The top 10 podcasts among US Black listeners

• The #1 podcast among Black listeners in the US is the one you’d probably expect: Joe Rogan. However, six shows in the top ten have Black hosts, including The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God at #2, says Edison Research in the company’s weekly insights email. (That show is also broadcast on 152 US radio stations).

• “There is today no sports show among the global top 25 podcasts, despite 20% of podcast listening being in the sports category,” says Simon Strand, the founder of Immaterial, which has announced the launch of a show about the world’s biggest sport and the most interesting characters in it. Heroes and Humans of Football will launch in mid-March, hosted by FT columnist and football writer Simon Kuper and Mehreen Khan from The Times.

• “Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia”, is a new message appearing on the copyright of some of the company’s podcasts.

• Veritone is to reduce its workforce by 14%. The company produces a number of services to podcast advertising.

• Blubrry has upgraded its audio player. The new player includes improved closed captions and chapters.

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• Pod.see, a “platform for unlocking the knowledge in every podcast”, has launched AI-generated mindmaps and summaries.

• Evergreen Podcasts has announced a strategic partnership with Crowd Network, a large independent UK podcast network. Evergreen will offer sales and marketing support in the US.

• Audily, the owner of Rococo Punch, has acquired childrens’ media company The Pop Ups.

Moves and hires

• Jesse Kinney and Holly Garrard have been hired by mowPod. Kinney joins from iHeartMedia and SoundHound, and is Business Development Manager; Garrard joins from iHeartMedia and ESPN as VP, Audience Development.

Tips and tricks - with Podpage

• What’s a good podcast name? Bamby Media suggests balancing creativity and searchability.

• How to Create an Effective Podcast Elevator Pitch (We Edit Podcasts). Or - how about shorter? In his book Make Noise, Eric Nuzum recommends producing a ten-word description.

Podcast News - with New Podcast Trailers - the podcast

The Socially Distant Sports Bar - which started in the pandemic - has just celebrated its two hundredth episode. Hosted by the comedian and presenter Elis James, comedian Mike Bubbins and former sports journalist and academic Steffan Garrero, it’s a sports podcast that you don’t need to be a sports fan to enjoy, as they get distracted a lot.

The Betoota Advocate presents a chat show about the films you love - The Last Video Store is hosted by Alexei Toliopoulos. In it, he talks with a guest about their most cherished cinematic selections, before he sends them of with a bespoke film recommendation based on their taste. It’s new this week from DM Podcasts.

Just Jemm is a brand new podcast from Cloud10 Media and the reality TV star Jemmye Carroll. “Jemm is all about keeping it real, whether it’ll hurt your feelings or not, so buckle up for this opinionated and raw show.”

Imagine This… is new from Boston Consulting Group, looking into what AI means for the future - and even the present. It’s hosted by Paul Michelman and co-hosted - of course - by an AI system called GENE. The show offers practical advice on the actions CEOs and business leaders can take today to navigate the uncertainties of tomorrow.