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]]>It’s been said that “More than a podcast, Media Storm is a campaign” – why did you choose podcasting as the medium for these conversations?
Media Storm is an ethical news venture with the aim to execute and embody targeted editorial reform in the news sector. We set out on this aim for reform after we discovered ingrained malpractices while working together at leading national news outlets. Podcasting is the perfect medium for these conversations – you’re not bound by traditional editorial conventions, some which are so fixated on appearing “balanced”, they end up platforming fiction as much as fact. Plus, podcasting provides a much-needed balm for the fast-paced 24 hour clickbait news cycle – you can take your time to reach out to communities who may be wary of speaking to traditional media.
What do you consider when taking on a new topic?
Our core principle is to provide ‘right of reply’ to marginalised groups that are denied due representation in everyday news coverage. This means prioritising refugee voices in immigration coverage, indigenous and frontline voices in climate coverage, or people with experiences of homelessness, disability, prison, addiction, sexual assault, or racism (and so on) in social policy discussions affecting them. When taking on a new topic, we ask ourselves: who are the critical missing voices in the biggest news stories? And crucially: what expertise can they provide? Too often, “case studies” in the news are valued only for their trauma, heartstring tugs for the end of the story. But those with experience are also experts: they have knowledge of the system, knowledge of the cause, and knowledge of the impact.
Did you take inspiration from any podcasts in particular before you started?
Most current affairs podcasts take a more traditional approach to news, but we have been inspired by those taking a slower approach to stories – such as Serial, Tortoise’s The Slow Newscast, or more recently, A Bit Fruity. We’ve also been inspired by dynamic female duos, whatever the genre! 2 Dope Queens, Closet Confessions, All Killa No Filla, to name a few.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from creating Media Storm?
Don’t give up when the going gets tough. Trying to build a podcast from the ground up without massive financial investment or celebrity fronting is not a goal with many models of success. Nor is trying to sustainably monetise ethical, non-sensationalist, source-led journalism. We are not following a well-trodden path here, and sometimes we lose the trail or struggle to see the way ahead, but we have always found a way to continue and it has always been worth it – it just takes a bit of determination and unconditional support for each another as partners. Just because the path isn’t clear, doesn’t mean there isn’t a way through. And we have learned time and again that there are enough people who value our work and share our frustrations with modern news practices to make Media Storm work in the long-term. Lessons are: trust yourself, think creatively about obstacles ahead, and never compromise on the standards of your work.
Is there one thing that excites you the most about Series 4 you can’t wait for listeners to hear?
There’s so many things it’s hard to choose! We’re excited to launch our new weekly current affairs format, digging more directly into the biggest news story of each week. We’ve got special investigative episodes coming up, the first on the 13th June about the opaqueness of rape ‘justice’ trials. We’ve got a killer guest-host, a segment that will help take listeners outside of the Western worldview on news, and plenty of speakers that will help us find the facts behind the fear-mongering. Most importantly, we’re excited to leave people after each episode with something to talk about.
Do you have any podcast recommendations for listeners to continue learning between episodes/seasons?
We would always encourage listeners to continue learning from people with lived experience! We recommend Life After Prison – hosted by Zak Addae-Kodua and Jules Rowan, who have both spent time in prison. It’s a podcast for people whose lives have been affected by the criminal justice system – but also for people who have no experience with it to learn directly from people who have! We’d also recommend Homo Sapiens: conversations, stories and a good old laugh with LGBTQ+ icons and allies, and Maintenance Phase – debunking the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams and nonsensical nutrition advice.
Listen to Media Storm series 4 now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps >>
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]]>Apple Podcasts and Pod Bible partnered up for a series of interviews with creators. In each issue, we ask creators about their podcast and how they use Apple Podcast Subscriptions to connect with their fans. We recently sat down with the editor at Tortoise Media, Basia Cummings, to learn about how they leverage subscriptions to build relationships with their audience, offer more content and perks to loyal listeners, and ultimately take their business to the next level.
Apple: Tell us about your podcast. What makes Tortoise stand out?
BC: Tortoise is different from any other kind of newsroom I’ve worked in, in two important ways. First, as our name suggests, we take the news slowly. We investigate what’s driving the news, not breaking news. Secondly, our journalism is built for – and with – our members who join our newsroom to tell us what they care about and inform our work.
Where can people listen to your podcast
They often access our work through our website or our app. As Tortoise grew, it became clear to us that, with all our investigative and storytelling expertise, podcasts were the best format for us. Becoming an audio-first publisher in 2020 allowed us to craft investigations and daily shows in a way that stayed true to our “slow” and “open” values — while significantly growing our audience.
What kind of shows do you make?
Today, our focus is very much on narrative storytelling, and we do this in different ways, in different podcasts, for very different audiences. The Slow Newcast is our award-winning flagship investigative show – one gripping story each week. Our daily shows, the Sensemaker and the Playmaker, take one story a day and make sense of the world of news and football. We also work on narrative series – long-term, ambitious stories over 6-8 episodes. These have included Left to Die, My Mother’s Murder, Finding Q, and the global hit Sweet Bobby.
What made you decide to launch a subscription on Apple Podcasts?
Building a relationship with our audience – whether through Tortoise membership, which brings people into our newsroom and informs our journalism – or through Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, is crucial to us at Tortoise as a business, and as journalists. Helping our audience make sense of the world is what we do, and it became clear as we were publishing Sweet Bobby, our hit show about a catfishing scam, that we were building a large off-platform listenership. Apple Podcasts Subscriptions enabled us to bring those listeners closer to our newsroom and give them a richer listening experience.
How do subscriptions fit into your overall business model?
Apple Podcasts Subscriptions is a natural extension of our success in audio. When our daily Sensemaker hit seven million downloads and Sweet Bobby went viral towards the end of 2021, we realized that we had an increasingly loyal audience that we wanted to grow. Apple Podcasts Subscriptions benefits mean we can give early access to our investigations, exclusive content where appropriate, and ad-free listening. It means we can offer more while staying true to our values – and we can remain an open, slow newsroom that our members truly feel part of. What information have you gathered from Apple Podcasts Subscriptions?
We’ve been delighted to discover how young our listeners are. We always knew that the average Tortoise member skewed far younger than the average person who paid for media; 39 compared to 55+. But one of the things we’re particularly proud of is that our average listener age is 29. In the world of news, that’s really important. Through our membership and our audio subscription, we’ve debunked the myth that younger people aren’t prepared to pay for news content.
Where do you see Tortoise+ in a year?
Membership is one of the key barometers of our success. As we grow our membership over the next year and beyond, we can bring more voices into our newsroom, and fund more investigations. We have a brilliant slate for 2022, including stories from the Sweet Bobby team, The Slow Newscast team, as well as new shows with brilliant commentators and activists. And there’s lots of exclusive and bonus content in the works.
Tell us about an episode that you’re most proud of.
In June last year, a colleague told me that someone had messaged him about a terror attack in Mozambique. I remembered seeing it flitter across the headlines here in the UK, but I hadn’t followed it closely. A couple of weeks later, I sat down for an interview with two men, Nick and Wes, to learn more about what had happened. It was one of the most incredible, devastating interviews of my career, and became Left to Die, a three-part investigation into how a group of civilians was abandoned by the military, the government, and one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world, and left to fight for their lives as Islamist militant besieged them. It is a series that, I think, shows why being slow really matters; how it allows you to get deeper into stories that are quickly forgotten in the quick cycle of breaking news. But most of all, it shows how important it is to really listen to people, and hear their stories.
What would you say to someone who’s trying to break into the industry?
The piece of advice I would give anyone, whatever they are trying to do is: take your time. At Tortoise, it took us a while to figure out what the right format and approach to The Slow Newscast should be. It took months to land on the right format for the Sensemaker, which is now our biggest show. And by “taking time,” I mean: allow yourself time to figure out who this show is for and what you want to say. Also, never underestimate your sound designer. They are the magicians who transform the heavy, leaden script into gripping stories or unforgettable moments that’ll make you miss your bus stop.
Apple Podcasts Subscriptions is the global marketplace for premium podcast subscriptions. Join the community, build a following, learn more at apple.co/podbible
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]]>We’re heading into a long weekend, and should you be in need of soundtracking your journeys, cooking time or awkward silences, we have some new podcasts for you. With lots of big-production fiction shows, as well as interesting indys and influencer pods, there’s something here for everyone…
New Pods
Stories of the Stalked
This Audible series comes with a content warning for distressing themes (stalking and mental health) and it covers the personal, true story of the host. Filmmaker, performer, producer and choreographer Lily Baldwin gives us an insight to the experience of being stalked over a staggering 13-year period. The sound design that couples deep droning and realistic folly gives an unnerving base to Lily’s story of legal challenges, survival techniques and physical and mental health issues when a stranger fixates on her after seeing her at a gig. Well worth a listen if you have the emotional capacity. Listen now >>
American Hostage
Jon Hamm’s podcast drama debut is a scripted psychological thriller based on a true story. It’s 1977, local radio reporter Fred Heckman is looking for a big story – but as the opening narration tells us, Fred accidentally becomes the story. A hostage-taker, Tony Kiritsis, demands to be interviewed on Fred’s popular radio news program, and by the end of the first episode we know that Kiritsis has his hostage attached to a ‘dead man trigger’ leaving Fred no choice but to arrange an interview… Listen now >>
Who Killed Avril Lavigne?
This sci-fi comedy podcast will take you straight back to the noughties. Set in the not too distant future, it follows the story of typical “angsty teen” Derek Walker. Walker is sent back in time to rescue Avril Lavigne from an “abduction and replacement” but begins realizing his own pop-punk destiny… It also has a full pop-punk album to accompany it, and the title music will get stuck in your head! Listen now >>
Let’s Make a Sci-fi
After listening to Who killed Avril Lavigne, you could take a listen to this one to think about how it may have come to be… In this show, three comedians are trying to make an actual sci-fi show from scratch. From the initial bad ideas to the final production, we can eavesdrop on the process. Along the way, they consult experts who worked on Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly, and other names in science fiction, such as actor (and podcaster) Rainn Wilson and writer (and podcaster) Emily VanDerWerff. Listen now >>
Goodniks
We all want to do good in the world, but Goodniks are the people that make their lives about doing good. This podcast actually describes itself as an ‘audio project’ and has a really interesting format. Each episode is less than 20 minutes long, and merges several ‘Goodniks’ answers into a collage over music. Episode one explores how Goodnik’s weaknesses, personality quirks, or neuroses serve the work they do. I think this show will be a good short injection of inspiration for many people trying to change the world for the better. Listen now >>
Accidental Activist
This is actually another show asking people how they are doing the good work. Journalist Isha Sesay never envisioned becoming an activist herself, but in Accidental Activist, she sits down with others who have found themselves unexpectedly inhabiting a role as “activist.” Her conversations with cultural icons like actress Alyssa Milano and author Baratunde Thurston are supported with sound effects, which is an interesting idea. Listen now >>
Is it my ADHD?
Writer Grace Timothy explores what it’s really like to live with ADHD. Diagnosed with ADHD when she was 37, and Grace is still getting her head around what it means for her, in terms of her past, present and future. This podcast is a great way for those unfamiliar with ADHD to comprehend the condition. It’s really interesting to listen in to the conversations where Grace and her guest can find solidarity in their experiences. Listen now >>
SOLAR
Another one to keep sci-fi fans entertained, but in a more intense way. A disaster on board a spacecraft leaves crew members isolated from each other and fighting for survival. Those back on Earth try to fathom what’s happened, whilst spinning the press a story that won’t cause panic. With massive stars voicing the parts (Alan Cumming, Stephanie Beatriz, Jonathan Bangs and Helen Hunt), this is compelling listening – and I very much appreciate how the adverts have been linked to the story. Listen now >>
Other pods for your list:
Jazmyn Gives Bad Advice – TikToker, HR expert, and comedian Jazmyn W. is your new agony aunt. These short episodes start with a sketch before Jazmyn interprets a listener question and gives her best (she only says it’s her worst so you can’t blame her if it doesn’t work!) Listen now >>
Founder Stories – A business podcast with a twist, Founder Stories turns an interview with a successful business starter into a monologue about their journey. With basic sound design behind the monologue, this is an appealing way to learn about entrepreneurs. Listen now >>
Call Me Curious – In Wondery’s latest podcast, actress Nikki Boyer gets curious about things we’ve heard about “but don’t really know about.” The first episode asks, “can aphrodisiacs really turn you on?” Listen now >>
#Matter – This fiction podcast from the US is presented like an investigative documentary, and tells the story of a father, Gerald Hayes, who ended up barricaded in a restaurant with a police officer after his son’s brutal beating by the police. Listen now >>
No Harm in Asking – A new podcast about podcasts, but this one isn’t about recommendations. Instead, it aims to help people podcast well by reviewing the shows that everyone’s listening to and asking what people like about it. Listen now >>
ZOE Science & Nutrition – ZOE is a healthcare science company helping people understand their body’s responses to food (and they also run the world’s largest covid study). This podcast unpacks some preconceptions on nutrition. Listen now >>
Downton Abbey: The Official Podcast – There’s a brand-new weekly Downton re-watch podcast released to coincide with the release of the second Downton film, which comes out at the end of the month. Interestingly, this is the first official podcast from the series. Listen now >>
Fast Enough: Ramadan Running – This weekly podcast drops 30 minutes before sunset and is set to 120bpm. Hosted by Olympian Lutalo Muhammad, it features other famous faces from Britain’s Muslim community, each episode gives expert advice to optimise training during Ramadan. Listen now >>
A Hit Dog Will Holler – A very meta new audio drama from Radiotopia, this follows a podcaster called Gina, who is having trouble recording episodes because of the noise from the monster outside. But is the beast really there? Or is it 400 years’ worth of racism, oppression, and trauma threatening to come in? This is actually adapted from a play by Craig-Galván . Listen now >>
New Seasons:
A Podcast of Unnecessary Detail – Season 2
A Podcast of Unnecessary Detail proves that you can dive very deeply into science and still be entertaining. From Festival of the Spoken Nerd (aka. Matt Parker, Steve Mould and Helen Arney) A Podcast of Unnecessary Detail takes things that you wouldn’t believe could be interesting, and makes them fascinating by drilling down to the nitty and / or gritty details. We caught up with the three Spoken Nerds to ask them for the nitty-gritty on their podcast. Listen now >>
Dead and Gone – Season 2
This podcast explores one of the elements of darkness surrounding the Grateful Dead. Over the past five degades, there have been many mysterious cases of murdered and missing “Deadheads”. Season 2 takes a closer look at some of these forgotten cases. Hosts Payne Lindsey and Jake Brennan return with a focus on three tragedies that took place from the 1980s – 2004. Listen now >>
The Line Up – Season 3
A Pod Bible regular, Shaun Keaveny is back with the third season of The Line Up. The show gives its music-loving guests the chance to curate their very own dream festival from start to finish, showcasing each guests’ true passions and musical spirit. The season kicked off with Kiefer Sutherland, and later episodes are due to feature the likes of Ed O’Brien, Kae Tempest, Johnny Marr, Paddy Considine and Self Esteem. Listen now >>
The Breakup Monologues
Working on the premise that ‘tragedy plus time equals comedy’, Rosie Wilby speaks to esteemed guests and asks about their tales of breakup and recovery. The podcast stems from a trilogy of solo comedy shows, and Rosie has heard monologues from celebrities including Richard Herring, Dolly Alderton, Katy Brand and Ayesha Hazarika. The new series starts with a number of live shows recorded at Poplar Union. Listen now >>
Untold Killing
The first series of this award-winning podcast looked at the Bosnian genocide at the start of the Bosnian War in 1992, in which more than 8,000 Bosniak-Muslims were murdered in Srebrenica, a small town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Season 2 expands on this and explores the story of Prijedor – one Bosnian municipality’s descent from a peaceful, multi-ethnic society into a collection of burning towns and torture-filled concentration camps. It highlights how these things do not happen in isolation. Listen now >>
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If you listen to these podcasts, please tell us what you think! Tag us on social media @PodBible. Read more of our New This Month editorials for the newest podcasts to listen to.
Do you have a show for our new podcast list? Email info@podbiblemag.com with the show description, release date and artwork. We will share as many launches as we can.
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]]>The post 17 New podcasts you must listen to this March appeared first on POD BIBLE.
]]>We may be halfway through the month, but I couldn’t let March slide without introducing you to some new podcasts! I’ve kept you waiting long enough, so let’s dive right in…
New Pods
Where’s My Jetpack?
Production company Stak have been prolific with their releases recently, but Where’s My Jetpack? is the one that has captivated me the most. Space journalist Sarah Cruddas and broadcaster – and Stak COO – Luke Moore explore the past, present and future of inventions, using cultural touch-points like Back To The Future and 2001: A Space Odyssey. As someone who grew up pretending my skateboard was a hoverboard, the mix of sci-fi and sci-fact is really fun. Listen now >>
Dua Lipa: At Your Service
Singer, songwriter and model, Dua Lipa is also the latest celebrity to add podcaster to her list of credentials. But this podcast stands apart from just being another celebrity interview show. Not just because it’s been highlighted in a number of newsletters and reviews, but because of the people she is speaking to. The first episode sets the tone, with a fascinating chat to the creative director of Balmain, Olivier Rousteing, about everything from his work to his adoption and learning about his birth parents’. Listen now >>
Shamima Begum: The Blame Game
Considering how long she has been a very public figure in the news, it’s difficult to believe Shamima Begum is only 22 years old. This podcast from ITV charts her journey over the past seven years, starting at her old school, and the moment she left London to join Isis in Syria. With archive audio and exclusive interviews, this aims to tell the whole story with journalistic rigor. Listen now >>
The Making of a Swindler
If you’ve watched The Tindler Swindler, this special three-part podcast companion expands on it in a satisfying way. Whilst the show focuses on the women that were conned through dating apps to part with huge sums of money, this three-parter looks at Simon, the swindler to blame. The hosts insist you go and watch the show before listening, but I ignored that. It stands alone quite nicely, and can be found on Netflix’s You Can’t Make This Up podcast feed. Listen now >>
Nicholas Craig: I, an Actor, a Podcast
Comedy legend Nigel Planer (The Young Ones, Comic Strip Presents…) reprises his spoof actor character. After appearing in film, radio, theatre and TV, it’s little wonder we now have Nicholas Craig: I, an Actor, a Podcast. Episodes are short, sweet, silly and with sleuthy music from Planer himself. Listen now >>
The Secret History of: Flight 149
Crowd Network’s investigative podcast is uncovering the truth behind a hostage crisis during Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Hours after the invasion was known, a British Airways Flight 149 chose to land in Kuwait, where the passengers and crew were captured and detained by Iraqi soldiers – some for weeks, and others for months. Journalist Stephen Davies has been looking into the crisis and subsequent government cover-up for 30 years. Listen now >>
Bone. Marry. Bury.
A reverse whodunnit where we know the hot-mess murderess! After a disastrous 2021, Allie goes to a New Years Eve party with plans for a fabulous 2022. But her best friend – and the podcast’s narrator – Gabe tells us what Allie’s future really holds – crossed paths with three of the party-goers who, one month from now, Allie will have had sex with, married, or killed! But which three, and why? Listen now >>
Ukrainecast
Possibly the most poignant new podcast on this list, Ukrainecast is a spinoff from the BBC’s Newscast. Victoria Derbyshire and Gabriel Gatehouse reflect on the news from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine every day. An important and accessible way to understand the evolving situation. Listen now >>
Run, Rose, Run
Described as “perfect, soapy escapism from Dolly Parton” by The Guardian podcasts newsletter, this Spotify show is truly unique. So unique in fact, it’s not even calling itself a podcast. Run, Rose, Run has Dolly Parton and James Patterson collaborating on what Spotify calls a “bookcast audio experience”. And whilst such buzz-words are usually poor explainers, this is probably a fair description. The show is basically an extend advert for a new book by James Patterson and Dolly Parton, combining excerpts with some of the music from a brand new album from Dolly. It’s a nice idea, immersing you fully in the story. You can listen the bookcast here, you can hear the whole book here, or listen to the music album everywhere. Listen now >>
Other pods for your list:
Simple Politics Podcast – As its name says, a show about reflecting on political news in the “simplest way possible.” The podcast was borne out of a U.K.-based Instagram account of the same name, which has ~800,000 followers. Listen now >>
Why I Run – In the lead up to the global charity event ‘Wings for Life World Run’ in May 2022, TikTok sensation Erin Azar and world record-breaking swimmer Ayo Akinwolere are speaking to guests who share their passion for plodding and what drives them to run. Listen now >>
Damages – A courtroom drama that follows the 200+ climate lawsuits currently active across the world. Host Amy Westervelt (from the true-crime style climate change podcast Drilled) starts this season by focusing on “rights of nature” cases. Listen now >>
The Catch: The Real Freshwater Five Story – Produced by Message Heard, presented by Raphael Rowe, a journalist who himself spent twelve years locked up for a crime he didn’t commit, this seven part Audible Original series delves into a drug-smuggling case where the five fisherman convicted maintain their innocence years after being sentenced to decades in prison. Listen now >>
I Am with Jonny Wilkinson – After a career covering three decades and four World Cups, Jonny Wilkinson is sharing how he is finally at peace with himself and inviting other guests to share their own vulnerability. Listen now >>
New Seasons:
Dan Snow’s History Hit – ENDURANCE22: A Story of Antarctic Survival
More a mini-series, but in the feed of Dan Snow’s History Hit. Endurance22 was a series of separate episodes talking about history, whilst history was being made. The Endurance22 expedition set off this year to commemorate the centenary of Shackleton’s death by uncovering the wreck of his ship, Endurance, which sank in 1915 after it was trapped in the ice. Dan Snow’s History Hit had full access to the live expedition, and was the first podcast on the ground when the ship was actually found… Listen now >>
The Art of Longevity – Season 3
This podcast explores the long game in the music industry. Each episode speaks to a musical icon whose career has spanned decades and how to remain relevant. This season, host Keith Jobling, a music strategy professional with more than 25 years experience in the industry, has in-depth conversations with artists including Spoon, Tears For Fears, Sea Power, The Wombats and Steve Mason. Listen now >>
Out To Lunch – Season 7
World famous food critic Jay Rayner returns with more big name guests in a restaurant of his choosing – This series there are more incredible conversations with household names including Stephen Fry, Rose Matafeo, Bill Bailey, Lolly Adefope & Rob Brydon. Expect crackling anecdotes and blistering chat, lubricated by killer cooking. Listen now >>
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If you listen to these podcasts, please tell us what you think! Tag us on social media @PodBible. Read more of our New This Month editorials for the newest podcasts to listen to.
Do you have a show for our new podcast list? Email info@podbiblemag.com with the show description, release date and artwork. We will share as many launches as we can.
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]]>The post #088 • Laughable • Til Death Do Us Pod • The Pirate Ship appeared first on POD BIBLE.
]]>Adam is here to walk you through the weeks podcast proceedings, with guests including the people behind Laughable, Til Death Do Us Pod and The Pirate Ship!
LISTEN TO THIS WEEKS GUESTS!
Til Death Do Us Pod • Acast • Spotify
The Pirate Ship • Online • Spotify
PODBIBLE LINKS!
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