Hey Poddy People!
Hope your week is wrapping up nicely wherever you are. We had a great SoCal Podcast Meetup (thanks again to APM Studios for sponsoring!) and now I’m packing up for next week’s podcast conference. Hello, new subscribers, and thanks for joining us on this podcast journey! Let’s GO!!
The Round Up
Tik Tok, Podcast star, Bobbi Althoff, who most recently went viral for her interview with Drake, this week unfollowed him and vice versa. The gossip columns and social feeds are all over it. Everything around this PR stunt feels ick. Read more here. Podcast here.
Well-known podcast industry tools, Descript and Squadcast.FM, joined forces. If you pay for Descripts services, Squadcast.FM will now be included. Read more here.
Archewell Productions, from the former Archewell Studios that brought us the short-lived Archetypes Podcast, produced a new Netflix documentary on the Invictus games. Trailer here.
Podcast Movement - Denver is next week and I’ll be there. See you there?
Podcast writer,
, in her newsletter highlights an interesting mix of AI voice actor audio in the new Dear Media podcast, Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story.Oh boy. Get ready for some classic Hallmark Channel content with their first scripted podcast. Crimson Hearts Collide. Trailer here.
The Verge’s Amrita Khalid writes about Spotify’s wide release of current and canceled podcasts with mixed results early on. Live and learn? Read more here.
The London Podcast Festival will be happening in early September. The lineup is out for live podcasts including I Weigh with Jameela Jamil, The Empire Film Podcast, and No Such Thing As A Fish, to name a few. Check out the lineup.
I started watching the crime-thriller-comedy to see/hear a shout-out to real podcasts. Root of Evil and Sisters In Crime. However, I couldn’t find the right Sisters In Crime podcast or if that was even factual. Does anyone have a link to help me with this? Clip below.
On to my picks this week…
Podcast: Dear Alana,
Genre: True Crime
Publisher: TenderfootTV
About: When Alana Chen died at the age of 24 in Boulder, she left behind two dozen journals chronicling a deep faith, love of fashion, and passion to become a nun. She also harbored a secret. At 14, she confessed to her priest that she was attracted to women. That priest convinced her not to tell her parents, and for seven years, Alana covertly sought pastoral counsel and conversion therapy. After being hospitalized for depression, she ended her life in 2019. When Simon Kent Fung learned of her story, he reached out to her family to offer comfort. His own life was shockingly similar: he too sought out conversion therapy for nearly a decade in his efforts to become a priest. As he discovers more about Alana’s brief life and their overlapping experiences, he’s compelled to understand the truth of what happened to her—and finally face what happened to him.
Just released this week, there’s little I can add personally from the description or the trailer of the podcast. As far as the story and having listened to the first two episodes, there’s a quality of character building that’s well done. Not just Alana, but also Simon’s character as someone that has been through it. Simon has a voice that suits this type of sensitive subject matter. Meanwhile, there’s no shortage of Alana’s voice to be heard. You already know what happened is tragic, but hearing her voice can pull at your heartstrings.
Gregg Stockdale • The Podcast Geek
“...it’s a brilliantly made show that tells an important story…I can tell you that this is a truly heartbreaking podcast…”
There is more on the website and Instagram for further exploration.
Podcast: Personal Best
Genre: Comedy, Entertaining Self-Improvement
Publisher: CBC
About: Personal Best turns tiny goals into grand adventures.
Yup, that’s the description. Simple enough. As I was listening and enjoying Personal Best, I wanted to know if there were more than two seasons. Lo and behold, they are currently working on season 3!
It’s an easy-to-understand podcast. You got a problem, they try to help you, in various common sense and random ways. It’s more entertaining than comedy. Little bits like calling a horse trainer for something mundane like waking up early.
Episode highlights:
Trying to stop snoozing the alarm clock
Repetition
Deadline Procrastination
Motivation following the behavior
The Power of You
Potentially figuring out your personal sales pitch
Sarah Stiefvater • Pure Wow
“...the hosts devise bizarre ways to help them achieve said goals, to hilarious and heartwarming effect.”
Just Added This Week…
All Consuming - BBC
Witness History - BBC
Limited Capacity- CBC
Girls Gotta Eat - Ashley Hesseltine, Rayna Greenberg
The Comment Section with Drew Afualo - Past Your Bedtime
This Cultural Life - BBC
Bombing with Eric Andre - Big Money Players Network, iHeartPodcast Network
Journalista - iHeartPodcast Network
Baby, This is Keke Palmer - Amazon
Straightiolab - Big Money Players Network, iHeartPodcast Network
Podcast 360 - DCP Entertainment, The Podcast Academy
Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers - Josh Meyers, Seth Meyers
Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story - Dear Media
In The Cards - Next Chapter Podcasts
Strangers - Lea Thau
Oh What A Time... - CBW Productions
How Do You Cope? with Elis and John - BBC
Digging With Flo - NTS
Stirring it up with Andi and Miquita Oliver - OffScript
Pizza Pod Party - Alfred Schulz, Arthur Bovino, Ooni Pizza Ovens
The Rest is Football - Goalhanger Podcasts
The Referral with Dr. Karan - Sony Music Entertainment
Speidi's 16th Minute - The Ringer
Tiny Huge Decisions- APM Studios
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs - Andrew Hickey
MVP (Most Viewed Podcasts) Aug 7-Aug13:
Sad Oligarch - Cool Zone Media (first time on the charts)
The Girlfriends - Novel Podcasts (new reviews added)
The Retrievals - Serial (unchanged)
Scamanda - Lionsgate Sound (unchanged)
Under Cover of Knight (5th week at #1) - Apple/Spoke Media (unchanged)
Stay safe, drink water, and remember, you’re doing great!
Listening with you,
Captain Ron
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