Rethinking Podcasting | Reframe your Thinking & Flourish with your Podcast

A few years ago, you never would have thought that talking to a YouTube professional would make sense for a podcast about podcasting. With many of us pivoting to video, all the YouTube stuff has become more relevant than ever. And who better than a YouTube expert AND podcaster to set our expectations, and our minds at ease, for this new direction.

This week I’m chatting to Valentin Farkasch - a YouTube Creator from Vienna who makes his living supporting Small YouTube Creators to make their way in the wild west of the algorithmic medium.

One of the ways he does this is with his podcast: Orbit For Creators, and a community by the same name. Far more than just a YouTuber proclaiming his content a podcast, Valentin’s approach has been deliberate and intentional by marrying his expertise with what we commonly understand podcasting to require.

His podcast about Content Creation has been through three seasons and grown each time, but more importantly he has grown to understand what can reasonably be expected of us as podcasters on YouTube with some sound advice about how to manage those expectations of ourselves.

His reflective and ponderous nature is why I wanted to bring him on for a chat, and also why our conversation started with his advice and journey through creating the podcast, and became a reflection for both of us on where we are in podcasting and where to go next. I think you’ll really like it.

How to get in touch with Valentin Farkasch:

• Follow his LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vfarkasch/
• Visit the Orbit For Creators website
• Subscribe to his YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@orbitforcreators

Let's Start a Dialogue

The Socratic Method is best done in dialogue, so if you'd like to respond to one of my episodes or send through an idea of your own, send it to:

📧 [email protected]

🎤 rethinkingpodcasting.com and select "Send a Voicemail"

Make sure you share the name of your show, so I can include it in my response!

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Chapters:

• (00:00) Why a YouTube expert for podcasters? Intro to Valentin
• (02:24) Press Publish in NYC: closing the loop, community, connections
• (06:35) Orbit for Creators — Season 1: from studio tours to remote
• (12:31) Season 2: remote unlocks, growth & longevity
• (19:59) Season 3 experiments: retention-first intros & packaging
• (21:27) 100 views vs 100 million: reframing success
• (24:40) Money, ads, and realistic monetisation
• (30:28) Packaging for YouTube when it’s a conversation
• (37:21) Newsletters: why they matter—and rethinking consistency
• (47:03) Reflective practice, goals, and sustainable change
• (59:55) Solo essays vs conversations: what should this show be?
• (1:21:23) Industry reality check + Bartlett takeaways (pre-release testing)

I’ve got something a bit different for you today - a bonus, you might say! I get together with a lot of my peers in the podcasting space to create content outside of this show, and every so often I’d like to share that content with you.

What I’m sharing here is the full audio from a livestream I did with Jesse McCune of Tansy Aster Creative on his YouTube Channel. Every two weeks, we jump on the livestream to discuss the latest events, innovations and changes to the podcasting industry as it regards podcast editors and podcasters. If you’re keen to tune in, jump into the shownotes for some links.

The reason I’m sharing this particular stream with you, though: this stream started as us getting out our gripes about the squeeze AI-based podcast production is putting on production services - in particular, talking about Inception Point AI and its 3000+ episodes per week production scheduled. What it turned into was me querying and questioning Jesse, just like Socrates would, to find out what is the most important maxim or principle regarding the podcasting experience.

Is Podcasting just a format? Or is there a necessary, parasocial connection? The method by which I question Jesse is a common dialogic format that would be ascribed to the Socratic Method, and so I wanted to showcase it here for you.

This is a long one, but while we do a lot of musing (and deal with the occasional tech issue) I’m sure you’ll enjoy the philosophical, reflective and dialogic nature of how we come to our conclusion. Enjoy.

Watch the Livestream every 2nd Tuesday: Tansy Aster Academy YouTube Channel

Check out Jesse McCune's work: Tansy Aster Creative (Audio & BBRemix)

Let's Start a Dialogue

The Socratic Method is best done in dialogue, so if you'd like to respond to one of my episodes or send through an idea of your own, send it to:

📧 [email protected]

🎤 rethinkingpodcasting.com and select "Send a Voicemail"

Make sure you share the name of your show, so I can include it in my response!

Support this Podcast:

Here are some of the services I use to create this show. Sign up for these services with the links below to support the podcast:

Use Brain.FM to stay focused while you podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Sign up for Artlist.io to add Royalty Free Music to your Podcast (2 Months Free)

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Create your Episode Transcript with GoodTape.io (€5 off when you sign up)

I’ve been a Podcast Producer, and an expat in a foreign country, for over two years now. A necessary function of having a career in podcasting is that the discipline itself became the focus of my professional development. Getting great at podcasting… sounds awesome, right?

However, over the last few months I’ve been thinking differently about how the world is moving around podcasting as a format, the in-fighting about drastic technical changes, and I’m wondering if we’re all in too deep. Whether we’re focusing too much on Podcasting: The Discipline and ignoring the more important part of what podcasting creates: the opportunity to share your voice, expertise and stories with the world.

This week I’m going to share three specific instances in the last few months where I’ve thought about podcasting knowledge, how much of it helps us create our shows, and how its too easy to get absorbed in the mics, tech, optimising format structure, and podcast news.

Its a distraction and might be limiting how well we can create the podcasts we want to put out into the world, but a moderated approach to seeking podcasting knowledge specifically can help reduce that obsession.

Resources Mentioned:

• Interview with CEO of Inception Point AI (PodNews Weekly Review)

Let's Start a Dialogue

The Socratic Method is best done in dialogue, so if you'd like to respond to one of my episodes or send through an idea of your own, send it to:

📧 [email protected]

🎤 rethinkingpodcasting.com and select "Send a Voicemail"

Make sure you share the name of your show, so I can include it in my response!

Support this Podcast:

Here are some of the services I use to create this show. Sign up for these services with the links below to support the podcast:

Use Brain.FM to stay focused while you podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Sign up for Artlist.io to add Royalty Free Music to your Podcast (2 Months Free)

Use Captivate.FM to host & distribute your Podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Create your Episode Transcript with GoodTape.io (€5 off when you sign up)

Once you’ve made it as a podcaster, its easy to presume you know it all. An academic with tenure, sitting in a leather armchair by the fire, swirling a McCallen 24 in your hand, ready for any question that comes along.

The truth is that theoretical deduction and inference doesn’t a good podcaster make. We’ve made podcasting so available and easy to start, we think we’re all experts simply by taking part.

Today I’ll be talking you through something that’s been niggling at me for a while: The collective nature of social media and our ability to share whatever we want has meant that our knowledge & experience doesn’t really matter - we are an expert if we want to be.

And in flooding the Internet with that “expertise”, it is shared and reiterated without practise, evidence or even a basic knowledge of the craft. This results in a collective hivemind of misinformation that is supported by anti-gatekeeping rhetoric to ensure the individual voice is still relevant.

I have no problems with the individual being vocal and appreciated online, but I think we need to address the elephant in the podcast studio: the apparent “skill” of Armchair Experts.

This one could be a bit spicy, but stick with me - I think you’ll like where I’m going with this…

Let's Start a Dialogue

The Socratic Method is best done in dialogue, so if you'd like to respond to one of my episodes or send through an idea of your own, send it to:

📧 [email protected]

🎤 rethinkingpodcasting.com and select "Send a Voicemail"

Make sure you share the name of your show, so I can include it in my response!

Support this Podcast:

Here are some of the services I use to create this show. Sign up for these services with the links below to support the podcast:

Use Brain.FM to stay focused while you podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Sign up for Artlist.io to add Royalty Free Music to your Podcast (2 Months Free)

Use Captivate.FM to host & distribute your Podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Create your Episode Transcript with GoodTape.io (€5 off when you sign up)

Chapters:

• (00:00) Opening — Why Armchair Expertise Hurts Podcasting
• (01:35) Part 1 — The Problem with Crowd-Sourced “Advice”
• (05:35) Part 2 — A Priori vs. A Posteriori (Get Out of the Armchair)
• (08:01) Part 3 — Armchair Experts, Gatekeeping, and Credibility
• (12:13) Part 4 — Growth Mindset over Ego
• (13:56) Closing Reflections
• (14:10) Listener Mail & Contact

There’s only one thing you can guarantee in the Podcasting Industry: change. Changes to the roles we see, the shows we create and how we communicate with our audiences. 2025 has been a massive year for change, and Richard Clark was right on the money.

This week I’m joined, once again, by Richard Clark: Founder & Owner of Area Code Audio based in Chicago to cover his predictions made at the beginning of this year for how podcasting was going to change in his Podcasting For Humans newsletter.

You were introduced to Richard in last week’s episode, in addition to finding out about his newsletter efforts and the first two of his main predictions for 2025. This is Part 2 of that conversation, so if you’d like to fill in the blanks, scroll up the Rethinking Podcasting feed and listen to Part 1 first.

In this episode, we’ll round off our discussion about human connection and tackle three big predictions Richard made about big funding for podcasts, companies creating their own engaging shows, and the marketing spend moving from social media to newsletters and podcasts. There’s a lot here to chew on, and there’s so much that he got right, that it’s well worth the listen.

What I picked up from this chat with Richard is that engagement and investment are the two major things changing this year. As podcasters, we get swept up in the short-term pivots and growth hacks, but keeping an eye on the long-term affectations on the industry will help you build your sustainable goals for your show.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• "Death of the Follower" YT video with Jack Conte
• Sounds Profitable with Bryan Barletta & Tom Webster

Get in touch with Richard:

• Area Code Audio Website
• Area Code Batavia Podcast
• Podcasting For Humans Archive

Let's Start a Dialogue

The Socratic Method is best done in dialogue, so if you'd like to respond to one of my episodes or send through an idea of your own, send it to:

📧 [email protected]

🎤 rethinkingpodcasting.com and select "Send a Voicemail"

Make sure you share the name of your show, so I can include it in my response!

Support this Podcast:

Here are some of the services I use to create this show. Sign up for these services with the links below to support the podcast:

Use Brain.FM to stay focused while you podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Sign up for Artlist.io to add Royalty Free Music to your Podcast (2 Months Free)

Use Captivate.FM to host & distribute your Podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Create your Episode Transcript with GoodTape.io (€5 off when you sign up)

Chapters:

• (00:00) Change as the Only Constant in Podcasting
• (01:10) Predictions for 2025: Engagement and Investment
• (02:09) Parasocial Relationships in Podcasting
• (04:11) When Trust Breaks Between Podcasters and Listeners
• (06:14) Consistency, Growth, and the Friendship Analogy
• (06:44) Independent Podcasts Rising After Big Studio Cuts
• (09:23) Sustainability Over Profit in Podcasting
• (13:11) Why Every Podcast Needs Resources to Survive
• (14:28) Branded Podcasts Done Well (and Done Wrong)
• (16:33) Aligning Brands, Hosts, and Values
• (19:11) Marketing Dollars Shift to Newsletters and Podcasts
• (28:41) Final Reflections and Richard’s Work at Area Code Audio

Reflecting on the Podcasting Industry today, it’s easy to wonder how we got here. AI rollouts, Social App take-downs, video podcasting as the new-old trend… its easy to think we couldn’t have predicted it. And yet, we have experts like my guest today who has their finger on the pulse of podcasting to help give us a guiding light in times of uncertainty.

Welcome back to Rethinking Podcasting, and this week I’m joined by Richard Clark: Founder & Owner of Area Code Audio based in Chicago, Illinois, helping nonprofits and mission-driven organizations drive meaningful change through podcasting. He is (or was) the author and voice behind “Podcasting For Humans”: a newsletter/podcast that talked to podcasters about their podcasting goals, and shared his thoughts about podcasting - and, of course, I was an avid enjoyer at the time!

It’s currently on a hiatus, but back in March when I recorded this conversation with Richard, he had only months prior sent his last newsletter with his predictions for the podcasting industry in 2025 - which is why I brought him on for a chat.

Across this two episodes, we’ll be unpacking Richard’s Five Predictions for Podcasting this year and exploring the big changes that have rocked podcasting and marketing. In this Part 1 we’ll get Richard’s background in podcasting, his business and the first two predictions about AI replacing podcasts, and how people will find the human connection in podcasting.

Next week in Part 2, we’ll hear about podcast production funding, companies creating well-resourced, engaging podcasts and how marketing dollars will be spent differently.

Get in touch with Richard:

• Area Code Audio Website
• Area Code Batavia Podcast
• Podcasting For Humans Archive

Let's Start a Dialogue

The Socratic Method is best done in dialogue, so if you'd like to respond to one of my episodes or send through an idea of your own, send it to:

📧 [email protected]

🎤 rethinkingpodcasting.com and select "Send a Voicemail"

Make sure you share the name of your show, so I can include it in my response!

Support this Podcast:

Here are some of the services I use to create this show. Sign up for these services with the links below to support the podcast:

Use Brain.FM to stay focused while you podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Sign up for Artlist.io to add Royalty Free Music to your Podcast (2 Months Free)

Use Captivate.FM to host & distribute your Podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Create your Episode Transcript with GoodTape.io (€5 off when you sign up)

Chapters:

• (00:00) Industry Reset & Episode Setup
• (00:36) Meet Richard Clark & Area Code Audio
• (03:00) Podcasting for Humans: From Pod to Newsletter
• (05:01) Do Podcasters Care About Podcasting? (And Why That’s OK)
• (08:39) Producer vs Talent: The Film Analogy
• (11:02) Going Daily: Writing, Marketing, and Connection
• (14:38) Refocusing on Nonprofits & Audience Fit
• (17:51) How the Newsletter Primed Clients for Trust
• (23:10) Predictions #1: Why AI-Made Podcasts Will Fail
• (33:56) AI’s Best Use Cases: Audiobooks & Accessibility
• (36:59) Prediction #2: Craving Human Connection & Safe Spaces
• (42:45) Outro, Part Two Teaser & Contacting ReThinking Podcasting

The online world is a different place, where in every interaction we’re second-guessing whether its actually a person, or if its a bot or algorithm trying to push some content on our plate. Dead Internet Theory seems the most apt to describe a world where we are connected, but not to other people, but there is a glimmer of optimism hidden in the depths for ourselves and for our podcasts.

Today I’ll be exploring Alive Internet Theory and how it can help us as podcasters reframe our Analytics Dashboards to better align our work as creators to find the human in the online world. Because, after all, we’re here to share our voices with the world and see the listeners that gather around us - not get distracted with optimisation and growth at the expense of our message and goals.

And thanks to "struthless" on YouTube for his excellent video on the subject, that inspired this episode.

Resources Mentioned:

• "Alive Internet Theory" (@struthless, YouTube)
• Global Data Usage Statistics
• YouTube Upload Data

Let's Start a Dialogue

The Socratic Method is best done in dialogue, so if you'd like to respond to one of my episodes or send through an idea of your own, send it to:

📧 [email protected]

🎤 rethinkingpodcasting.com and select "Send a Voicemail"

Make sure you share the name of your show, so I can include it in my response!

Support this Podcast:

Here are some of the services I use to create this show. Sign up for these services with the links below to support the podcast:

Use Brain.FM to stay focused while you podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Sign up for Artlist.io to add Royalty Free Music to your Podcast (2 Months Free)

Use Captivate.FM to host & distribute your Podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Create your Episode Transcript with GoodTape.io (€5 off when you sign up)

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:19) - Part 1: Dead Internet Theory
• (04:38) - Part 2: Podcasting and the Data Problem
• (06:31) - Part 3: The Alive Internet and your Ideal Listener
• (09:53) - Conclusion

When we begin as podcasters, its easy to become mired in the logistics, the admin, the perfection and optimisation of equipment, structure, distribution… It takes a unique individual like Mason Amadeus to remind us to ask, “Where has the creativity gone?”

This week I’m joined by Mason Amadeus: Creative Director at 8th Layer Media, Expert Audio & Broadcast Engineer, and self-proclaimed All-Terrain Professional Bodge Technician.

I first met Mason through a podcasting Discord Community, and found that he and his good friends had made PodCube - a sketch comedy audio-only podcast that is soundscaped to perfection. That perfection shows in everything he does, and since we met I’ve watched him create Digital Folklore with Perry Carpenter and more recently, The Bug and Moss Telephone Show.

Its not just my delight in chaos and whimsy that brought me to his inner circle. He is a creative without peers, an audio expert without measure and has such a deep curiosity about the world that learning could almost be his full time job.

In our chat, we talk about making podcasting a thing you enjoy, art as a reflection of the world - not to save it, that creativity is your unique talent in podcasts and the key to enjoying your work is to satisfy your curiosity and learn constantly!

Check out Mason's work:

• "PodCube" Podcast
• "Digital Folklore" (8th Layer Media)
• "The FAIK Files" (8th Layer Media)
• "The Bug & Moss Telephone Show"

Let's Start a Dialogue

The Socratic Method is best done in dialogue, so if you'd like to respond to one of my episodes or send through an idea of your own, send it to:

📧 [email protected]

🎤 rethinkingpodcasting.com and select "Send a Voicemail"

Make sure you share the name of your show, so I can include it in my response!

Support this Podcast:

Here are some of the services I use to create this show. Sign up for these services with the links below to support the podcast:

Use Brain.FM to stay focused while you podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Sign up for Artlist.io to add Royalty Free Music to your Podcast (2 Months Free)

Use Captivate.FM to host & distribute your Podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Create your Episode Transcript with GoodTape.io (€5 off when you sign up)

Chapters:

• (00:01) Introduction: Where Has the Creativity Gone?
• (02:19) Mason Amadeus Joins the Conversation
• (02:25) The Origin of “All-Terrain Professional Bodge Technician”
• (04:09) From Breaking a Server to Building Software
• (05:14) Working with Perry Carpenter and 8th Layer Media
• (06:22) Mason’s Networked Audio Setup Explained
• (08:09) Why Signal Processing Is So Fascinating
• (09:48) Learning Audio Through Trial and Error
• (12:12) Fundamentals of Audio and Active Listening
• (12:38) How PodCube Was Created and Why It Works
• (14:19) Podcasting as a Creative Labor of Love
• (17:00) Playing With Time, Place, and Audio Lore
• (19:39) Editing to Capture the Live Improv Energy
• (21:00) Audio-Only Podcasting vs. The Pivot to Video
• (23:32) Redefining What Counts as a Podcast
• (24:47) Collaboration and Shared Creativity in PodCube
• (26:15) The Power of Audience Activation and Patreon
• (29:11) Building a Universe: Little Rubber Men & Corn Urns
• (30:17) Making Podcasts as a Labor of Love, Not Obligation
• (31:37) Success, Privilege, and Redefining Podcast Value
• (35:07) Why Authenticity Always Wins in Creative Work
• (36:47) Defining Podcast Success Beyond Downloads
• (39:02) Art as Rearranging the Broken Pieces of the World
• (41:07) Make Something for Yourself — and Your Friends
• (43:06) From Alabaster’s Haberdashery to PodCube
• (44:00) The Role of Improv in Creative Podcasting
• (46:29) Why Copy-Paste Podcasting Doesn’t Work
• (47:25) Learning Fundamentals Instead of Quick Fixes
• (50:19) Be Curious: Learning as a Creative Superpower
• (54:10) Understanding Waves, Phase, and Audio Effects
• (55:12) The Value of Creative Time vs. Deep Work
• (57:08) Digital Folklore and Soundscaped Storytelling
• (58:37) Creativity, Generalism, and Learning by Doing
• (59:49) Podcasting for Happiness and Creative Fulfillment
• (1:00:01) Closing Thoughts & Next Episode Preview

#PodcastGrowth #CreativePodcasting #PodcastSoundDesign #PodcastContentStrategy #IntentionalPodcasting

As a podcaster, you’ve probably heard the term “PodFade” before. And if you’ve been doing a podcast for long enough, you’ve felt the inevitable scope-creep of the work and the fear that you’ll quit.

But there’s a fundamental problem what the podcast industry describes as “failure”, and the data they use to support it is hurting podcasters more than it helps.

Welcome back to Rethinking Podcasting: where I take a Socratic approach to reflect on the podcasting world, and help you build your own Podcast Philosophy.

Today I’ll be unpacking the use of podcasting data and statistics, why correlation isn’t causation, how toxic positivity is the real killer of podcasts and why changing your perspective and setting your own measure of success is the best way forward.

Resources:

• Alex Sanfilippo's LinkedIn Post
• PodMatch's Podcast Report
• Correlation not Causation Example

Chapters:

• (00:00) Intro to the Episode
• (01:02) Alex Sanfilippo and Podcast Data
• (03:20) Part 1: Podcast Failure is defined extrinsically
• (05:23) Part 2: Correlation does not imply Causation
• (08:33) Part 3: Redefining Success & Changing Perspectives
• (12:06) Wrapping up the Episode

Let's Start a Dialogue

The Socratic Method is best done in dialogue, so if you'd like to respond to one of my episodes or send through an idea of your own, send it to:

📧 [email protected]

🎤 rethinkingpodcasting.com and select "Send a Voicemail"

Make sure you share the name of your show, so I can include it in my response!

Support this Podcast:

Here are some of the services I use to create this show. Sign up for these services with the links below to support the podcast:

Use Brain.FM to stay focused while you podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Sign up for Artlist.io to add Royalty Free Music to your Podcast (2 Months Free)

Use Captivate.FM to host & distribute your Podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Create your Episode Transcript with GoodTape.io (€5 off when you sign up)

This year, Aveline Clarke undertook a rebrand and relaunch of what was previously the 6Star Business and 6Star Leaders podcast after she took a break. I asked her about the impact of the rebrand on her podcast performance, and the process she undertook to reflect on her own by asking three questions.

We also discuss her unique interview style that isn’t a blueprint for scripting an interview - instead, she prepares the constraints within which she can adapt and change the conversational flow while simultaneously reflecting with the guest to show how she listens.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Aveline tackles brilliant conversations, self-care, rebranding a podcast and how she stays in touch with her inner goals and avoids the external pressure. I always enjoy chatting with Ave, and I know you’ll enjoy our conversation.

Get in touch with Aveline:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avelineclarke/

Website: https://journeypoint.com.au/meet-aveline/

Podcast: https://journeypoint.com.au/mission-activated-podcast/

Let's Start a Dialogue

The Socratic Method is best done in dialogue, so if you'd like to respond to one of my episodes or send through an idea of your own, send it to:

📧 [email protected]

🎤 rethinkingpodcasting.com and select "Send a Voicemail"

Make sure you share the name of your show, so I can include it in my response!

Support this Podcast:

Here are some of the services I use to create this show. Sign up for these services with the links below to support the podcast:

Use Brain.FM to stay focused while you podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Sign up for Artlist.io to add Royalty Free Music to your Podcast (2 Months Free)

Use Captivate.FM to host & distribute your Podcast (30 Day Free Trial)

Create your Episode Transcript with GoodTape.io (€5 off when you sign up)