Now, it’s the RØDECaster Video

• Last week, we promised you a launch from RØDE: the company launched the RØDECaster Video, an all-in-one video and audio production console. Pricing is US$1,199. The original RØDECaster Pro units, which are audio-only, launched in 2018.

• Earlier this week, we covered the launch of transcripts on Pocket Casts. It’s one of three Podcasting 2.0 features supported by the popular app, on Android and iOS. To celebrate, we’ve sorted out a free year of Pocket Casts Plus for every Podnews reader so you can give it a go for yourself. (Get it by Oct 9).

• Spotify has announced it’s rolling out new “conversion metrics” on Spotify for Podcasters. The tool allows creators to see how their show gets discovered on Spotify, and how that directly converts to streams.

• How many listeners to make Hyperfixed, the new podcast from Alex Goldman, pay its bills for the 5-6 staff he’d like? Writing on X, he says it needs around 200,000 listeners to be able to pay for staff - made from a mix of paid subscriptions and ad revenue. If he just relied on ads, he says he’d need a million listeners.

• Growth-oriented podcast host Captivate has launched Captivate Spark AI, what it calls a “fully integrated AI assistant”. The tool delivers transcripts, episode titles and suggested times for ad breaks: and will also suggest potential new guests and episode subjects, as well as trend analysis. The tool is charged at $1/hour for transcription: transcripts are compatible with Apple Podcasts and Pocket Casts.

• Podmatch has released a new AI tool. Podmatch AI helps you understand synergies between you and a potential podcast guest, helping you plan the interview.

• AI tool ChatGPT is rolling out “advanced voice mode” to Plus and Team users. Users can now “experience real-time, emotionally responsive conversations”, says Tom’s Guide.

• Lower Street has announced its Brand Podcast Summit 2025. The free online event in early January is designed to help brands revolutionize their marketing through successful brand podcast strategies

• Headliner is now being used by Newsweek for podcast discovery, listing relevant podcast episodes next to articles it publishes.

• Radio Ambulante Studios has joined iHeartMedia’s My Cultura network. Under the new partnership, the two companies will also develop and co-produce a minimum of two new shows over the next two years.

People News

• Realm have made two leadership hires: Carly Migliori has joined as Production Partnerships Lead and Sarah Bentley has stepped into the role of Head of Network.

Tips and tricks - with Ausha - next gen podcasting 🚀

• Discover Ausha’s 10 Podcast Metrics to Measure Your Podcast Success

• For those wondering about audience engagement, read Ausha’s article “How Many Podcast Downloads is Good?"

• Want to charge for your podcast? There are lots of ways of doing it.

Podcast News

A new podcast trailer released today for The Final War promises a story about foreign hacking in Hollywood - including blackmail, threats and a fight for control of information.

Niche to Meet You is an investigative storytelling podcast about niche subcultures and hobbies - like its current mini-series all about the wonderful Wild Turkey and the herculean effort to conserve it. The show has been chosen for three weeks running by Apple Podcasts to be in New & Noteworthy. Someone really loves turkeys in Cupertino.

Well Played from theSkimm has announced Caroline Hendershot as its official co-host, alongside Blake Lew-Merwin. Caroline will be bringing top notch sports analysis to theSkimm’s established network of female sports fans. The show will be covering the sports stories women care about most with each week’s biggest moments, controversies, and dramas.

Aging is inevitable, but taking ourselves too seriously isn’t. Two NYC comedians, Charles McBee and Mike Finoia, launch the Are We Old Podcast today - a laugh-out-loud journey through the trials and tribulations of getting older.

Aiming to inspire and empower listeners in their mental health journey, Hope Is Real with Jazz Thornton returns for a third season today, during Mental Health Week in New Zealand. The first two seasons received close to 250,000 downloads.

In ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcasts, Girl v Horse has just launched. After a diagnosis of epilepsy, Arab-American long-distance runner Nicole Teeny sets the biggest goal she can think of: to race a horse in a 50-mile ultramarathon and reclaim her body through the activity that first brought her strength as a young girl.

The Art of the Turnaround is the podcast from the book of the same name, hosted by serial entrepreneur Mike Dunlop. In the show, he shares his proven 10-step method for turning around companies in deep financial distress, which he has used to restore 34 companies to financial health and profitability. Season two starts today.

Modern Love returns as an always-on weekly show, hosted by Anna Martin. In today’s episode, actor Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files,” “The Fall,” “Sex Education”) joins the show to read and discuss the Modern Love essay “On Tinder, Off Sex,” which follows a woman who becomes unintentionally celibate after a painful breakup.