Podcast Pontifications

Evo’s note: There was an attempted coup to overthrow the government of the United States of America last night. So you're checking this out years later... well, now you know why this episode seems a bit off.

All indications are that The Podcast Academy is having an existential crisis. And while it’s not dead yet, there’s a very good chance that TPA will fizzle out after a year. And that’s a shame, I think. But it’s also not surprising. 

It used to be that saying “I’m a podcaster” meant you had lots of things in common with another person using the same moniker. But the natural drift of such an open medium occurred, and how we’re different. For years now, the only thing podcasters most assuredly had in common was distributing audio files via RSS feeds. But today, even that’s in question.

Every working podcaster knows that if you try to make a show for everyone, you end up targeting no one. Associations and interest groups for podcasters are no different. 

That’s why I applaud the efforts to organize—unionize—those who work in podcasting. Both the Writers Guild of America and the Communication Workers of America are making early inroads, using the power of collective bargaining to better those with actual jobs working in podcasting. 

But there other groups forming, working, and even making progress. Like the Open Podcast Analytic Working Group—OPAWG—dedicated to coming up with standards for podcast analytics that are better and more approachable than provided by the IAB.  The Podcast Taxonomy Consortium is trying to wrangle all the disparate titles and positions within podcasting, defining the differences between a producer and editor, for example. There's the Podcast Index and their drive to create better namespaces that extend the usefulness of RSS feeds beyond the way they’ve been since 2004. 

Those organizations are the kinds of organizations that will benefit podcasting—all of podcasting, without focusing on serving all the needs of all podcasters. 

I encourage you to check out some of the associations I’ve listed above and try them out. And if you’re thinking of starting your own association or organization to support podcasters, niche it down.

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Podcast Pontifications is published by Evo Terra four times a week and is designed to make podcasting better, not just easier.

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Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th. Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions. Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn't be the privilege of a small few. You can help by donating to local abortion funds. To find out where to donate for each state, visit donations4abortion.com. If you or someone you know needs help, or if you want to get more involved, here are 5 resources: 1. ShoutYourAbortion.com is a campaign to normalize abortion. 2. DontBanEquality.com is a campaign for companies to take a stand against abortion restrictions. 3. Abortion.cafe has information about where to find clinics. 4. PlanCPills.org provides early at-home abortion pills that you can keep in your medicine cabinet. 5. Choice.CRD.co has a collection of these resources and more. We encourage you to speak up! And spread the word.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Podsights - https://podsights.com/privacy