Buzzcast

This week, we’re digging into a bunch of new Buzzsprout updates, including a redesigned Episodes page, podcast app previews, transcript autocorrect with easier editing, and a completely rebuilt embed player.

Then in Fan Mail, we talk about podcast guesting as a growth strategy, the possibility of a Buzzsprout conference, and why podcasts might actually be pretty good at changing our minds.

What happens when teens can’t use social media? They turn podcast comments into group chats. Jordan shares how Spotify became an unexpected gathering place for kids. 

Plus, a recording glitch leads to a new sync fix in Session, and we debate whether timestamped comments could make podcast conversations more useful.

Contact Buzzcast

• Send us Fan Mail
• Tweet us at @buzzcastpodcast, @albanbrooke, @kfinn, and @JordanPods

T...

We're back from Podcast Movement in New York with thoughts on its new format, the talks we loved, and why some of our favorite moments happened outside the conference. We talk about what independent podcasters need from these events and what we'd do differently if Buzzsprout were to host one.

We also go behind the scenes of an industry effort to tackle bot traffic. With AI bots impersonating podcast apps and video files driving up h...

We stop trusting browser-based remote recorders and explain why reliability matters more than features when you only get one shot at a great conversation.

 Kevin shares the Mac-only (for now) native app we’ve been building at Buzzsprout and how we pair it with Zoom or Google Meet while it records clean, local files. 

Send us a Fan Mail message if you want to test it out!

Your next conference talk is probably hiding in your podcast transcripts. 

As we get ready for Podcast Movement in New York, we walk through how Jordan used our Buzzcast archives and ChatGPT to develop a session pitch that got accepted (even when she barely had time to apply).

We share the prompts used to uncover the strongest topics, find stories long forgotten, and shape those ideas into a focused, 20-minute talk. We also try ...

Your podcast can’t grow if listeners can’t find it! It's surprising how many of us never submit our shows to a directory and how many established podcasts are still missing from at least one listening app.

We're talking about Buzzsprout’s latest improvements, including one-click submission to 16 podcast directories, smarter reminders for unfinished distribution steps, video players on Buzzsprout websites, faster an...

Buzzsprout team member, Cara Pacetti, joins us to talk about how podcasting builds confidence, sparks creativity, preserves meaningful voices, and creates communities where people feel understood. We discuss elementary students running their own show, teenagers connecting across the globe, and a hospice patient whose wisdom continues to reach listeners after her passing.

Then we get into Fan Mail about how to recognize meaningful tr...

We want podcasts to stay weird! We're talking about how algorithms, growth advice, and an obsession with polish are making brands, social media, and podcasts feel increasingly alike. Plus, we share how podcasters can preserve the quirks, tangents, imperfections, and human touches that make a show memorable!

Contact Buzzcast

• Send us Fan Mail
• Tweet us at @buzzcastpodcast, @albanbrooke, @kfinn, and @JordanPods

Thanks for listenin...

Spotify is giving listeners a new way to skip past ads, intros, and calls to action. Some podcasters are calling it the beginning of the end of podcasting, and some listeners are singing praises. 

We put the outrage in perspective, debate whether easier skipping could actually strengthen podcasting, and explore how creators can make sponsorships and calls to action too entertaining to miss.

We’re also celebrating several b...

Publishing a video podcast shouldn’t mean juggling multiple platforms, logins, formats, and workflows.

With Buzzsprout’s new video distribution to Spotify and YouTube, you can upload your video once and we’ll publish it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and audio podcast apps all from one place!

We also discuss early video stats from Buzzcast, and talk about why YouTube is such a powerful way to reach new audienc...

We’re diving into how to script a podcast without ever sounding scripted so you can get the clarity and structure of a written plan while still keeping your natural voice!

We break down the difference between scripts and outlines, which parts of an episode are actually worth writing word-for-word, how to prep guests without over-rehearsing them, and why reading your script out loud is one of the best ways to spot stiff languag...

What does it take to publish 800 podcast episodes without burning out? Turns out, it's treating your podcast like a media supply chain. 

We’re talking about the biggest lessons from Buzzsprout podcaster Tom Raftery’s fine-tuned podcast workflow built through years of consistent publishing. In his blog, he explains why consistency comes from removing friction, how a foolproof pre-recording process can protect your ti...

A great podcast can still get ignored if the packaging doesn’t convince anyone to press play!

Courtney Elmer, founder and CEO of PodLaunch and host of Insider Secrets to a Top 100 Podcast, joins us to put Buzzcast through a live audit of the five Podcast Content Gatekeepers: cover art, podcast name, podcast description, episode titles, and show notes. 

Score your own podcast along with us, while she helps Buzzcast figure o...

We're explaining why we originally pulled the podcast from Spotify, what changed, and why Spotify’s role in video podcasting finally brought us back. 

We also discuss our lingering concerns about open podcasting, targeted advertising, and what we’ve learned from working directly with Spotify’s podcast team.

Contact Buzzcast

• Send us Fan Mail
• Tweet us at @buzzcastpodcast, @albanbrooke, @kfinn, and @JordanPods

We're talking through creating a healthy feedback filter so you can tell the difference between criticism that helps, confusion that needs clarification, and negativity that deserves to be ignored! 

We discuss where podcasters are likely to get feedback, why public comments can feel so much heavier than private messages, and how to stop one bad review from drowning out all the people who are cheering you on.

Links mentioned in t...

After a month of publishing Buzzcast as a video podcast, we have some real stats, workflow notes, and one very painful mistake to talk about.

In this episode, we check in on our video podcasting experiment: how many people are actually watching, what Apple Podcasts video stats seem to tell us, and what surprised us most.

We talk through what happened when a full video recording failed, why editing video is so much harder than audio, ...

Finding a podcast co-host can make your show more fun, sustainable, and dynamic! But picking the wrong person can also make podcasting way harder than it needs to be.

In this episode, we talk through where to actually find a good co-host, why a “anyone want to start a podcast?” post is probably not the strongest strategy, and what to look for before you commit to recording together.

We also discuss how to test a potential...

WWDC26 dropped a set of Apple Podcasts changes that could seriously improve how people discover and consume podcasts! We're talking about the few updates podcasters should know about.

And if you have a story about how you found a cohost, or advice from your experience with a cohost, let us know by sending Fan Mail!

Contact Buzzcast

• Send us Fan Mail
• Tweet us at @buzzcastpodcast, @albanbrooke, @kfinn, and @JordanPods

Thanks for l...

We're talking about the signs you might be ready to start another podcast, whether that means launching a second show, creating a limited series, or letting your current podcast evolve into something new.

Check out examples like Potterless, The History of Rome, StartUp, and Presidential to see why some shows naturally reach a finish line while others become the starting point for the next big idea. 

So if you feel burned out: ar...