Podcast Book Club

In a world drowning in content, a brave team of podcast pros are on a mission to find the best podcasts and figure out what makes them so good.Want to discover new podcasts? Explore what makes a great podcast episode? And get the inside track from podcasting pros? Then join us! This is the podcast made for podcast fans far and wide. Each week a different group of the Lower Street team sits down to talk about an episode of a podcast we've been listening to and discuss what it means to us.  We’ll dive into a podcast review, taking a look at the content, sound design, production, scripting, storytelling, and more.What podcasts are on our list? Everything from docs to dramas to agony aunts - we love it all at Podcast Book Club, from Lower Street Media.Follow us on Twitter to find out when new episodes drop, and to get involved in the conversation - we'd love to hear from you!

This week the Lower Street gang dons their trench coats and trilbys to investigate the podcast Switched on Pop and its recent episode entitled “Who killed the key change in pop music?” This particular episode of Switched on Pop uses creative scripting and sound engineering to create a thoroughly tongue-in-cheek spoof of old detective dramas. Switched on Pop’s host, Nate Sloan takes on the character of Joe Treble - a private detective on the case of the missing key change in pop music.Lower Street’s podcast professionals sit down for a little podcast feedback. They’ll discuss the episode’s gimmick and how it serves the narrative, dissect its production structure and guest choices, and have their opinions on key changes challenged…The team also brainstorms more parody ideas (musical detective Columbo??) and muses about a future with a better podcast discovery algorithm. Like Youtube, but obviously not Youtube. Podtube? YouPod? Where’s Sean Parker when you need him…This Podcast Book Club Episode is hosted by audio engineer Alex Rose, who is joined by podcast producers Zoe Anderson and Jackie Lamport, and audio engineer Alex Bennett.Check out the podcast Switched on Pop and episode ‘Who Killed the Key Change’ here:https://switchedonpop.com/episodes/who-killed-the-key-changeWant some further reading? Check out this article from Switched on Pop guest Chris Dalla Riva:https://tedium.co/2022/11/09/the-death-of-the-key-change/Follow Podcast Book Club on Twitter, and let us know what you thought of this episode, and our hot (or cold) takes:twitter.com/podbookclubtwitter.com/lowerstreetPodcast Book Club is a Lower Street Production. Lower Street provides next-level podcast production services for ambitious companies: everything from podcast strategy and creation to growth. We’ve worked with companies like BCG to develop multiple branded podcasts like Climate Vision 2050, BCG Compliance, BCG Fintech Files, and BCG In Her Element. We’ve also helped produce: Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies; HPE’s Technology Now, Zuhlke’s Data Today, Northern Trust’s The Road to Why, Zoobean’s The Reading Culture; ICR’s Welcome to the Arena and ZeroNorth’s  Navigating Zero. Find out more at https://lowerstreet.co/ and sign up for our newsletter to keep in touch https://lowerstreet.co/newsletter-sign-up 

Ready for an adventure podcast fans? This week Lower Street’s podcast pros have been time-traveling. They’ve been soaking up the Stone Age views of Olduvai Gorge, and the palatial surroundings of a temple in 12th century Japan. Their guide? Two episodes of the iconic BBC podcast production A History of the World in 100 Objects.The two(!) episodes in question are Olduvai Stone Chopping Tool and Japanese Bronze Mirror. We’re guided through the stories of these objects by Neil MacGregor, the former director of the British Museum, which co-produced the series with the BBC.Podcast Book Club sat down to discuss the storytelling, location recordings, and podcast guests (David Attenborough anyone?) that all come together to make an erudite and comforting podcast for all listeners and history nerds.Getting into the real podcast industry questions the team will chat: How can guest selection make or break an episode on your podcast? What’s the use in making shorter podcast episodes? And why is a man born in the 1990s still watching Yes Minister in 2023?This Podcast Book Club episode is hosted by senior audio engineer Alex Bennett, who is joined by podcast producers Marion Gruner and Andrew Ganem, alongside podcast production manager Elizabeth Amos.Check out the two episodes of History of the World in 100 Objects in the links below:Olduvai Stone Chopping Tool:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pwn7mJapanese Bronze Mirror:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sqw6fResources mentioned in the episode:History of the World in 100 Objects Wiki site:https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/british-museum-objects/100 Histories of 100 Worlds in One Object:https://100histories100worlds.org/Follow Podcast Book Club on Twitter, and let us know what you thought of this episode, and our hot (or cold) takes:twitter.com/podbookclubtwitter.com/lowerstreetPodcast Book Club is a Lower Street Production. Lower Street provides next-level podcast production services for ambitious companies: everything from podcast strategy and creation to growth. We’ve worked with companies like BCG to develop multiple branded podcasts like Climate Vision 2050, BCG Compliance, BCG Fintech Files, and BCG In Her Element. We’ve also helped produce: Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies; HPE’s Technology Now, Zuhlke’s Data Today, Northern Trust’s The Road to Why, Zoobean’s The Reading Culture; ICR’s Welcome to the Arena and ZeroNorth’s  Navigating Zero. Find out more at https://lowerstreet.co/ and sign up for our newsletter to keep in touch https://lowerstreet.co/newsletter-sign-up 

In this episode of Podcast Book Club, the gang dons their plague doctor outfits, as they dive into the morbid history of the great morbidity itself, the plague.  Having sourced all the appropriate herbs and tinctures, and refreshed their knowledge of miasmatic diseases, it’s time to give a little podcast review of The Anthropocene Reviewed.We’re taking podcast fans to listen in and review the episode titled Plague. The Anthropocene Reviewed’s Host, John Green, takes us through the history of the most famous disease in human history, and its many emergences and disappearances.The team of podcast professionals sat down to talk storytelling, using your own personal experiences to drive a podcast episode and the art of good advert integration. All these come together to make an amazing podcast, anchored by a single voice in the shape of John Green.Getting into the nitty-gritty of the podcast industry, the team discusses: How do you make a monologue podcast work? How can podcasters’ own stories help move an episode forward, and why can’t we go back to the good old days, before trees and mammals ruined everything?This episode of Podcast Book Club is hosted by audio engineer Alex Bennett, who is joined by podcast producers Zoe Anderson and Marion Gruner.Check out the episode of Anthropocene Reviewed here:https://open.spotify.com/episode/3H6gAZNa58niwnHlK5GQZy?si=946a5907b6ab4dcdFollow Podcast Book Club on Twitter, and let us know what you thought of this episode, and our hot (or cold) takes:twitter.com/podbookclubtwitter.com/lowerstreetPodcast Book Club is a Lower Street Production. Lower Street provides next-level podcast production services for ambitious companies: everything from podcast strategy and creation to growth. We’ve worked with companies like BCG to develop multiple branded podcasts like Climate Vision 2050, BCG Compliance, BCG Fintech Files, and BCG In Her Element. We’ve also helped produce: Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies; HPE’s Technology Now, Zuhlke’s Data Today, Northern Trust’s The Road to Why, Zoobean’s The Reading Culture; ICR’s Welcome to the Arena and ZeroNorth’s  Navigating Zero. Find out more at https://lowerstreet.co/ and sign up for our newsletter to keep in touch https://lowerstreet.co/newsletter-sign-up 

Podcast Book Club is finally dealing with an actual book review! Well, it’s a notebook. And there are a few of them. And it’s actually a podcast episode about those notebooks. But that doesn’t slip off the tongue as easily. This time our gang of podcast professionals are listening to a wonderful episode of the podcast Slow News entitled The Darwin Job: The Vanishing, Reappearing Notebooks.The episode we’re looking at investigates the mysterious vanishing of some of Darwin’s notebooks from their home in the library at Cambridge University, and their equally intriguing reappearance in a hot-pink bag some years later. Who dunnit? Who knows? Listen in to find out more!And of course - the team adds podcasting advice for you podcasters looking to make the best show. They’ll discuss music production in podcasts, using a wide variety of recording types when storytelling in production, and what to do when that story doesn’t have a massive payoff at the end.This episode of Podcast Book Club is hosted by podcast producer Zoe Anderson, who is joined by podcast producers Andrew Ganem and Elise Fitzsimmons.Check out the episode of Slow News here:https://open.spotify.com/episode/1rz9p8l2gBMsYY1HMiVNuJ?si=UNFbozkCQe-sSGAFp65kIQFollow Podcast Book Club on Twitter, and let us know what you thought of this episode, and our hot (or cold) takes:twitter.com/podbookclubtwitter.com/lowerstreetPodcast fans, check out our listen-along playlist!https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5L1HaLMMu3xsDqmo6ecQK3?si=b06b61ef7b5b4e48Podcast Book Club is a Lower Street Production. Lower Street provides next-level podcast production services for ambitious companies: everything from podcast strategy and creation to growth. We’ve worked with companies like BCG to develop multiple branded podcasts like Climate Vision 2050, BCG Compliance, BCG Fintech Files, and BCG In Her Element. We’ve also helped produce: Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies; HPE’s Technology Now, Zuhlke’s Data Today, Northern Trust’s The Road to Why, Zoobean’s The Reading Culture; ICR’s Welcome to the Arena and ZeroNorth’s  Navigating Zero. Find out more at https://lowerstreet.co/ and sign up for our newsletter to keep in touch https://lowerstreet.co/newsletter-sign-up 

In this episode of Podcast Book Club, our podcast professionals investigate the intersection of sport and video games (and podcasting, I suppose). With their helmets and padding on, they’re diving into an episode of ESPN’s podcast 30 for 30, entitled Madden’s Game. Sports podcast fans, this one is for you.The episode takes a look at the development of the massively popular American football video game, from its early years as an overly ambitious PC program to its current number-one slot in game consoles. How did they make the game? How involved was John Madden really? Why is Will Wheaton, that precocious kid from Star Trek, hosting?The team discusses the power of narrative storytelling in podcasting, choosing a great podcast host, and how to make difficult editing decisions in post-production.This episode of Podcast Book Club is hosted by Chase Souder, who is joined by podcast producers Elizabeth Amos and Zoe Anderson, and audio engineers Alex Rose and Alex Bennett.Check out the episode of 30 for 30 here:https://open.spotify.com/episode/24x6CGi7Vmni5RWKb4Mqw9?si=Yv3HjM9FQjG7i7BaHQrxegFollow Podcast Book Club on Twitter, and let us know what you thought of this episode, and our hot (or cold) takes:twitter.com/podbookclubtwitter.com/lowerstreetCheck out our listen-along playlist!https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5L1HaLMMu3xsDqmo6ecQK3?si=b06b61ef7b5b4e48Podcast Book Club is a Lower Street Production. Lower Street provides next-level podcast production services for ambitious companies: everything from podcast strategy and creation to growth. We’ve worked with companies like BCG to develop multiple branded podcasts like Climate Vision 2050, BCG Compliance, BCG Fintech Files, and BCG In Her Element. We’ve also helped produce: Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies; HPE’s Technology Now, Zuhlke’s Data Today, Northern Trust’s The Road to Why, Zoobean’s The Reading Culture; ICR’s Welcome to the Arena and ZeroNorth’s  Navigating Zero. Find out more at https://lowerstreet.co/ and sign up for our newsletter to keep in touch https://lowerstreet.co/newsletter-sign-up 

The Podcast Pros are back to investigate one of the many things looted by the British Empire. This particular item has four legs and a mop-like furry body - it’s the Pekingese dog!  Their guide? Stuff the British Stole, from ABC and CBC podcasts.The episode in question is called “Best.Named.Dog.Ever.” It covers the British looting of dogs and other, inanimate, cultural artifacts from the Chinese during the Opium Wars. How did the conflict start? What are the lasting cultural impacts? How did these tiny dogs make their way from China to the UK?The Podcast Book Club team sat down to discuss sound design, story editing in production, and the importance of picking the right guests, especially when you’re discussing other cultures on your podcast.So podcast fans, ready to explore and review a new series?This episode is hosted by podcast production manager Elizabeth Amos, who is joined by podcast producers Zoe Anderson and Jackie Lamport, and audio engineer Alex Bennett.Check out the episode of Stuff the British Stole here:https://open.spotify.com/episode/2KIUB7DdqtIZZvN5n0IIsG?si=ia4KcwzaTkecDHCNp1JSXgFollow Podcast Book Club on Twitter, and let us know what you thought of this episode, and our hot (or cold) takes:twitter.com/podbookclubtwitter.com/lowerstreetCheck out our listen-along playlist!https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5L1HaLMMu3xsDqmo6ecQK3?si=b06b61ef7b5b4e48Podcast Book Club is a Lower Street Production. Lower Street provides next-level podcast production services for ambitious companies: everything from podcast strategy and creation to growth. We’ve worked with companies like BCG to develop multiple branded podcasts like Climate Vision 2050, BCG Compliance, BCG Fintech Files, and BCG In Her Element. We’ve also helped produce: Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies; HPE’s Technology Now, Zuhlke’s Data Today, Northern Trust’s The Road to Why, Zoobean’s The Reading Culture; ICR’s Welcome to the Arena and ZeroNorth’s  Navigating Zero. Find out more at https://lowerstreet.co/ and sign up for our newsletter to keep in touch https://lowerstreet.co/newsletter-sign-up 

Season two of Podcast Book Club is on its way! Whilst the Lower Street team gets it ready, here’s a bonus episode in the form of a pilot. This was back when the gang of podcasting pros was first being assembled and, as such, their audio isn’t as crispy as it is now. Their first podcast review? Blowback, a podcast about American imperial misadventures.The first series of Blowback is about the Iraq war and all of the wild events surrounding it. From British imperialism to CIA intervention, to the full-scale wars between the US, its allies, and Iraq, this series is a dizzying catalog of failures, tragedies, and incompetence.The Podcast Book Club team sat down to discuss editing in podcast production, using external clips and media in your podcast, and the joy of the History Channel.This episode is hosted by senior audio engineer Alex Bennett, who is joined by senior podcast producer Jackie Lamport, and podcast producer Elise Fitzsimmons.Check out the episode of Blowback here:https://open.spotify.com/episode/3BxUY7mCytGSDEAfwzcVNZ?si=8d13f927bad04c7bFollow Podcast Book Club on Twitter, and let us know what you thought of this episode, and our hot (or cold) takes:twitter.com/podbookclubtwitter.com/lowerstreetCheck out our listen-along playlist!https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5L1HaLMMu3xsDqmo6ecQK3?si=b06b61ef7b5b4e48Podcast Book Club is a Lower Street Production. Lower Street provides next-level podcast production services for ambitious companies: everything from podcast strategy and creation to growth. We’ve worked with companies like BCG to develop multiple branded podcasts like Climate Vision 2050, BCG Compliance, BCG Fintech Files, and BCG In Her Element. We’ve also helped produce: Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies; HPE’s Technology Now, Zuhlke’s Data Today, Northern Trust’s The Road to Why, Zoobean’s The Reading Culture; ICR’s Welcome to the Arena and ZeroNorth’s  Navigating Zero. Find out more at https://lowerstreet.co/ and sign up for our newsletter to keep in touch https://lowerstreet.co/newsletter-sign-up 

We're back! And this time we're on video! Season 2 of Podcast Book Club is nearly here. In this new season we'll be covering video podcasts, trailers, history podcasts, daily news shows, and more! We'll be joined by such podcasting pros as Arielle Nissenblatt, Ian Sanders, James Shield, as well as the usual cast of characters from Lower Street.You can join us for both audio and video episodes this season, so head over to Youtube and get subscribed! https://www.youtube.com/@Podbookclub Podcast Book Club is a Lower Street Production - find us and say hi!https://twitter.com/PodBookClubhttps://lowerstreet.co/podcasts/podcast-book-club 

“Can a video be a podcast?” is an all-time favourite topic of conversation amongst those of us with “RSS 4 EVA” tattooed on the base of our backs. But for all the audio purists out there it’s hard to deny that, for a growing number of people, a video can absolutely be a podcast. So what now? Is “podcast” going the way of “literally”? Another definition lost to the unending meat-grinder of modern linguistic ‘progress’? Well, we think there are a lot of really useful lessons to be learned from the increasingly long shadow cast by video podcasts and, if we play our cards right, a podcast episode to be made about it. In this episode podcast producers Jackie Lamport, Sam Datta-Paulin, and Erin MacIndoe Sproule are joined by podcast agency founder Harry Morton to discuss:What is a podcast?Can a livestream call itself a podcast?How clean should your room be before a zoom call or video recording?Where do you draw the line between ‘relaxed and authentic’ and ‘lazy’?Theatre of the mindThey discuss the H3 podcast, Joe Rogan, Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal, and the ways in which video can add to and detract from a podcast. Do you think it’s weird that we’re discussing video in an audio only format? Waaaay ahead of you -  we’re on Youtube! Check out the video version of this podcast to enjoy a whole host of visual gags and special effects, and form a deeper (but not at all concerning!!!) parasocial relationship with your local podcasting nerds:https://youtu.be/eAIbrAdcJQILinks to resources mentioned in the show: H3 Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@H3Podcast  Podnews: https://podnews.net/ Sounds Profitable: https://soundsprofitable.com/ Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal: https://www.youtube.com/@DeepDivewithAliAbdaal  Podcasting 2.0 Podcast: https://podnews.net/podcast/i4ji5  Joe Rogan Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4rOoJ6Egrf8K2IrywzwOMk?si=353aad0cec9747aa Thoughts? Feelings? A deep yet uneasy desire to connect with your fellow man? Same! Follow us and say hi: https://twitter.com/PodBookClub Podcast Book Club is a Lower Street production: https://lowerstreet.co/podcasts/podcast-book-club 

Recorded November 2023. The news simply will not stop happening. It feels like every day we wake up, only to find that more things have occurred whilst we slept. So how do you turn all this relentless happening into a podcast? Oh, and you need to release every day, mon-fri. This episode our intrepid team of reporters is taking a look at the art of daily news podcasting, and getting to the bottom of why it's such an exciting and challenging area of podcasting to work in. In this episode podcast producers Jackie Lamport and Andrew Ganem are joined by podcast production manager Elizabeth Amos, audio engineer Alex Bennett, and the former deputy executive producer of Stories of Our Times James Shield. They discuss:What makes news podcasting different from other podcasts?What can we learn from news podcasts?How James produced the Stories of Our Times podcast.Following your own curiosity when making a podcast. The inimitable hosting style of Michael Barbaro.They take a look at The Daily from the New York Times and Stories of Our Times from the Times of London.  Enjoying the audio-only version? Check us out on Youtube for more visual gags, special reporter Buddy the cat, and an uninterrupted view of our beautiful faces:https://youtu.be/KcGp7PYQDF4Links to resources mentioned in the show:The Daily: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736   Stories of Our Times (now The Story): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/podcasts/the-story  NYT reporting standards: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/business/media/new-york-times-caliphate-podcast.htmlReithian values of the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/research/directors-general/john-reith Trust in news reporting: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/10/27/u-s-adults-under-30-now-trust-information-from-social-media-almost-as-much-as-from-national-news-outlets/ The Run-Up podcast: https://www.nytimes.com/column/run-up-election-podcast Thoughts? Feelings? A deep yet uneasy desire to connect with your fellow man? Same! Follow us and say hi: https://twitter.com/PodBookClub Podcast Book Club is a Lower Street production: https://lowerstreet.co/podcasts/podcast-book-club 

It's a classic PBC episode this time, as we go back to our roots and discuss a podcast to see what makes it tick. Lateral with Tom Scott is a quiz podcast, which is a really underrepresented format in our opinion. So what makes it work? Why should you consider this format for your show? Will we get too hung up on the importance of points? (yes).In this episode podcast producers Zoe Anderson and Daria Lawson, podcast production manager Elizabeth Amos, and audio engineer Alex Bennett discuss:Making a show for a specific audienceClips versus full episodes on YoutubeThe challenges of making a video podcastOur deep and abiding love for pointsWhat we can learn from LateralHave you watched Lateral? Listened to the full episodes, or just the clips? Check out the full video episode of Lateral here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WysuFh0bNgWhat should we discuss next? Who should we have on the show? Let us know:  https://twitter.com/PodBookClub We have video versions of these episodes! Check it out: https://youtu.be/07iqM0V-lvsPodcast Book Club is a Lower Street production: https://lowerstreet.co/podcasts/podcast-book-club