Stories for craft-loving independent podcasters

Your Podcast Sounds Bad Unless You Do These Hundred Simple Tricks

Netflix and Thrill

How an affinity for sound and storytelling led to Archive 81's success

First released in 2016, Archive 81 is a found footage horror podcast co-created by Dan Powell and Marc Sollinger. The plot follows Dan Turner, an archivist who restores damaged videotapes. The job pulls him into a peculiar, cultish […]

Film, Literature, and Podcasts Fiction

January 13, 2022 by Michael Seidlinger

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Featured Stories

Podcast Your Way to Producing for Seth Rogen

Indie podcaster Richard Parks III reveals the secret to making great work

Colin Anderson was having a sleepless night. His client, actor Seth Rogen, was eager to begin production on an upcoming podcast, but Anderson, Sirius XM’s VP of Comedy Podcasts, hadn’t yet found a producer for the project. “I was racking […]

Producer Spotlight Comedy

December 14, 2021 by Skye Pillsbury

Four Tactics to Strengthen Your Podcast Hosting Skills

When and how to ask the best interview questions

Back in 2011, when I was making my first podcast, I applied for a media pass to cover the Gemini Awards. The Geminis honored achievements in Canada’s television industry. I applied on a whim but to my delight, I was […]

December 9, 2021 by Amanda Cupido

Podcasting as Teaching

Classroom Principles to Engage Listeners

“If you like our show, please give us a rating on iTunes, it really helps us get the word out,” says the podcaster—whichever podcaster. Listeners have heard a variation of this line hundreds of times. Perhaps now and then they’ve […]

Career Podcasters Film, Literature, and Podcasts

November 4, 2021 by Jesse Staniforth

Pictures of Microphones in the Wild

An ode to badass audio producers and field reporters

I reached out to podcasters far and wide. My goal was to collect the most unique and interesting podcast photos I could find as a counterweight to the mountains of microphone stock photos that accompany online writing about podcasting. I […]

Film, Literature, and Podcasts Art

October 27, 2021 by Erik Jones

Recent Content

The Podcast Cure for the Blues

The Blues Kitchen Radio is the story of lives lived talking into mics with friends

Three years ago, a producer went for an interview with Hollywood director Cameron Crowe. As the story goes, it was going well. When wrapping up, Crowe asked, “What music are you into?” The man immediately whipped out his phone. “These […]

Music Entertainment

January 20, 2022 by Shonagh Marshall

Photo by Paul Hillier

Marissa Melnyk, Super Producer

Behind the scenes with a self-taught, tech-loving, comedy podcast producer

When Marissa Melnyk was in school for video broadcasting at Ryerson University, she noticed her classes were split into two groups. There were those who wanted to be in front of the camera—that was the much larger group—and there were […]

Producer Spotlight Comedy

October 4, 2021 by Celeste Kaufman

Move Over Public Media<br/>Now is the Golden Age of Independent Podcasting

Move Over Public Media
Now is the Golden Age of Independent Podcasting

As audio shifts from radio to podcasting, legendary public media producer Jay Allison says the human voice still matters most

Sometime back in the 80s or 90s, Jay Allison invented podcasting. His scheme was simple: there was a lot of really interesting radio airing at times he couldn’t listen, so he connected a VCR and microphone to his radio and […]

Career Podcasters Producer Spotlight

September 8, 2021 by Jesse Staniforth

Pro Podcast Editor Checklist

We're giving away the actual guides our pro editors use to give feedback

Timber has a private podcast community called The Edit. In it, industry professionals write feedback for our members’ episodes. They listen and take notes with a checklist of things to listen for and take notes as they go. Then they […]

September 3, 2021 by Jon Christensen

Three resources to level-up your podcasting game

Podcasting is more than making goofs on mics with your buds. These resources will lay a foundation for lifelong learning.

If you go on the Facebook groups about podcasting, there are a zillion people new to podcasting asking how to get started, and half a zillion reply-guys that say “best advice is just get started.” I think half of those […]

August 26, 2021 by Jon Christensen

Podcast Producer Alexandra DiPalma. Featured.

The producer of the hit show Food 4 Thot reveals her secret sauce.

“She’s our lighthouse, and has a knowledge of her craft that is simply mind blowing.”—Tommy Pico The want ad read “gay podcast looking for gay people,” and Alexandra DiPalma knew it was her ticket out of the branded audio content […]

Producer Spotlight

August 24, 2021 by Celeste Kaufman

Grow Your Social Media Following the Hard Way

A five-step guide to attract followers that are actually interested in your podcast

When I was first starting Timber, I knew that I wanted to create a few social media accounts just for Timber and build up their followings. It goes almost without saying that having a high-quality social media following is one […]

August 12, 2021 by Jon Christensen

No Shortcut to Insider Access

How Ear Hustle and Other People’s Problems have navigated access and consent to give listeners a fly-on-the-wall experience.

I love podcasts that give me a glimpse into a world I would have otherwise never been able to see; shows that make you feel like you’re getting special behind-the-scenes access. I’m talking about podcasts like Ear Hustle, which chronicles […]

Society and Culture Crime Film, Literature, and Podcasts Career Podcasters

July 26, 2021 by Amanda Cupido

So You Want to Start a True Crime Podcast…

A guide to coming up with ideas, making them good, and avoiding common pitfalls. And how Norco 80, an excellent true crime pod, came together.

A guide to the sub-genres: from the popular to the prestigious In the podcasting gold rush, the true crime genre is among the biggest motherlodes. But it’s a lot more varied in form and approach than its reputation suggests. It […]

Crime

June 1, 2021 by Shruti Ravindran

Indie Networks and Collectives—What’s the Difference?

Three ways to amplify your podcasting efforts with advice from Wade Roush, Michael Mongiardi, and Marsha Alejandro

Creating a podcast can be lonely. It starts with an idea. After countless hours of mulling it over, production begins as a side hustle. Evenings and weekends are dedicated to breathing life into a show. It’s recorded in a closet, […]

May 18, 2021 by Amanda Cupido

How To Make a Compelling Companion Podcast According to Pros

Advice from Roman Mars, Bari Finkel, Christopher Johnson, Dan Taberski, Krys Marshall, and Will Malnati

Hollywood is in the middle of a long love affair with podcasts. Evidence of that can be seen in the number of podcasts being turned into TV shows, including The Shrink Next Door, Nice White Parents, and The Edge of […]

Entertainment Film, Literature, and Podcasts Career Podcasters

May 10, 2021 by Melissa Locker

One of the Best Serialized Documentary Creators in the World

Zac Stuart-Pontier Explains His Approach to Storytelling Across Several of His Well-known Works

“There it is. You’re caught.” So begins the final scene of The Jinx, a show that ushered in the modern era of true crime docuseries yet hinges on this jaw-dropping 90 seconds of audio while the camera is trained on […]

Film, Literature, and Podcasts Producer Spotlight

May 4, 2021 by Celeste Kaufman

How to Make a Podcast About the Future When It’s Coming So Quickly

Sometimes, it feels like a terrifying future awaits. Rose Eveleth’s Flash Forward podcast (and book and other projects) offers a different perspective.

Everything is bad. There was a Biblical-style swarm of locusts in East Africa last year. The pandemic is still going. Big Tech could be tracking our faces at every moment. Every day seems to bring a new headline about how […]

Career Podcasters News and Politics Fiction Science

April 20, 2021 by Angela Chen

Learning to Be Unladylike

Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin discuss their approach, chemistry, and lessons over their popular show's three year run

If you’ve never laughed out loud while pondering how to smash the patriarchy, you’ve probably never listened to Unladylike. Since 2018, co-hosts Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin have treated listeners to entertaining episodes exploring pop culture, health, beauty, politics, and […]

News and Politics Society and Culture Entertainment

March 23, 2021 by Pam Moore

Getting Your Show into Podcast Lists

Podcast curators and tastemakers reveal their secret formulas

As a podcast consultant, one of the most common questions I get asked is, “How do I promote my podcast?” I get it. Once you’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into the production of your show, you want listeners. […]

March 16, 2021 by Amanda Cupido

What It Sounds Like When People Connect

Why Erica Heilman’s Rumble Strip Conversations Sound Like No One Else’s

Pick an episode of Erica Heilman’s independent podcast Rumble Strip. Odds are, one of the first things you’ll notice is the intimacy of the conversations. Rumble Strip is usually composed of one-on-one interviews, but even in group interviews or solo […]

Career Podcasters Society and Culture

March 9, 2021 by Jesse Staniforth

How to Navigate the Podcast to TV Pipeline According to Pros

Advice from Lee Eisenberg, Marshall Lewy, Eli Horowitz, and Aaron Mahnke

“People are always looking for IP, people are always looking for good stories,” says Lee Eisenberg, a longtime TV producer, who is turning WeCrashed into a series at Apple TV+. The evidence of that is in the steady stream of […]

Entertainment Career Podcasters Society and Culture Film, Literature, and Podcasts

March 5, 2021 by Melissa Locker

How to Get Listeners for Your Podcast About the Environment

Digging in on Land Use, Climate Change, and More

Environmental issues—you know, like land use and climate change—should be an easy sell to listeners. After all, they’re big massive things that impact our world, right? Not so fast. Though so many people claim to be concerned about these issues, […]

News and Politics Society and Culture Science

February 23, 2021 by Jenna Schnuer

Navigating trust and truth as an independent podcaster

Journalistic integrity matters—even if you’re not part of a news outlet

COVID-19 confusion and competing realities over election results have pushed trust in traditional media to an all-time low, according to Edelman’s 2021 Trust Barometer. Trust in print and broadcast media fell eight points from 2020, and more Americans now say […]

News and Politics Technology

February 15, 2021 by Jenna Spinelle

How to Host a Podcast With Your Partner That Doesn’t Suck

The real life couples who host Couples Therapy and Sawbones tell us how they bring their chemistry to the mic

“Can I just throw this out there? We actually love each other.” Andy Beckerman, writer, performer, and podcast veteran, is speaking to me, along with his fiancée—writer, performer, and standup comedian Naomi Ekperigin—about Couples Therapy, the popular comedy podcast the […]

Comedy Society and Culture

February 8, 2021 by Hershal Pandya

Alie Ward’s Listeners Truly Love <i>Ologies</i>

Alie Ward’s Listeners Truly Love Ologies

Ologies’ Alie Ward Explains Why You Should Build A Community on Patreon Before Even Launching Your Show

Before Alie Ward launched her podcast, Ologies, she built a community on Patreon. That decision not only helped Ward fund her incredibly fun, fact-filled show, but also helped her harness a base of science-loving supporters to turn Ologies into one […]

Science Career Podcasters

February 3, 2021 by Melissa Locker

To All the McElboys I’ve Loved Before

Why both aspiring podcasters and McElroy fans should read this new book

Editor’s note: This story is a collaboration between Timber and the Bello Collective. Timber owes a huge thank you to Bello’s Editor Galen Beebe for writing. If you enjoy this, be sure to read Galen and many other writers’ great […]

Career Podcasters Film, Literature, and Podcasts

January 26, 2021 by Galen Beebe

A Creator’s Guide to Therapy Podcasts

A close look at the elements that make therapy shows stand out and succeed

“This is the Therapy Chat Podcast with Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. The information shared in this podcast is not a substitute for seeking help from a licensed mental health professional.” A voice actress reads this intro while a cyclical harmonic figure […]

Health

January 4, 2021 by Katherine Mclaughlin

Intimacy Is the Currency in Comedy Podcasts

To form relationships with listeners, comedians bare it all

“The intimacy is the currency,” says Kevin T. Porter, host of hit comedy podcasts like Gilmore Guys, Good Christian Fun, and Inside Voices. He’s speaking to me over Zoom about the unique extent to which the hosts of comedy podcasts […]

Comedy Entertainment Society and Culture

December 14, 2020 by Hershal Pandya

Podcasts Must Find the Small Moments to Give Life to Big Secrets

How Dani Shapiro makes guests' secrets come to life on her memoir anthology show Family Secrets

As Dani Shaprio finished up the manuscript for her memoir, Inheritance, people kept telling her their secrets. The book was about her shocking discovery—after submitting her DNA to a genealogy website—that her father was not actually her biological father, and […]

Society and Culture

December 7, 2020 by Celeste Kaufman

The Past and Present of <i>Grammar Girl</i>

The Past and Present of Grammar Girl

Mignon Fogarty's early story of building a runaway hit show into a network

The podcast landscape is rapidly evolving. You have to subscribe to at least three industry newsletters just to keep up with the latest changes to platforms, metrics, and networks. But alongside those quantifiable shifts, there is also the change in […]

Career Podcasters

November 30, 2020 by Amanda Cupido

A Voice for Writing a Voice for Podcasting

Author Joanna Penn had to find her voice all over again as a podcaster

Joanna Penn starts every episode of The Creative Penn podcast with this salutation, knowing it might alienate some listeners. And she’s okay with that. Since releasing her first episode in 2009, the prolific British author has learned the value of […]

Career Podcasters

November 30, 2020 by Pam Moore

His Stories Became Movies, Now He’s Making Podcasts

Writer Skip Hollandsworth found the perfect story for his first pod Tom Brown’s Body

Legendary Texas Monthly writer Skip Hollandsworth is used to working hard for a story. He’s been widely recognized as one of the premier writers of longform non-fiction in the magazine world for three decades. Many of these narratives spanned more […]

Crime Entertainment

November 23, 2020 by Scott Bedgood

Shannon Cason Gets Honest

You'll hang on his every word when you start your guaranteed binge listen

For new listeners to Shannon Cason’s Homemade Stories, it might be worth going as far back as 2014’s “Bath House” episode. In that story Cason, a straight man, explains why he went to a bathhouse with a gay friend: he […]

Fiction Entertainment Comedy

November 23, 2020 by Jesse Staniforth

Caroline Crampton Is the Queen of Multitasking

She's the creator of Shedunnit, a co-writer for Hot Pod, and a member of the podcasting royal family (well she should be)

If you’re reading this article, it’s likely that you’re a fan of podcasts. That means you have most likely read or heard or seen the work of Caroline Crampton, an incredibly hard-working multi-tasker who has built a career by being […]

Career Podcasters Entertainment Film, Literature, and Podcasts

November 16, 2020 by Melissa Locker

Why It Pays to Be Nice in Podcasting

How quirky British audio sitcom Wooden Overcoats built a global fan base

This was supposed to be Wooden Overcoats’ year. The team behind this British independent audio sitcom had successfully crowdfunded their fourth and final season and planned to launch it on September 24, 2020, the show’s fifth anniversary. There were going […]

Fiction Comedy

November 16, 2020 by Caroline Crampton

Making the Number One Soccer Podcast of All Time

The show succeeds by recognizing what's important in life

On August 23 in Lisbon, at 9:14pm, Kingsley Coman etched his name into soccer’s history book: A looping cross fell onto the featherlight Frenchman’s head, which directed the ball into Paris Saint Germain’s net. The goal would make Bayern Munich […]

Sports

November 10, 2020 by Sean Williams

How to Make a Kind Podcast

A lesson from Josh Gondelman

Josh Gondelman is, hands down, one of the nicest people on Twitter. The stand-up comic and writer on Showtime’s Desus & Mero is known for being upbeat and positive in nearly every interaction he has. He exudes an optimistic energy […]

Comedy Entertainment Society and Culture

November 4, 2020 by Emily Baron Cadloff

The Rise of Influencer Podcasts

In a world of views and likes, podcasts feel authentic

The episode starts with an upbeat jingle as the show’s host welcomes listeners back for another 45 minutes of semi-scripted audio content. Her voice is young, but sophisticated. Her tone is casual, but authoritative. She is in control as she […]

Entertainment Society and Culture

November 2, 2020 by Katherine Mclaughlin

The Podcast Season of the Witch

Podcasting and the witchcraft boom, a witch's brew of cause and effect

Folklorist Cory Hutcheson, co-host of the New World Witchery podcast, is quick to point out that while witchcraft may be enjoying a resurgence in cultural relevance, it’s been both revered and reviled in our society forever. Every mode of storytelling […]

Religion and Spirituality

October 27, 2020 by Celeste Kaufman

There’s Something about <i>RomComPods</i>

There’s Something about RomComPods

How a writing duo found a gap in the podcast landscape and made a hit

Until early 2018, Becca Freeman listened to podcasts (an early favorite was The Great Debates), but never thought she would someday launch two of her own. The Brooklyn-based marketing consultant is the co-creator of Bad on Paper with blogger Grace […]

Fiction

October 26, 2020 by Abigail Koffler

How to Bear Podcasting Burnout

Amanda Cupido talks Burnout with Kristi Lee and John Asante

Amanda Cupido is a Toronto-based podcast producer, Ryerson University instructor and author of Let’s Talk Podcasting: The Essential Guide to doing it Right. I snap a picture of my desk to send to my best friend. There are two coffee […]

Career Podcasters

October 22, 2020 by Amanda Cupido

How to Identify an Underserved Niche

Around the Rim is gaining a loyal following from a forgotten fanbase by amplifying women in basketball

Around the Rim, an ESPN podcast dedicated to women’s basketball, has become one of the most prominent and authoritative voices in the sport. Inspired by the now-defunct Shootaround, a weekly women’s basketball show co-hosted by Debbie Antonelli and Beth Mowins, […]

Sports

October 21, 2020 by Nasha Smith

Tales from the Swamp

The Heist wants to make investigative reporting on tax policy sexy

The past six months have been a boom time for catastrophe coverage, the election edition of which has featured a torrent of tales about the Trump Swamp and its exceedingly creative accountants. The Heist, a limited-run investigative series—the first podcast […]

News and Politics

October 13, 2020 by Shruti Ravindran

Making Making Gay History

If a podcast could will itself into existence, this would be how

Eric Marcus and Sara Burningham first met over the garden fence of their abutting backyards in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea in 2010. As their friendship grew, Burningham discovered that Marcus was sitting on a bumper crop of content, and […]

History Society and Culture

October 11, 2020 by Sarah Prager

From Sportswriter to Podcaster

How Albert Chen remade himself to keep telling the stories he loves

Albert Chen had the dream job in sports journalism for nearly 20 years. He started as an intern and worked all the way up to senior editor of legendary sports magazine Sports Illustrated. And then, everything changed. Suddenly, the lifelong […]

Sports

October 5, 2020 by Scott Bedgood

Tina Muir—Running for Real

Runners want to listen to a well-prepared show where host and guests can be themselves

When former elite marathoner Tina Muir started Running for Real in 2017, she had a specific finish line in mind: she envisioned a podcast that would inspire runners of all levels and backgrounds. Though originally known for her fast times […]

Sports

October 5, 2020 by Pam Moore

FOIA Requests Are Her Secret Weapon

How Emily G. Thompson uses research to build a huge audience for Morbidology

There are over one million podcasts in the world—or there were in April 2020, according to Podcast Insights. And thanks to stay-at-home orders forcing everyone to boredom-create new shows, that number has undoubtedly gone up. While it’s hard to determine […]

Crime

October 1, 2020 by Melissa Locker

Juleyka Lantigua-Williams is Building Podcasting’s Future

And the future is full of stories told by her company Lantigua Williams & Co.

Before she started the full-service podcast company, Lantigua Williams & Co., Juleyka Lantigua-Williams (I’ll call her Juleyka from here on to avoid confusing her name with that of her company) had a 20-year career in journalism, and telling the stories […]

Career Podcasters News and Politics Crime Health

September 29, 2020 by Joshua Dudley

A Close Look at a Podcast Kickstarter Campaign

The team behind the upcoming Unseen shares their tips, their worries, and the gamified marketing that led to their success.

When Long Story Short Productions launched the Kickstarter for their upcoming urban fantasy fiction podcast, Unseen, they prepared for the worst. Founders Gabriel Urbina, Sarah Shachat, and Zach Valenti knew they’d have some fans who were likely to support them: […]

Fiction

September 24, 2020 by Wil Williams

Behind the Scenes of Hysteria

A conversation with Erin Ryan about the show's creation and ongoing production

Erin Ryan is among the quickest, funniest people I know. We once worked one desk over from each other at the blog sweatshop that was early 2010s Gawker Media, her at Jezebel and me at Gizmodo. She moved on to […]

News and Politics Society and Culture Comedy

September 21, 2020 by Brent Rose

Preparing the Perfect Pandemic Pod

Stay F. Homekins, Round Springfield, and more play the right chord for These Times ^TM

“This is episode 24. We did not expect to still be doing this!” This line from Paul F. Tompkins opens a recent episode of the Stay F. Homekins podcast, in which Tompkins and his wife Janie Haddad Tompkins discuss, well, […]

Society and Culture Entertainment Comedy

September 16, 2020 by Emily Baron Cadloff

Podcasts and Publishers Tips and Tricks

How authors, podcasters, and publicists can help each other reach new audiences

If you listen to interview podcasts, chances are you’ve heard at least a few authors come on as guests to talk about their latest books. A book is long enough to provide a podcaster with multiple angles for an interview, […]

September 14, 2020 by Jenna Spinelle

Think Like a Journalist to Grow Your Audience

Jenna Spinelle reveals the surprising parallels between journalism and podcast marketing

If you hang out in podcasting communities online or offline, one of the questions that comes up most frequently is, “How do I grow my audience?” Everyone is always searching for more downloads, more subscribers, more listeners. Much like a […]

September 12, 2020 by Jenna Spinelle

How to Pitch a Podcast to Radiotopia (with examples)

How Helen Zaltzman became one of podcasting's most beloved mentors and built the hit show The Allusionist

How do you pitch a podcast? People on the web Have Answers. A Google search tells me I need to “know the right person” (1,000-word essay), “listen to the shows” (lo-fi YouTube vid), or “if you’re doing good work, the […]

Art Entertainment Society and Culture

September 10, 2020 by Sean Williams

What Mic Does Matt Gourley Use?

How Matt Gourley went from goofing off on a podcast no one listened to to cracking wise with Conan O'Brien

Matt Gourley says he might have been the first analog podcaster, which makes perfect sense if you’ve ever heard Conan O’Brien roasting him for his love of vintage items—like, say, his beloved phone that was once owned by Dwight D. […]

Comedy

September 3, 2020 by Scott Bedgood

Lina Misitzis. Featured.

This one time Lina won a Pulitzer with the same Ira Glass
who had not hired her a few years before

The night of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize ceremony, Lina Misitzis and her colleagues at This American Life were together only as squares on a video call, sheltering in place around the country as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on. Their episode, […]

Producer Spotlight

September 2, 2020 by Celeste Kaufman

Completely Relax with This One Weird Podcast

Do you want to be an animal? Like actually? Listen to Animal Meditations

Sometime in 2016, Jon Leland became enraptured with Jeff Bridges’ Sleeping Tapes, a strange but soothing album wherein the Dude, who is a meditator and student of Zen philosophy, intones quirky affirmations over a bed of crackly sound, overlaid with […]

Science Art Religion and Spirituality

August 21, 2020 by Shruti Ravindran

Audiences Clamor for Fiction Podcasts

How Jude Brewer's Storybound podcast snowballed from thousands to millions of downloads

Take an author, have them read their story, add music and sound effects to create a narrative soundscape, and presto, you’ve got Storybound. If it sounds simple, that’s because it is. And yet, this simple podcast began netting a million […]

Fiction

August 18, 2020 by Brent Rose

This Show is Drugs for Your Ears

Why Ross Sutherland's Imaginary Advice podcast is so good it should probably be illegal

A robot, force-fed Jerry Seinfeld routines, performs a stand-up set that starts out unfunny, veers into the meta, then becomes wistful and deeply melancholic. A chain-smoking exorcist named Dave Stewart takes on a challenging case of demonic possession, armed with […]

Fiction Art

August 11, 2020 by Shruti Ravindran

How to Be A World-Renowned Podcaster

Misha Euceph's rise from independently creating Beginner to being Michelle Obama's choice to produce her podcast

Misha Euceph went from pursuing a career in law to being the producer of the Michelle Obama Podcast. It seems like quite the leap, but it’s the result of years of a certain mindset: taking risks, prioritizing creativity and not […]

Producer Spotlight

August 11, 2020 by Amanda Cupido

A Podcast Built on Ruins

Paul MM Cooper tells us how he built a subscription driven powerhouse in Fall of Civilizations

Prefer to listen instead? We add new stories regularly to the podcast Timber—Stories for Podcasters. Since Paul MM Cooper was a child, he has had a fascination with ruined places. He would stare at pictures of mossy, overgrown churches and […]

History Podcast 🎧

July 31, 2020 by Shruti Ravindran

“When I Started Podcasting I was Stealing Everything I Could”

How Jack Rhysider Built Darknet Diaries

Prefer to listen instead? We add new stories regularly to the podcast Timber—Stories for Podcasters. When Jack Rhysider started Darknet Diaries, he had a blog that got a few thousand hits per day, 3,000 Twitter followers, and a full-time job […]

Technology Crime Podcast 🎧

July 28, 2020 by Pam Moore

Metrics Schmetrics!

Dylan Marron found a new way to measure success that keeps him motivated

Dylan Marron has created two praise-worthy podcasts, but he—intentionally—does not know how many listeners he has. Conversations with People Who Hate Me features Marron facilitating loving conversations with online feuders who are encouraged to get to know the human on […]

Entertainment Society and Culture

July 24, 2020 by Amanda Cupido

Off Broadway

Patrick Hinds and Gillian Pensavalle bonded over a love of the big stage. Their show, True Crime Obsessed, shows how friendship and fandom sells.

Prefer to listen instead? We add new stories regularly to the podcast Timber—Stories for Podcasters. Patrick Hinds has been into podcasts for a long time. Back in 2009, the Broadway obsessive was spending an hour commuting to work from his […]

Crime Entertainment Comedy Podcast 🎧

July 16, 2020 by Sean Williams

In the Adventure Zone

How one RPG podcast went from paternity leave filler to its own blockbuster franchise

Prefer to listen instead? We add new stories regularly to the podcast Timber—Stories for Podcasters. To the average podcast listener, the process of finding a role-playing game (RPG) podcast is not like landing on whatever the new Serial is. For […]

Comedy Fiction Podcast 🎧

July 16, 2020 by Shruti Ravindran

Listening With Your Eyes

Eleanor McDowall’s Radio Atlas makes non-English podcasts accessible to non-Anglophone audiences

Eleanor McDowall’s mantra has long been to “make the radio you would like to hear.” In an industry increasingly most hospitable to podcasts that deliver narrative twists and turns or breathless commute-sized information-delivery, which both translate into raw, monetizable download […]

Entertainment Art

July 10, 2020 by Shruti Ravindran

Do You Already Know What “Instagram Face” Is?

Find out as you read the podcast success story that is Night Call

In the over-saturated world of chat-casts, whose hosts hold dedicated discussions on everything from serial killers and skin care to a single 90s stoner band, sustaining interest and audience growth calls for a tricky sort of alchemy. These shows need […]

Entertainment Comedy Society and Culture

July 8, 2020 by Shruti Ravindran

He Turned The Thing He Loved About His Commute Into His Career

Eric Silver found an audience in non-sports people for his basketball podcast HORSE.

Before mentioning anything else about his old job, Eric Silver brings up the commute. “It is important for the setting here,” he says. To understand why he left behind a career in education after getting a master’s degree from NYU, […]

Sports

June 30, 2020 by Jacob Feldman

Three Million Listens a Month Without a Big Name or Network

Drew Ackerman credits his consistency for the year-over-year audience growth of Sleep With Me.

Prefer to listen instead? We add new stories regularly to the podcast Timber—Stories for Podcasters. The world’s “most boring podcast” brings in three million listens per month and has been Drew Ackerman’s full-time job for the last three-and-a-half years. Sleep […]

Career Podcasters Podcast 🎧

June 30, 2020 by Amanda Cupido

How Hard Could It Be To Make a Top-Tier Daily Podcast?

How the ESPN Daily podcast keeps earning it's listeners every day

Producing ESPN’s Daily Podcast Is a Team Effort Since launching in 2019, ESPN Daily has been downloaded over 15 million times (as of May 31), averaging more than 585,000 listeners a month. Even as sports disappeared due to the COVID-19 […]

Sports

June 30, 2020 by Jacob Feldman

The Academic Whose Podcast Is Trying to Change the Law

Probable Causation wants to bring research out of the ivory tower and into the fabric of our lives.

Prefer to listen instead? We add new stories regularly to the podcast Timber—Stories for Podcasters. For that class of workers known as “the media,” reach is everything and having an audience is the ultimate goal. For academics, however, the equation […]

Technology Crime Podcast 🎧

June 30, 2020 by Angela Chen

She Set Out to Change the World, Not Entertain It.

Rabia Chaudry's story of creating the breakout, genre-busting hit, Undisclosed.

Prefer to listen instead? We add new stories regularly to the podcast Timber—Stories for Podcasters. As soon as Serial ended, Rabia Chaudry knew she needed to act. It was 2014. Sarah Koenig’s 12-parter, about the 1999 murder of Hae Min […]

Crime Podcast 🎧

June 30, 2020 by Sean Williams

A Breakthrough in Growth From Advertising

The Growth of Pessimists Archive, with Jason Feifer

All great podcasts have to start somewhere. Many of the behemoths of today began in someone’s closet and with just a handful of friends for listeners. So, what changes that? How does a little, independent podcast spread, ultimately growing to […]

Technology

June 30, 2020 by Brent Rose

How (and Why) To Start a Sports Podcast

Light Years didn’t grow in the blink of an eye.

To be honest, Andy Liu didn’t want to start a Warriors podcast. By 2016, he’d already spent years blogging about the team and had tried multiple times to launch podcasts, YouTube shows, and the like. “It was a lot of […]

Sports

June 30, 2020 by Jacob Feldman

Social Media Audience Stalking FTW

Scott Yager tells the story of building Challenge Mania's audience.

You might not have heard of Scott Yager’s first podcast, appropriately titled A Shot of Yager. Despite having celebrity connections, magazine promotion, and Yager’s natural interviewing and podcasting ability, the numbers were simply never there. “I read the feedback,” he […]

Sports Entertainment

June 30, 2020 by Sam Welch

The Science Journalists Who Don’t Care If You Don’t Like Their Vocal Fry

The hosts of science podcast Weirdest Thing are young, casual, chatty, and female—traits that some say are their weakness, but to them is their strength.

Prefer to listen instead? We add new stories regularly to the podcast Timber—Stories for Podcasters. Another day at work. Your coworker tells you about an archaeological dig that uncovered the skeleton of a baby that, apparently, was born in the […]

Science Podcast 🎧

June 30, 2020 by Angela Chen

JP Davidson on bootstrapping a career in podcasting

If you love podcasting, there's more than one way to make it your life

Four years, 100 episodes, and 2500 listeners; JP Davidson credits his full-time career in audio to a “bootstrap” podcast that’s now offline. Davidson is a Canadian podcast producer, studio owner, and radio journalist. He makes a living running Pop Up […]

Career Podcasters

June 30, 2020 by Amanda Cupido

Narrowing Her Focus Expanded Her Audience

Food Psych host Christy Harrison believes in focusing on the subjects that inspire you

When Christy Harrison started Food Psych in 2013, she was a grad student seeking a creative outlet and a chance to talk about a topic she was passionate about. With a history of disordered eating and a degree in nutrition, […]

Health

June 30, 2020 by Pam Moore

Finding the Tone that Listeners Love

Anderson Cowan, co-host of The Film Vault and The After Disaster, has turned building his audience into his life's work.

For filmmaker and podcast producer Anderson Cowan, what started out as a bed-ridden radio obsession turned into a decades-long career in podcasting. Today, he’s the co-host of The Film Vault and The After Disaster, two radio shows-turned-podcasts that began the […]

Film, Literature, and Podcasts

June 30, 2020 by Sam Welch

How to Magically Grow Your Podcast

Erik Tait has found a winning formula for an audience of magicians

The Penguin Magic Podcast, hosted by comedian and magician Erik Tait, might bring to mind descriptions of tricks and discussions of great magic performances. And it is that—but with a little bit of interview savvy and a lot of magic, […]

Entertainment

June 30, 2020 by Sam Welch

About Timber

Learning together about how to succeed in podcasting

Update: 1/27/2022 Last week we had a moment at Timber where we saw the future and it was long, and we saw how much we had already spent it was large, so we decided to just pull the plug on […]

General

June 29, 2020 by Jon Christensen

Stories for craft-loving independent podcasters

Timber has discontinued

Story Categories