Pocket Casts adds playlists

• Popular podcast app Pocket Casts has added a new feature called ‘playlists’. You can create a manual playlist yourself, or automate a Smart Playlist based on rules. The feature is already available on web and desktop, and is rolling out to mobile.

• Ausha launched the PSO Category Benchmark, which compares your show to others in its category. It tells us that Podnews’s show notes are shorter than others in our category. And, it says our Podnews Daily show could do with a few more reviews in Apple Podcasts. Just a hint.

• Podfest has published its schedule. The event is Jan 15-18 in Orlando FL, USA, and will be its eleventh year.

• In the UK, the Political Podcast Awards has announced its 2026 Shortlist. The award winners will be announced in a ceremony hosted by Anthony Scaramucci and Gyles Brandreth and his jumper on Jan 28 in Westminster.

• The 2026 Women Podcasters Awards are open for entry next week. This year, the Early Bird nomination rate for entries is just $10 until January. The award ceremony will be in May.

• A true crime podcast has led to the reopening of a coronial investigation in Australia. The Acast show Troubled Waters produced new information and renewed public attention.

• The Podcast Tech Stack interviews George Lejnine, founder of PodAnalyst, who “might fix podcast data”.

• The Ashley Flowers company Audiochuck is being sued for $20mn by the hosts of Anatomy of Murder, alleging breach of contract. The podcast says it saw a significant decrease in revenue after Audiochuck signed with SiriusXM.

• Podcast Nation has added two new shows to its slate. The Gstaad Guy Podcast and Pretty Funny are new shows run by successful social media influencers.

• Audioboom has announced a strategic review, which could lead to a sale of the company.

Podcast News

Tales From The Jails this week has a bonus edition with ex-international cat burglar Daryl, who gives an insight into the recent Louvre jewellery heist.

Hosted by Amy Pearl, the Audio Flux Podcast shares the best of Audio Flux — innovative, short audio works from around the world – in bite-sized, weekly episodes. All fluxworks run three minutes exactly, and explore the power and pleasure of sound + story in wildly different ways. Season one presents fluxworks from Circuit 01 -- six stories all inspired by the theme “Letting Go.” Audio Flux was co-founded in 2023 by Julie Shapiro and John DeLore, a pair of audiophiles who believe deeply in audio culture and community, and who loooooove to listen.