Tonight! The Ambies Award - Watch Live Now!
+plus Obama's pod
Hey Poddy People!
We are busy bees over here! My disappearance from Ramadan is over, politics is all-consuming, and I ran the LA Marathon Big 5k in support of K9Youth Alliance. The 5k is the only distance I could handle while fasting. Remember to say Happy Eid, or Eid Mubarak to your Muslim friends!
It’s also been busy since I launched the new podcast submission form, and I’ve been working on a page for the critics/reviewers to access their reviews. It’s a lot more difficult in trying to connect the dots in programming than I thought it was. Enough nerd-talk…
Let’s GOOOOOOOOO!
The Round-Up
The Ambies are live in Chicago tonight! One of the OG award shows in podcasting. Awesome comedian Tig Notaro is hosting. Stream it live on Twitch! 4PM Pacific, 6PM Central, 7PM Eastern in the States. Watch it here NOW.
My red carpet team will be there since I am home celebrating the end of Ramadan. Professional reviewer Michael Bergonzi from AudioDramaReviews.com (
) and podcaster Dawn-Michelle from Dawn of an Icon.Sam Sanders to receive the Impact Award at The Ambies tonight - More Info here.
This American Life’s Ira Glass is receiving the Governor’s Award.
iHeart and Imagine Entertainment launched OBSCURUM: Invasion of the Drones. Well, not about the New Jersey drones from last year, but it's close enough. This podcast is about the 2019 sightings in Colorado and Nebraska. Listen Here.
I was on a quick road trip, and even though there weren’t reviews, I enjoyed the newish game show ClueLess from SmartLess. Short 10-15 minute games. Entertaining and funny. I quickly binged the 6 episodes at that time.
YouTube is saying TV viewership has surpassed mobile and computer viewing. However, for Great Pods, 6% of our YouTube audience comes only from TV.
Just reading that has me questioning. Reading more into it, anyone who tagged their video “podcast” was counted. That’s weird. I could have a regular YouTube video that’s about gardening and has nothing to do with podcasts, but just label it as one, and it would be counted. So I take their definition of a podcast with a grain of salt.
Shoutout to Tink Media and Indie writer of
Andreea C. for spotting a bug in podcastscreener.com. FIXED!For new or current podcasts, add your podcast to GP’s Podcast Screener.
Left Coming Soon Section: Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, Crook County, Shofar, So Good!, The Soulmate Quest, It’s My Party, Disrupting Peace, The Dylan Hour with Dylan Mulvaney, This Old House Radio Hour, Possible Now, Good Hang w/ Amy Poehler, When The Wolves Came, Dawn of An Icon, The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast, No Time To Be Timid, Divine Intervention, How We Made Your Mother, Nature's Secret Service, Journey Through Time, Late Nights with Nexpo,
Bill Simmons signed a new contract with Spotify. Read here.
I’m rather neutral to Bill, however, my one concern was over the Spotify podcast layoffs and cuts to programming. All the while, Bill, who was Head of Podcasting, was nowhere to be found in comments or questions while his “Ringer” network podcasts were safe. Was it the “stay silent and maybe they won’t notice me” method?
Congrats to pod friends at Podglomerate for being named at #10 one of New England’s fastest-growing companies. Read more here.
They also put some handy resources together:
Curious about video podcasting? Join the webinar on May 1st. Free.
Additional resources for marketing, choosing a platform, and more can be found here.
On Air Fest 25 - The video files are pretty big, so we are working on getting those uploaded. A lot was happening from sessions, live podcasts, and in-the-moment interviews and games to spice it up.
Quick notes: I danced with Comedian Reggie Watts at the iHeart party, teaching him some Bhangra moves. Met journalist/podcaster
(podcast - Power User), Mehdi Hasan from (I asked him about his Nike shoes- hard-hitting question - podcast, We’re Not Kidding), Anna Sussman (See later this week), NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick, and Sam Sanders. I got to see a friend of GP, from The Industry podcast, and hear him pitch a story to ESPN’s 30 for 30 podcast. To finish off the festival, I met the Victory Light podcast crew hosts as they made their 100th episode. I could go on, which I will, in additional posts…
On to my picks this week…
Podcast: IMO w/ Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Genre: Society, Conversational
Publisher: Higher Ground
About: Michelle Obama and her big brother Craig Robinson bring their unique experiences and candid perspectives to a range of listeners’ personal dilemmas, from the everyday to the existential. Each week, they’re joined by special guests to tackle audience questions with practical advice, relatable anecdotes, and plenty of laughs. From dating and relationships to parenting and financial planning, IMO sees the iconic First Lady at her most relaxed and honest. This podcast will leave you laughing, reflecting, and feeling more prepared to tackle life’s challenges.
I’m leaving more in today and placing the other two recs later this week.
I have been only able to find mostly 2-star critic reviews of the pod, and that’s not a bad thing; however, amidst the constructive low star reviews, it still made me want to listen. Now, will I get past the initial two episodes remains to be seen or heard.
In My Opinion, it was good. It’s more serious than the comedy “We’re Here To Help” and a little more personal, like Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson, but maybe not as in-depth just yet. If you like Michelle, you’ll like this podcast. If you don’t like Michelle’s politics but like her, you’ll like this podcast. There is no partisan type of political chatter here. It’s about each other. I think maybe some reviewers got lost because they wanted a political, democratic response to what is happening in the US at this moment. This is not that podcast.
I have to be transparent as well; none of the reviews are from Black writers. I think that perspective is needed for additional context around the podcast. I encourage any Black writers that read this: We need more professional reviews.
If there is anything I’ve learned via social media in the last ten years, it is that Black and immigrant communities are eerily similar in our upbringings. Even though Pine-Sol is a sponsor, their first conversation about cleaning and using Pine-Sol was seamless but also relatable to me, too. I can hear my mom now talking about getting the Pine-Sol out for me to clean.
I have to say that there’s comedy if you see it. Craig speaking of sponsor, Colonguard is sorta funny because it’s not a pod ad we’re used to. Colonguard?
Sir, this is a Wendy’s. Anyway, I was expecting a betterhealth.com ad, and guess what? I got one. I do hope Michelle and Craig can find their podcast voice and start to expand their conversational depth.
Issa Rae was the first celebrity guest, and the conversation was fine.
Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian
“Michelle...is an immensely impressive person, but her “go high” positivity is reduced to platitudes here. There was the odd insightful moment”
‘Top of the Pods’ this past week on Great Pods:
5. Khloé in Wonder Land - Khloé Kardashian
4. Scam Factory - Wondery
3. The Broken Veil - Cheese, Pickle
2. The Telepathy Tapes - Ky Dickens
1. The Severance Podcast - Audacy
Stay safe, be kind, and feed the needy.
Listening with you,
Captain Ron
Great Pods is your best friend in podcast discovery. Get immersed in engaging critic reviews and ratings to help you decide on your next podcast listen. Tell a friend!
Eid Mubarek- I love what you are doing with Great Pods. How do I get involved? My podcast is "Everyday Conversations on Race"- www.raceconvo.com I've been hosting for over five years. With the current state of politics, conversations on race that bring people together are needed more than ever. I've been a consultant and facilitator in diversity for over 35 years and most of my work has been cancelled. We are working to grow our show and get our message of connection, and communication, as well as stopping fear of differences and spreading love across the globe. Did you run while fasting? Glad you mentioned Ramaden.
Sweet!