How to Grow a Pod

How to Grow a Pod

The full interviews from the book by Gilly Smith How to Start and Grow a Successful Podcast featuring tips, techniques and true stories from podcasting pioneers. If you like what you hear, you can buy me a drink! (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=EV676KGSYK77N)

Episodes

May 26, 2021 24 mins
This week, award-winning podcaster, author, sound design geek and academic, Lance Dann tells me his top tips to get your podcast discovered, how to game the system, get to the top of the iTunes chart and whether charts matter anyway.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
This week, we hear from Alison Vernon-Smith whose thirty years’ experience as a producer in broadcasting at the BBC and in the independent sector makes her the perfect person to talk about producing podcasts. Or does it? She tells us how she applies her BBC mindset to high-end, sponsored podcast series for brands such as Harrods’ True Tales of Luxury presented by Mariella Frostrup and Belstaff ’s The Road Less Travelled with R...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 12, 2021 12 mins
This week, I’m talking queer podcasting with Tash Walker, Adam Smith and Shivani Dave, the team behind The Log Books, the niche podcast carved from real stories from Switchboard, the second- oldest LGBT+ telephone helpline in the UK which first opened in 1974. And it only went and won Best New Podcast award at the British Podcast Awards in 2020 -although none of us knew that at the time of recording.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 5, 2021 26 mins
This week, I’m with Award-winning podcast producer and playwright Chris Hogg who used the unlikely format of a drum ’n’ bass musical to tell the story of eating disorders to a young audience in his podcast Cassie and Corey.  He told me 6 weeks after the launch about how he did it – the crowdfunding, the sip pitch, and how to get on New and Noteworthy. He started by telling me about working with the Arts council 

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 28, 2021 15 mins
This week, I’m talking podcasting value with Danny Lowney, managing director of influencer agency, Sixteenth who is watching with interest the potential of podcasting to become the next platform for making some serious cash.  He explains the impact of podcast sponsorship and advertising and podcasting fits among the usual channels of Instagram and Youtube in terms of value for brands 

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 21, 2021 20 mins
This week, Josh Adley, Director of Commercial & Client Relations at London production company Listen tells Gilly Smith that podcasting as an industry has only just begun in Britain to offer a real income for anyone who wants to play the game..
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 14, 2021 23 mins
This week, award winning sound designer, Hana Walker Brown on immersive storytelling, the political power of podcasting  and where she thinks the industry is heading. 
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
This week, Radio 4 and BBC Sounds producer, Georgia Catt tells us about her award winning series with presenter, Jamie Bartlett, The Missing Cryptoqueen, and the rise and rise of the long form podcast, the audio version of the Netflix binge. 
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
This week, a bumper masterclass of an episode with Olly Mann who with Helen Zatlzmann was one of the earliest pioneers in podcasting with Answer Me This in 2008. Since then, he’s presented The Week Unwrapped and The Moderrn Mann and made real his teenage dream of becoming a BBC radio broadcaster.  

He tells me about getting in early, making it up as he went along, using his media savvy and creative brain to have a lo...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
March 24, 2021 30 mins
This week, in the very first interview I did for the book, I’m Zooming with the entire team of My Dad Wrote a Porno, surely Britian’s most famous and most unlikely success in podcasting. Alice Levine, James Cooper an Jamie Morten have been making media since they played around at their uni TV station, and talk about how to make a home-made passion project into a multi platform media phenomenon, when to monetise and how to tell...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
March 17, 2021 25 mins
 This week, I’m with the matriarch of British podcasting pioneers, Helen Zaltzman whose Answer Me This,  Veronica Mars Investigates and The Allusionist podcasts set the standard in home grown talent. Here she talks about community support, making money in podcasting and where she thinks the medium is heading.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
March 10, 2021 25 mins
This week, Gilly is with  Ira Glass, the legend of podcasting, the brains behind and the voice of This American Life.  Here he gives us a masterclass in  storytelling and the immersive listening experience, and talks us through the iconic blurring of fiction and non-fiction that has madfe This American Life the most copied podcast narrative experience ever.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
March 3, 2021 32 mins
This week, Gilly talks to folk expert Jon Wilks of The Old Songs podcast on hobby podcasting, niche communities, using music and meeting your heroes. 
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
February 24, 2021 21 mins
This week, James Ramsden from The Kitchen is on Fire podcast, on not trying too hard, having a bit of a ramble with your best mate, a bit of a format and getting on to New and Noteworthy anyway. And all to the soundtrack of a helicopter over his roof! 
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
This week, Matt Hill, co-founder of the British Podcast Awards on producing Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place, The Week Unwrapped and The Modern Mann, the place of awards and how to think laterally about monetising. 
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
February 10, 2021 27 mins
This week, we hear the full interview with pop star, Jessie Ware and her mum, Lennie from How to Start and Grow a Successful Podcast by Gilly Smith about their podcast Table Manners.  

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
In this episode, we hear the full interview with George the Poet from How to Start and Grow a Successful Podcast by Gilly Smith.  Find out why cartoons inspire him, why he went to BBC Sounds and why podcasting is for him the perfect platform for what he wants to say in the world.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
November 20, 2020 3 mins
How to Grow a Pod is the podcast about podcasting. It's the podcast to accompany the book, How to Start and Grow a Successful Podcast by  Gilly Smith, a practical guide to podcasting filled with the voices from the pioneers of the industry. How to Grow a Pod is where you can hear the full interviews, virtually unedited and full of all the advice you need to make a successful podcast. From storytelling to monetising, marketing...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Math & Magic: Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing with Bob Pittman

    How do the smartest marketers and business entrepreneurs cut through the noise? And how do they manage to do it again and again? It's a combination of math—the strategy and analytics—and magic, the creative spark. Join iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman as he analyzes the Math and Magic of marketing—sitting down with today's most gifted disruptors and compelling storytellers.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.

    Betrayal Weekly

    Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices