PodMov Daily: Wednesday, January 22

Episode 126: Your Midweek Update

Michael Barbaro: The Voice of The Daily's Rise

A profile by Matthew Schneier in New York Magazine asks if host Michael Barbaro “made the New York Times podcast The Daily a raging success” or if it was the other way around. “Podcasting is an intimate medium, and podcasts live or die by their hosts,” writes Schneier. “In the 40-year-old Barbaro, The Daily has found one who connects unusually, even unexpectedly, well.”

Barbaro’s rise from distinguished Times reporter to the public face of its ‘front page’ has been meteoric — and valuable. “The [staff] ranks swell nearly weekly as the Times brings in new journalists from public radio and competing podcast companies,” Schneier reveals. As the article dissects Barbaro’s rare talent, it dives into the show’s origins and complex creation process.

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PM's Weekly Community Recap: Evolutions App & Parties

The most recent PM community update marks the three-week countdown to Evolutions in Los Angeles. A preview of the networking parties happening each night of the event:

On Wednesday night, Wondery presents the Evolutions Welcome Party at Bernard’s inside the Millennium Biltmore. On Thursday The Continental Club in downtown LA will host iHeartRadio Party, brought to you by iHeartRadio. Last but not least, come celebrate podcast love at Valentine’s Night with PodMov — details to come.

The Podcast Movement Evolutions app is now available for iOS and Android. Join us for an app tour webinar on Thursday, January 30 at 3:00 p.m. ET/noon PT.

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MSNBC's Chris Matthews Launches Political History Series

Longtime MSNBC host Chris Matthews will be “slowing things down” for his new podcast, reports Rob Tornoe of The Philadelphia Enquirer. So You Wanna Be President? “will be a deep dive into political campaigns of the past through the stories of the reporters or insiders who covered them.”

“It’ll be a little slower than I do Hardball,” Matthews said in the interview. “I think it’s a chance to settle down with some people who can let you know what happened in the back room, offer little more perspective, and give [listeners] a sense of the decisions and mistakes that are made during campaigns that make all the difference.”

Tornoe identifies the new series as “part of a push into podcasting by MSNBC and NBC News that goes beyond reformatting the network’s shows and serving them to listeners.” The 6-part series will launch next week.

Happy Wednesday, readers, especially to our audiophiles. This afternoon an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session will dish on technical tips behind Tiny Desk’s sonic bliss.

Cheers,

Team PM

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Here's what else is going on:

• Catching up: A new feature from Google Podcasts allows users to time stamp an episode’s link, similar to YouTube. When a recipient plays an episode “share[d] from current time,” the link scrubs directly to the section the sender wants to highlight.

• Plus one: Via the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg reports that Apple “is discussing making original podcasts related to programs on its Apple TV+ video streaming service,” and that pitches were requested from podcast producers last summer.

• Watch me: TechCrunch reports that Spotify is “testing a new Stories feature that will allow select influencers to incorporate video elements into their public playlists.” Followers can tap though short clip compilations with “song snippets and album art.”

• Law school: The Real Life Real Crime podcast is an unexpected sub-niche hit. Its hosts, former Louisiana sheriff’s detectives Woody Overton and Jim Rathmann, offer true-to-life details leading to downloads “nearing one million” since spring 2019.