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Monday, December 15, 2025
iOS podcast app Castro has blocked Inception Point AI podcasts from its app search results. In a blog post, Castro’s Dustin Bluck says that Inception Point AI “seems to be keying on popular searches in order to flood search results and deceive users.”
- Is the accusation fair? A search in Apple Podcasts for Charlie Kirk brings up four shows from Inception Point AI in the results - Charlie Kirk Biography Flash, Charlie Kirk, Charlie Kirk Death and Charlie Kirk Manhunt. The company’s CEO, Jeanine Wright - who is a former legal attorney - has been clear about the company’s SEO policy, saying in an interview for the Podnews Weekly Review podcast: “When people typed Charlie Kirk into Apple and Spotify, we were three of the top five shows - even beating out the Daily Mail.” Only one of those shows makes any mention of AI in the audio; another claims it has “personal interviews” and “a team of expert researchers and journalists”.
- As of checking today, Inception Point AI’s biography channel contains 733 shows; the vast majority of which are, according to the company, not checked by humans before publishing.
Apple released iOS v26.2 at the end of last week. In Apple Podcasts, it rolls out automated chapters for every podcast, as well as “timed links”, which is particularly helpful for guests, allowing links to their podcasts to appear when they’re mentioned in the audio. We’ve updated our FAQ. The v26.2 update also includes more than 25 different security fixes, so we’d suggest you update as soon as you’re able to.
- To update your iPhone or iPad to v26.2, open the Settings app, choose “General” then “Software Update”, and pull down the screen to check for the latest. (Do it from a fast wifi connection!)
✔There's More To Read: HERE
Friday, December 12, 2025
- While there is woefully poor gender balance in podcast creation, there is growing creator participation from multicultural communities, the study suggests, with the number of Hispanic, Black and Asian creators outpacing White creators. White creators also are less likely to create video.
- The data also shows that one in three podcast creators quit. That figure is higher for those aged 55+, or for those who identify LGBTQ+.
- “Women aren’t quitting podcasting more than men — they’re just not starting. That’s an entry problem, not a commitment problem,” said Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster, suggesting that there are structural barriers to entry. “We lose something when voices opt out before they ever opt in.”
Good news for fans of Nerdette - the show is to relaunch as an independent production, called Happy to Be Here. Nerdette was the casualty of cuts at WBEZ announced in April 2024; the host, Greta Johnsen, was able to use the old Nerdette feed for this new show.
The Fiction Podcast Weekly newsletter is now independent. Expect resources and news for fiction podcast makers.
The Washington Post is making AI-generated podcasts for the paper’s mobile app. But Semafor reports that the shows are riddled with errors: from poor pronounciations to misattributions or even just making stuff up … meanwhile Australian radio group SCA, which uses AI to write some of its news bulletins, has wrongly named a man accused of escaping from the police as Dylan Hogarth, the journalist for a local newspaper that reported on the same story.
Spotify published questions (and answers) about Spotify Wrapped.
✔There's More to Read: HERE
The inductees of the 2026 Podcast Hall of Fame have been announced, recognising what the organisers call “visionary creators, innovators, and advocates whose work has shaped the modern podcasting landscape”. The Hall of Fame Ceremony is at PodFest, Jan 16 2026; the evening will be hosted by John Lee Dumas, founder and host of Entrepreneurs on Fire.
Libsyn has published its new pricing on its website. Its “bare essentials” plan has been removed.
YouTube’s Neal Mohan has been named TIME’s 2025 CEO of the Year.
Last month, Steven Bartlett announced that he’s been running “consistent on-screen fact-checking” for Diary of a CEO since June. A “medical PhD graduate” is “adding real-time notes to episode transcripts” in a way that is said to improve editorial accuracy. The announcement wasn’t serviced to the press. It may be a response to a story from the BBC World Service last year about claims of harmful health information on his show.
Just days after the announcement of the Golden Globes podcast nominees, the NYC Podcast Awards have been announced. The organisers say it is “launching in direct opposition to the download-first culture dominating podcasting. The Libby Awards recognize craft: sound design, writing, acting, engineering -- and the creators themselves -- as highly as audience size.” You’ve until Jan 10 to enter.
Global investment in podcasting is not matched to consumption, according to a new study today from NumberEight. The research shows that the US leads spend, while Australia, Germany and France are expansion opportunities for buyers looking for incremental reach. The data shows differences in culture and personas, and shows additional data to help buyers scale. The work was done in collaboration with Barometer, AdsWizz, and Sounds Profitable.
UK podcast company Goalhanger filed its accounts for the seven months of June-Dec 2024 (the company has changed its financial year). These are a UK legal requirement but don’t tell us much, since you don’t have to show profit and loss for this type of company. But - spoiler - it’s in profit; it ended Dec 2024 with just over £5mn (USD $6.7mn) in the bank. In May, it had £2.7mn.
Steven Bartlett’s FlightStory has made a 7-figure investment in Hot Smart Rich, a media and investing platform for women. The podcast has achieved 1.8mn downloads in the past year.
The 2026 nominees for the Golden Globes Best Podcast were announced - the first time podcasts have been recognised. The nominees are: Armchair Expert (Wondery), Call Her Daddy (SiriusXM), Good Hang (Spotify), SmartLess (SiriusXM), The Mel Robbins Podcast (SiriusXM), and Up First (NPR). The podcast nomination announcement was made in the portion that wasn’t televised. The awards show is on Jan 11.
Podtrac released its US ranker for November 2025. All of the top ten publishers posted significantly lower numbers month-on-month (we can normally blame Thanksgiving for that); but numbers are also down year-on-year.
Piers Morgan Uncensored is to launch a spin-off series, History Uncensored. The show will be hosted by Bianca Nobilo - on YouTube “and as a podcast”. It’s the first of a number of shows to use the Uncensored brand.
Thursday. December 11, 2025
The inductees of the 2026 Podcast Hall of Fame have been announced, recognising what the organisers call “visionary creators, innovators, and advocates whose work has shaped the modern podcasting landscape”. The Hall of Fame Ceremony is at PodFest, Jan 16 2026; the evening will be hosted by John Lee Dumas, founder and host of Entrepreneurs on Fire.
- This year’s inductees are: \ Mark Asquith, Founder of Captivate \ Arielle Nisenblatt, founder, EarBuds Podcast Collective \ Dan Carlin, Creator, Hardcore History \ James Cridland, Editor, Podnews \ Pat Flynn, Founder, Smart Passive Income\ Julie Samuels, President/CEO Tech:NYC, Senior Staff Podcast Troll Attorney, EFF \ Veronica Belmont, CNET’s Buzz Out Loud, Sword & Laser, Mahalo Daily, co-host of Tekzilla \ Sarah van Mosel, former VP, Sponsorship at New York Public Radio, Acast, Stitcher, iHeart, SiriusXM \ Paul Colligan, President, Podcast Partnership \ Kerri Hoffman, CEO, PRX \ Dan Miller, host, 48 Days to the Work You Love, in memoriam - to be presented by Dave Ramsey
Libsyn has published its new pricing on its website. Its “bare essentials” plan has been removed.
YouTube’s Neal Mohan has been named TIME’s 2025 CEO of the Year.
Last month, Steven Bartlett announced that he’s been running “consistent on-screen fact-checking” for Diary of a CEO since June. A “medical PhD graduate” is “adding real-time notes to episode transcripts” in a way that is said to improve editorial accuracy. The announcement wasn’t serviced to the press. It may be a response to a story from the BBC World Service last year about claims of harmful health information on his show.
✔There's More To Read: HERE
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Global investment in podcasting is not matched to consumption, according to a new study today from NumberEight. The research shows that the US leads spend, while Australia, Germany and France are expansion opportunities for buyers looking for incremental reach. The data shows differences in culture and personas, and shows additional data to help buyers scale. The work was done in collaboration with Barometer, AdsWizz, and Sounds Profitable.
UK podcast company Goalhanger filed its accounts for the seven months of June-Dec 2024 (the company has changed its financial year). These are a UK legal requirement but don’t tell us much, since you don’t have to show profit and loss for this type of company. But - spoiler - it’s in profit; it ended Dec 2024 with just over £5mn (USD $6.7mn) in the bank. In May, it had £2.7mn.
Steven Bartlett’s FlightStory has made a 7-figure investment in Hot Smart Rich, a media and investing platform for women. The podcast has achieved 1.8mn downloads in the past year.
✔There's More to Read: HERE
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
- SiriusXM has half the nominations. “We couldn’t be prouder,” said the company’s Scott Greenstein. Additionally, Dax Shepard and Monica Padman described the nomination for Armchair Expert as “unfathomable” and “a true honor”.
- Dying for Sex also got a nomination as a limited TV show, based on Wondery’s original Dying for Sex podcast.
- In spite of paying significantly for promotion, including full-page ads in Variety and Times Square billboards, The Ben Shapiro Show failed to be nominated - indeed, perhaps playing safe, there were no nominations for any political shows (right or left-leaning) or for sports shows.
Podtrac released its US ranker for November 2025. All of the top ten publishers posted significantly lower numbers month-on-month (we can normally blame Thanksgiving for that); but numbers are also down year-on-year.
Piers Morgan Uncensored is to launch a spin-off series, History Uncensored. The show will be hosted by Bianca Nobilo - on YouTube “and as a podcast”. It’s the first of a number of shows to use the Uncensored brand.
✔There's More to Read: HERE
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