Podcasting Should Not Be Co-opted By Video Services That Don't Support RSS

I keep seeing places like Netflix and other streaming services saying they are getting into the podcast game. But they aren't they're getting into the video-cast game. If you put your "podcasts" only on YouTube or Netflix (for the chosen few) and don't also have them available on RSS, in Apple Podcasts and other podcast directories, it's NOT a podcast it's a video show.

Podcasting Comes In Different Flavors

Podcasting isn't just two talking heads. There are fiction podcasts and non-fiction narrative podcasts that don't lend themselves to video as much. They are consumed like radio shows and should remain that way and the best way to get them is via RSS.

Podcasting Is Bigger Than Spoken-Word Radio

And what's more, podcasts are now, according to Edison Research, consumed more that spoken-word radio.

To quote James Cridland, the editor of Podnews.net:

This time ten years ago, podcasting was more than seven times smaller than AM/FM radio, which was a dominant force in spoken-word listening. But, over the last decade in the US, the share of time spent using AM/FM radio to listen to spoken-word audio has almost halved - shifting to time spent with podcasts.

This is huge and it's because of this that we need to make sure the format is protected and not diluted by things that aren't podcasts.

Can a podcast be video? Yes!

Can a podcast be audio? Obviously!

But it needs to be sent out via RSS, which is an open standard of distribution.

I will not budge on this. And neither should the industry as a whole.

Here are what some people have said when I asked them if a podcast could be one without RSS:

What do you think? Post them in the comments!

🎙️New Podcasting Forum!🎙️

I recently launched a Fediverse/Open Web-connected forum for podcasting and podcast related topics. Check it out! 👇

🎙️Podcast Coaching 🎙️

I've been podcasting since 2010. During those 15+ years I've learned a thing or two about the ins and outs of the industry and approaching it the right way. Both as a guest and as a host.

I offer podcast coaching as a service to share the knowledge that I've accumulated over the decade-plus in the industry.

Intrigued? Let's chat and see if I can help you!

The Latest From The Entrepreneur's Enigma Podcast

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Looking for guests? Want to be on podcasts? Check out Podmatch! I use it for both getting on podcasts and finding quality guests. It's well worth it and affordable too!

Web Jawn

Anthropic CEO stands firm as Pentagon deadline looms | TechCrunch

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday that he “cannot in good conscience accede” to the Pentagon’s demands to give the military unrestricted access to its AI systems.

TechCrunchRebecca Bellan

Good on Anthropic. What a cluster-f*ck.

Pentagon moves to designate Anthropic as a supply-chain risk | TechCrunch

“We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again,” the president wrote in the post.

TechCrunchRussell Brandom

Good grief. 🙄

The Pentagon’s Claude Use in Iran Is a Reminder that Anthropic Never Objected to Military Use

The company objected to hypothetical future use cases, not anything the military is currently doing.

GizmodoMike Pearl

Good take down of Claude's virtues. 🤔🤨

Anthropic’s Claude overtakes ChatGPT as #1 in App Store

Here’s why that happened and what it means for the future of AI.

MashableJack Dawes

But will it save the AI company?

Musk bashes OpenAI in deposition, saying ‘nobody committed suicide because of Grok’ | TechCrunch

In his lawsuit against OpenAI, Musk touted xAI safety compared with ChatGPT. A few months later, xAI’s Grok flooded X with nonconsensual nude images.

TechCrunchSarah Perez

But Grok is making CSAM. Not sure that's better Elon. 🤔

NATO says iPhones are secure enough to handle classified data

iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 meet the bar.

The VergeEmma Roth

Pretty wild. Apple is probably really pleased with this news.

FAIR: Successes, Lessons, and What’s Next - Half-Elf on Tech

FAIR 1.3 is out, but the rollercoaster isn’t over. The “chicken and egg” of funding neutral infrastructure has never been tougher. But we keep going.

Half-Elf on Tech - Thoughts From a Professional LesbianIpstenu (Mika Epstein)

Trying to keep WordPress open and, well, fair is tough.

FAIR, WordPress, and Knowing When to Stop

Over the past year, we, Karim & Joost, have written and talked extensively about the challenges facing WordPress. We’ve been critical. At times, very critical. Of leadership, of governance, of the way decisions are made and enforced. We stand by that criticism. Matt’s way of operating has, in our view, been harmful. It has led […]

joost.blogJoost de Valk

New leadership will hopefully step up soon!

Open Source in the age of AI

Early 2026 is a very weird time to be an open source maintainer. On the one hand, the burden of codebase maintenance has dropped dramatically. Small teams with long todo lists now have the ability to accomplish more than ever before. On the other hand, the dynamics of the software

John O'NolanJohn O’Nolan

John highlights a difficult time for open source with AI scraping code wholesale and not contributing back. I'm not surprised that Substack has take some of Ghost's code base and not contributed back one bit. That's seems like something Substack would do.

Bing Adds GEO To Official Guidelines, Expands AI Abuse Definitions

Bing rewrote its webmaster guidelines to cover Copilot grounding, meta directive controls for AI answers, and a softened stance on AI-generated content.

Search Engine JournalMatt G. Southern

Good that there's now guidelines.

How Researchers Reverse-Engineered LLMs For A Ranking Experiment

Researchers test two ways to reverse engineer the LLM rankings of Claude 4, GPT-4o, Gemini 2.5, and Grok-3.

Search Engine JournalRoger Montti

This is pretty cool.

Google and friends disrupt suspected Beijing espionage op

: UNC2814 historically targets governments and telcos

The RegisterJessica Lyons

Google Sheets as a spy tool? Who would have thunk?

X Is Drowning in Disinformation Following US and Israeli Attack on Iran

WIRED has reviewed hundreds of posts on X that promote misleading claims about the locations and scale of the attack.

WIREDDavid Gilbert

Not surprised by this one bit.

An hour of vibecoding in Xcode has convinced me apps may be dead

I’ve been doing heavily AI-assisted coding at work for some time. Today is the first time I tried what I’d truly call “vibecoding” -- trying to build a native m…

json.blogJason Becker

A worthwhile article to read about one developers use of vibe coding.

Viva the Narrative Podcast – the Case Against Video

This article pays tribute to the narrative podcast as a vibrant audio art/journalism form, destined to survive and even benefit from the video podcast turn.

PodnewsSiobhán McHugh

A good read. Siobhan makes some really good points against video and for audio-only.

Google’s patent to replace your website with an AI page could change search forever

Google’s newly granted patent US12536233B1 reveals a system that scores landing pages and replaces low-quality ones with AI-generated pages personalized per user search history.

PPC LandLuis Rijo

Interesting patent granted to Google. Good analysis.

Web Find

Banned in California — Why You Can’t Build Anything in the Golden State

An interactive visualization of the industrial processes effectively banned by California’s permitting regime — from semiconductor fabs to paint shops to shipyards.

Sam D'AmicoSam D’Amico

Interesting site. No oil refineries in California. Hmm. Did not know that. More data there. Check it out!

wifi.live

See live WiFi speeds at cafes, hotels, airports, and more. Real-time speed tests from around the world.

Great find from traveling, digital nomadic journalist Mike Elgan.

Laughed then wondered why.

That's It For This Week! Keep Rocking It!

-Seth

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