Podcast Movement Evolutions talks now online

• Videos from Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW are now available, free for everyone, on YouTube The event contained quick-fire ten-minute talks as well as longer sessions; there are 25 sessions from the event earlier this month.

  • Signal Hill Insights share experiences at Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW.

• Podcast advertising works best with independent shows, according to a new study from Oxford Road. 80% of top-performing podcasts, according to actual sales results for products advertised, are produced outside major networks, the company says.

• True Native Media has added the Storybutton Network, a kids and family podcast network, to its podcast representation roster. The network includes a growing slate of popular podcasts such as Kids Short Stories, Spyology Squad, Bedtime Stories with Mr. Jim, and Pixel Quest, among others.

• A new, free tool to analyse your Spanish-language podcast has been launched by José Antonio Gelado. Podcast Auditor produces a report with recommendations.

• In France, audio is 34% of all media-time, but only gets 6% of ad revenue. Audion has worked with WPP Media to produce a report about the most effective way to combine linear radio and digital audio to improve coverage and memorability for advertisers.

• If you’ve shied away from using podcast app Pocket Casts on iPhone because the text is too small - it now supports dynamic type to make everything easier to read. It’s part of a range of app improvements.

• AIR, the association of independents in radio, has announced the mentors who will guide participants in the 2026 cohort of New Voices AMPLIFY, which include Danielle Desir Corbett, Paulette Erato, Amanda McLoughlin, and Arielle Nissenblatt.

• Awards: The HigherEd PodCon Awards have been announced - the first awards of their kind in higher education podcasting. You’ve until April 17 to enter … The British Podcast Awards announced its Ambassadors programme. Zak Addae-Kodua and Jules Rowan, co-hosts of the After Prison podcast, and producer Mia Thornton are the first named.

Thank you to Gordon Firemark, the podcast lawyer, for becoming our latest personal supporter. A welcome sight at any podcast conference, Gordon knows the industry like no other, and publishes Legit Podcast Pro with lots of free advice. Every supporter for Podnews is helping pay for access for everyone - and we’re grateful for his support. And yours?

People News

• In the UK, Global has hired Craig Hunter as Managing Director of Global Studios, its podcast and digital production unit. He joins from STV Studios.

Tips and tricks - with Riverside

• Need to record separate video tracks on Zoom? There are a few ways (apart from the obvious “don’t use Zoom") - Riverside takes a look at a few tools.
• If you’ve a newsletter, you might want to use the AUDIO tag in your email with your latest episode. It’s supported by one email platform - but it’s a big one.
• If you’re flying through Helsinki airport, and are able to get into the Finnair Platinum lounge, then there’s a Framery sound-proof booth in the “quiet room” - perfect for recording a short industry podcast. Ask us how we know.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: Somewhere along the way, women were sold a lie: competition is the price of ambition. Be faster. Be louder. Be better. And if someone else wins? You must lose. The latest episode of This Is Woman’s Work with Nicole Kalil tries to dismantle the zero-sum mindset and replace it with something far more powerful: collaboration, abundance, and shared success.

We all know that artificial intelligence might replace many of the jobs that humans do today, but much of that speculation is still theoretical. One job that isn’t theoretical, where robots are already replacing humans, is driving. Search Engine wonders whether human drivers are finally obsolete already: and, today, takes a look at Boston MA, where there is quite a fight about whether driverless cars should be allowed on the roads.

In Podcasting Strategy Simplified this week, Jason Cercone breaks down the most crucial element to your podcast’s success. Whether you’re preparing to launch a new show, in the throws of growing your podcast, or looking to breathe life into a show that’s podfaded, this is a message you need to hear.

Launching today, Vintage Politics is a new visual podcast by journalist turned wine educator Abbie Bennington, filmed at The Savoy and the prestigious HIDE in Mayfair. Episodes feature prominent journalists and politicos like Jon Sopel, Anna Foster, Nick Robinson, Jo Coburn and Dom Joly who sit down over their favourite wines to share career highlights and personal life stories. Think Desert Island Discs or Off Menu but with wine!

Launched earlier this month, Freedom of Thought from Humanists International is a global news and interview podcast examining the state of freedom of belief, expression, and human rights worldwide. Hosted by Gary McLelland and Leon Langdon, the podcast draws on Humanists International’s flagship Freedom of Thought Report to bring together researchers, human rights defenders, activists, and policy experts to unpack the realities facing humanists, atheists, and non-religious people in different countries and regions.