Questions for YouTube

• Last week, we spoke with Spotify’s Maya Prohovnik - this week, it’s the turn of YouTube’s Sandy Wilheim to answer questions like… what is a podcast? Do I have to do video now? And how important is RSS to YouTube? You can read the answers here, or listen to the Podnews Weekly Review.

• Podcast Addict was removed from Google Play, again, this time for apparently violating the “Violent Extremism” policy. It seems to have been restored, though the app’s AdMob account is yet to be reactivated. The app is one of the most popular for Android - and has a history of being blocked and restored from Google’s app store. Earlier this year, it was blocked for having an alarm clock.

• There are some good opportunities for marketing in family and kids podcasts, according to new data from Realm and Story Pirates released yesterday. 82% of kids listen with their parents, says the data.

• The 50th annual Gracie Awards are open for entry. For half a century, the Gracies have celebrated the exceptional contributions of women in media, honoring outstanding content created by, for, and about women across television, radio, streaming, and digital platforms.

• Magellan AI can now give reporting based on ZIP code or DMA - making it easier to optimize campaigns based on where they perform best.

• Wondercraft has added a “director mode”, allowing you to give more control over the service’s AI voices.

• After a list of AI-generated podcasts using NotebookLM was published by Listen Notes, John Spurlock has analysed the podcast hosts being used to publish them. You’ll never guess who’s #1. (This is a lie. You’ll probably guess.)

Tips and tricks - with Memberful

• Descript posts six ways to “stop AI hallucinating”.

Podcast News

El Bueno, la Mala y el Feo won the “best radio podcast of the year” in the NAB Marconi Radio Awards. The show is made by Univision Radio in LA; it was the only specific podcast award made in the ceremony, which was held on Wednesday night.

It’s National Coming Out Day today in the US, and Season of Stuck recently did an episode with Ash Beckham, author, inclusion activist, and speaker behind the viral TedX talk “Coming Out of Your Closet,” which expands the definition of coming out of the closet to something we can all relate to: and how that expanded definition can help us tap into more empathy.

Absolute Radio cancelled Frank Skinner’s radio show… but The Frank Skinner Podcast is now returning as a twice-weekly podcast with the same team - Frank, Emily and Pierre - and in the same podcast feed as the old Absolute show. The first new show is today.

The Hardest Part launched yesterday - a brand-new podcast that delves into the untold stories behind some of the most emotionally, creatively, and technically challenging songs ever written. Hosted by Kieron Banerji, each week’s new episode offers an intimate glimpse into the struggles and triumphs artists face while creating their most personal songs.

Fortress Europe is new: an in-depth documentary series on what it says is the European Union’s increasingly hostile policies towards migrants. Reported from multiple countries from the shores of the Mediterranean to the streets of Dublin, journalist Andrew Connelly interviews migrants, politicians, activists and experts. It’s from Podmasters.

Nicky Byrne HQ - yes, Westlife’s Nicky Byrne - is new this week with Acast. Nicky kicks off his podcast with an open and honest conversation with his former Westlife bandmate, Brian McFadden and they discuss Brian’s decision to leave the band.

Tech Unheard, new from ARM and NPM, launched this week. The show will take listeners behind the boardroom doors, featuring a series of one-on-one conversations exploring the future of AI and the mindset required to build some of today’s biggest companies.

True crime podcast Chasing Ghosts returns for a new series from New Zealand. This season focuses on serial catfisher and online predator Natalia Burgess, who was convicted and jailed for duping numerous teenage boys across the country, but continues to this day. It’s from NZME’s NZ Herald.