NPR names its first general manager of podcasting

NPR on Friday appointed its first general manager of podcasting, yet another sign of the medium’s growing importance.

It’s Neal Carruth, the supervising senior editor for NPR’s business desk. Carruth, a 17-year veteran at NPR, will oversee “Planet Money,” “Embedded,” “Hidden Brain,” “Code Switch,” “Pop Culture Happy Hour” and NPR’s Politics podcast.

In the new job, Carruth will work to bridge the divides between the shows and support the teams working on them, according to a memo from Anya Grundmann, NPR’s vice president for programming and audience development and Chris Turpin, vice president of news programming and operations.

He will support the teams working on those shows, strengthen connections between our podcast portfolio and the newsroom and member stations, and support innovation and new program development across NPR as a key member of the newly expanded NPR Story Lab.

NPR has invested in podcasting in recent years as the medium has quickly evolved to become a staple for news organizations around the world. It has created several new podcasts, including “Hidden Brain,” “Embedded” and “Invisibilia” and launched an incubator called Story Lab to encourage new ideas. Earlier this month, it expanded Story Lab to encourage collaboration and innovation across the network.

Carruth starts his new job after Thanksgiving.