other platforms - and are paid by Netflix, among others).

Thank you to our friends at the Locked On Podcast Network for becoming our latest supporter. Now the #1 sports network, nobody beats them for local sports podcasts. “We love everything Podnews does for the industry and want to show our appreciation,” they say. Supporters like Locked On pay for Podnews for everyone, to keep our work as open as possible; you can learn more about becoming a supporter here.

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People News

• Audacia Audio is expanding its team - Elena Chatziconstantinos has been appointed as Sales Director, Australia. She joins from SBS, Mamamia, MiQ and Heyday.

Podcast News - with Airwave

New with Airwave: Tech News Weekly features industry expert Mikah Sargent, bringing you interviews from tech journalists who make or break the top stories of the week. It’s from TWiT, for podcasts you love from people you trust.

Today in Manufacturing has just hit its 250th episode. The show reaches manufacturing leaders, engineers, and supply chain experts seeking to make sense of a rapidly evolving global landscape.

In Protection Leadership, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner Reuven Menikdiwela warns that the global asylum system is under unprecedented strain, with even traditional allies questioning the 1951 Refugee Convention. He says the agency risks becoming “irrelevant” unless it adapts, revealing deep funding cuts and highlighting an urgent humanitarian crisis.

From coffee enemas and detox teas to the surprising places in your body that can develop stones, Strange Health is a new series from The Conversation diving into the science behind the most bizarre, viral, and sometimes questionable health trends dominating social media. Expect honest, engaging and sometimes stomach-turning discussions with health experts.

In The Credibility Minute, a new daily micro-podcast hosted by Jen deHaan, you’ll get quick and actionable advice for building your professional credibility using audio and video (without needing to get on the algorithm grind or become a full-time creator). This new show launches with the first two episodes today.

It’s a new season on Unpacking Peanuts, as the show begins a long look at everyone’s favorite venerable grade schoolers: Linus, Lucy, and Rerun - The Family Van Pelt. In this first episode, the hosts review the earliest episodes featuring two of Schulz’ beloved characters, and the seeds of greatness have already been sown.

Sorry - we also have another nineteen new podcasts to tell you about today, but… not sure we can fit them all in today. Priority goes to those who submit via our newpodcasts feed. (We’ll try to squeeze more in later this week).

Podcasts on a plane

American Airlines has a wide range of podcasts on its international inflight entertainment system; all shows from Audible, the BBC, and Rob Has A Podcast. You, too, can enjoy these tonight from DFW to BNE, in a plane that hopefully will be also carrying your Editor’s suitcase, which didn’t quite make it onto his flight.