PodMov Daily: Friday, March 6

Episode 157: Week Download Complete

Dan Misener Explains: A Chrome Update's Embedded-Audio Block

Dan Misener of Pacific Content breaks down how an upcoming Chrome update will affect podcasting, and what creators should know come October. The exploration was inspired by a story linked from Podnews.

Chrome will begin blocking non-HTTPS audio in embedded players once it reaches v86, Podnews noted. “If your podcast host isn’t hosting its audio on a secure server (that uses https:// at the beginning) then be aware that any embedded audio player will fail in October this year.”

For universal benefit, Misener does the math. Although “an estimated 1 million+ podcast episodes” aren’t available over those secure connections, creators have a few months and resources like this post to prepare.

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Birds Eye View: Podcasting from an Australian Women's Prison

Elizabeth Flux of The Guardian explores the new podcast Birds Eye View, which focuses on the women of the correctional center in Darwin, Australia. Executive producer Johanna Bell aimed to humanize the stories of many imprisoned women, recorded over 2 years.

“The stereotypes that we hear about women who end up in prison as being worthless or broken, victims, irredeemable ― they’re just not true,” Bell told Flux. The show offers unique and honest insight into a place where “their voices are even more drowned out.”

“It’s easy to make assumptions about people who are incarcerated and why they are there. But Birds Eye View challenges that,” Flux says. “The stories they tell are in turns warm, shocking and generous.” The article introduces main voices on the podcast, which premieres this weekend.

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Podcasts in the UAE: Two Creators Talk Shop and Success

“Podcasts are currently undergoing a global renaissance and the UAE is keeping pace with leading markets around the world,” writes Tamara Clarke of Abu Dhabi World. Two podcasters in the United Arab Emirates share how they got started and what they love about their work.

Vinita Bharadwaj, the co-producer of KarāmaSūtra, is an expert in nonfiction storytelling as a former journalist. “A narrative podcast allows us to focus on the story and still stay true to the voices we capture,” Bharadwaj said. Her show’s title means “stories (sūtra) featuring geography and dignity (karāma) at the heart.”

RunAndRant, Mark Ryan’s podcast, is a conversational show covering education, lifestyle and sports. Ryan is an Abu Dhabi-based educator whose idea began from “encourag[ing] educators to communicate their opinions and thoughts after exercise ― run and then rant.” His top advice: “Don’t over plan.”

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Here's what else is going on:

• Already listening: Reverse-engineering specialist Jane Manchun Wong has spotted code suggesting that Spotify is working on a “Hey Spotify” voice activation feature. 9 to 5 Mac says it would be similar to Siri and Apple Music.

• Health class: To combat disinformation and inaccurate accounts in media, Poynter shares guidance from the Associated Press for reporting on and discussing developments surrounding coronavirus. Wash hands, speak truth.

• New additions: The two most recent companies to join the Podfund portfolio are Revery, focused on fiction with cinematic scope, and Dot Dot Dot, which takes a journalistic approach to technology through a human lens.

• Cracking on: Jimmy Pardo and Matt Belknap launched Never Not Funny in 2006. One of the pioneers of podcasting’s “chat format,” it reached its 1,000th episode last week. Vulture has the story on the three-hour milestone episode.