In today’s podcast news roundup: Buzzy Cohen gives “Jeopardy!” fans an insider’s look at the popular game show; “Real Housewives” alum Ramona Singer launches a podcast with her daughter, Avery; CNN Audio launches “The Prince Mixtape,” exploring the Purple One’s life and legacy; the New York Times’ The Athletic is prepping a deep dive on LeBron James’ basketball career; OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network renews its SiriusXM podcast deal; Tribeca Festival sets 2023 podcast programming lineup; and more.
DATES
Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television launched “This Is Jeopardy! America’s Favorite Quiz Show,” a new podcast that goes behind the scenes of the long-running game show hosted by former “Jeopardy!” champion and guest host Buzzy Cohen. The podcast promises listeners “an exciting journey through the history of the quiz show,” featuring notable guests including contestants and producers. “I am so excited for the opportunity to give listeners a never-before-seen look at the show,” Cohen, who won the “Jeopardy!” 2017 Tournament of Champions, said in a statement. “This is Jeopardy!” is produced by Somethin’ Else and Sony Music Entertainment. Lizzie Jacobs, Tom Koenig and Sarah Kramer are the executive producers; Mia Warren is senior producer; and Julia Doyle and Sylvie Lubow are producers.
PodcastOne launched a new podcast with reality TV star and entrepreneur Ramona Singer and daughter Avery. Premiering April 26, “Turtle Time With Ramona and Avery” features the mother-daughter duo sharing laughs and personal stories — and how the real world is different from how their lives played on television on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City.” Ramona, who starred on 13 seasons of “RHONY,” and Avery, who first appeared on the show when she was 11, also discuss dating and relationships, lifestyle and wellness, finance and business, and more while welcoming special guests.
Aventine Research Institute and Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios on April 25 launched a new eight-part audio series, “Humans vs. Machines With Gary Marcus,” hosted by the AI expert, cognitive scientist and best-selling author. The series serves as the fourth season of “The World as You’ll Know It,” demystifying AI’s past, present and future and “bringing to life some of the technology’s most significant breakthroughs and failures,” according to the producers. The series is available on the Audacy app and other major podcast platforms.
CNN Audio’s “The Prince Mixtape,” which debuted April 19, takes listeners “inside the life of one of the greatest American music icons of all time” through the people who knew him, worked with him or “simply loved him from afar,” the news outlet said. The eight-episode series is hosted by podcaster, writer and poet Nichole Perkins, exploring key moments of the late artist’s life — like when his transgressive lyrics gave birth to the Parental Advisory sticker; when he fought to own his masters; and when he rocked that infamous booty cut-out pantsuit.
Candle Media’s ATTN: and Audible launched “Bizarre History,” an eight-part historical podcast series hosted by Natalie Zarowny. In the series, which premiered April 20 exclusively on Audible, Zarowny takes listeners on a journey through history to explore the origins of favorite pastimes, cultural traditions and societal norms and examines how they became commonplace – and what they say about our society and culture today. First produced by ATTN: as a YouTube series, ATTN: and Audible decided to partner on an expanded audio series. Season 1 of “Bizarre History” (at this link) explores how humans invented the bulldog; how pirates are the reason we measure in inches; whether winning the lottery will ruin your life; the old-fashioned way we fell in love (we didn’t), how Hollywood created a fake accent, why the mob is responsible for your recycling bins; how bras helped pass Title IV; and “the dark reason Henry Ford wanted us to all learn to square dance.” The series is produced by Mike Vainisi, Emily Berens and Dennis Jacobs on behalf of ATTN: and Ann Heppermann on behalf of Audible.
iHeartMedia and Charlamagne Tha God’s The Black Effect Podcast Network announced “That Moment With Daymond John,” a new podcast hosted by the Emmy-winning “Shark Tank” star. Premiering May 2, each Tuesday the FUBU founder and CEO will sit down with entrepreneurs, celebrities, athletes, artists and others to get their candid reflections on the moments that have shaped and redefined their lives. “I’m fortunate to get to speak with incredible moguls across all industries, and ‘That Moment’ gives me the chance to share their life-changing stories and insights with everyone,” John said in a statement. Guests include business moguls like Barbara Corcoran, entertainers Ice-T, Fat Joe and JB Smoove, and restaurateur and celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson. Distributed by the iHeartPodcast Network,“That Moment With Daymond John” will be available on iHeartRadio and all major podcast platforms.
GREENLIGHTS
LeBron James, currently in his 20th season in the NBA, is the focus of “A King’s Reign,” a new narrative podcast series from the New York Times’ The Athletic. Episodes will feature original reporting from The Athletic’s roster of experts including David Aldridge, Sam Amick, Marcus Thompson II, Joe Vardon, Jason Lloyd, Zach Harper and the “No Dunks” podcast crew. The 12-episode series is slated to debut this summer on “The Athletic N.B.A. Show” feed on The Athletic Podcast Network across audio platforms. “A King’s Reign” will delve into stories from James’ legendary career, from his high school prospect days to his unique rivalry with Steph Curry, his cultural impact as a “meme generator” and more.
ABC News announced podcast series “The Idaho Murders,” covering the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students in winter 2022 with the preliminary hearing for accused murderer Bryan Kohberger set for June 26. “The Idaho Murders” is set to launch in June 2023, available for free on major listening platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Stitcher, TuneIn, Audacy and the ABC News app. “The Idaho Murders” is produced by ABC Audio and executive produced by Laura Mayer.
DEALS
SiriusXM inked a multi-year extension to keep OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network’s slate of podcasts — including its flagship “Oprah’s Super Soul” — with the satellite broadcaster and audio platform. Under a new agreement between SiriusXM’s Stitcher Media and OWN LLC, the SXM Media advertising sales group will maintain exclusive global audio and video ad sales rights to OWN’s suite of podcasts. Stitcher will retain exclusive rights to distribute these shows across all podcast platforms via the SiriusXM Podcast Network. In addition, the renewed agreement provides resources to develop new podcasts and content by OWN. The parties first struck their partnership in 2017 with the launch of “Oprah’s Super Soul” podcast, and has since expanded to a network of several inspiring shows that altogether have a combined reach of nearly 100 million downloads per year. Shows include “Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings,” “Oprah’s Master Class,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show: The Podcast,” “Trials to Triumph” and “Iyanla: Fix My Life.” New episodes of OWN’s podcasts will continue to be available on the Stitcher and SXM apps, as well as all major podcast platforms.
Dear Media, the podcast network and brand incubator focusing on “strong women’s voices,” announced a multiyear partnership with comedian and actor Heather McMahan. On her podcast “Absolutely Not,” which she launched with Dear Media in 2019, McMahan “breaks down the everyday struggles she faces with no topics off limits,” according to the company. McMahan is currently on the 35-city “Heather McMahan: The Comeback Tour” across the U.S., which kicked off November 2022.
FESTIVALS
Tribeca Festival announced its audio storytelling lineup, including 18 world premieres from independent and established narrative audio creators and 11 “Live-from-Tribeca” events. This year’s festival, which takes place June 7-18, will highlight its audio storytelling selection from June 12-16. More info is at tribecafilm.com/podcasts.
The “Live-from-Tribeca” events will include an audio artists panel hosted by Avery Trufelman (Articles of Interest, 99% Invisible); a live taping of Crooked Media’s “Pod Save America” with guest co-host Alex Wagner; a 25th anniversary rewatch event of “Will & Grace” followed by a live taping of SmartLess Media’s “Just Jack & Will” featuring Sean Hayes and Eric McCormack; a live taping of “Selected Shorts” with bestselling author Roxane Gay; a live taping of New York Times Audio’s “Modern Love” with Kim Cattrall; and a live taping of Sonic Union’s “Perreo 101” followed by a musical performance by Cuban artists Yotuel and Beatriz Luengo. Additionally, the 2023 Tribeca Fesitval Audio Storytelling program showcases 16 official selections, including eight from independent creators and eight from established creators (evenly divided between fiction and narrative nonfiction series). World premieres from independent audio creators include the fiction series “The Fabulists” and “These Were Humans,” as well as the narrative nonfiction series “Abridged” and “Magic on a Winter’s Night.” World premieres from established creators include “The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart Island” (Radio Diaries and Radiotopia from PRX), “Free From Desire” (Paradiso), “The Very Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen” (Wolf at the Door Studios), and “Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto” (Crooked Media).