Hi, all! After we posted the interview with our first advisor John W. Gibbons last week, we’ve got our second blog update good to go. Some highlights: our new episode player (now live!), show claiming (live in a week or two!), another Podchaser team vid, and more.

Announcements

First of all, we’re psyched to let you guys know that we’ve got a nifty new update already live on Podchaser: a new and improved episode player! You’ll find now that the ever-present bottom bar now displays episode information, and it’s got a cool new variable speed playback feature. Been looking to get caught up on a podcast and run through its episode list at 1.2x speed? Or do you just really, really savor your favorite host’s voice and can’t bear to go faster than 0.5x? Either way, you’re all set.

We pushed out some new audio and menu tweaks, as well. On mobile, the player should feel a lot more fluid and stable. (No more being forced to double-click to get an episode to actually play.)

Podcast claiming!

In the next two weeks, we’re going to introduce podcast claiming. This’ll be the first of several components of a podcast management suite we’ll provide to hosts on Podchaser. We have a mock-up below of what we anticipate the interface looking like (hi, Casefile!) once the dust settles.

So, claiming. The idea here is to officially connect podcast and host(s). It acts as a portal into a rich set of features to let you exert more control over your show and how it appears on Podchaser. For listeners, it also signals that the show owner is on the website and, we hope, using those features to their fullest extent.

If a podcast has been claimed, all site users will see a small badge on the podcast’s widget. We’re looking to maintain reduced visual clutter while making a show’s ownership status clear to listeners.

We mentioned it before, but we’re really excited about this going live; it’s the first step of several host tools that we think will be really helpful to all site users — listeners, as well.

Get to Know Podchaser: James

(Hit me up at james@podchaser.com.)

Podchaser’s Top 5 Podcasts in Gaming

Stickels5992 — ‘Pop Culture Leftovers is the best pop culture podcast around. Brian, Jake, and sometimes Frank are so funny and entertaining to listen to, regardless of the subject they are talking about. I dont even care that they dont always get right into the advertised content. I also love that the podcast is so long every week. They are able to cover all of the awesome pop culture, TV, and Movie topics. If like things like Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or the CW-Arrowverse, this is the podcast for you!’

2. The Adventure Zone

AdamWK — ‘If you listened to the first episode of this show and thought… “How on earth is this the podcast that everyone keeps telling me about?” Just you wait! The Adventure Zone has become the most delightful story of adventure, romance, friendship and absolute hilarity, more so than just about any current piece of media I consume. The world that these Mcelroy brothers have built are filled with amazing characters and fun times. I can’t suggest it enough. To anyone who’s skeptical about getting into a Dungeons and Dragons podcast, trust me, the Adventure Zone is sooooo much more than just that.’

3. The Rolistes

NestorBurma — ‘Quite cool and unusual mix of discussions with other stuff: sometimes music, Actual Plays, jumps between places and even recordings or random people in the street or at the exit of movie theaters. Quite unique among the geeky, gaming and tabletop RPG shows I listen to. Everyone should check it even if not familiar with pen and paper RPGs.’

4. Nerdy Show

Garayur — ‘A fun dive into nerdom. The cover pretty much any nerdy topic you could desire. Sure they cover the standards of comics, video games, science, and movies but they also cover stuff like wrestling, giant robots, music, and weird internet cooks. They approach nerdom from a place of love and inclusion, not gatekeeping.’

5. Wizard on the Wynd

cgbrooke — ‘WotW is one of the best Dungeons and Dragons actual play podcasts available right now. Its mix of 5e rules and homebrewed mythology and folklore is literally like nothing else out there. The audio quality is top notch, the world is carefully crafted, and the DM and players are fun and engaging. There are a lot of strong, improv D&D podcasts out there, but very few that are engaged in telling a compelling, consistent story. Wizard on the Wynd is one of the best, and deserves your attention.’

Partnerships & Contests

Reiterating this from last week: We’re still on the look-out for partners to collaborate with Podchaser for giveaways and contests. Your imagination is the limit here — we’d be happy to work with anyone, no matter how big or small the audience. Hosts: We suggest encouraging your fans to rate and review on Podchaser, reading those reviews aloud on your show, and giving away some swag for helpful reviews. To see what this could look like and learn how Podchaser may be able to help, email Cole. A particular shout-out to Ben Greenfield Fitness for taking advantage after our first blog post went earlier up this month!

Sneak Peek

Coming next week, we have some extremely exciting news about Podchaser’s fundraising efforts. Mum’s the word for now, but we’ve got something pretty cool in store to share. 😉

xoxo,

Podchaser (Bradley, Ben, Ryan, Cole, and James)