Hiding Inception Point AI, by Dustin Bluck for Castro. Bluck, owner of Castro, said, “This company seems to be keying on popular searches in order to flood search results and deceive users.” If you truly want to listen to an Inception Point show using Castro, you can add the RSS feed.

Apple Podcasts’ Content Guidelines now require that “Creators using AI to generate a material portion of the podcast’s audio must prominently disclose this in the audio and metadata for each episode and/or show,” and “Creators must not use AI in violation of these guidelines, including to mislead or deceptively portray real-life events in their content (e.g., using AI to fabricate news stories or manipulate audio clips to present false narratives).” (Psst: you can report a concern in Apple Podcasts. It doesn’t take long to type, “[Title of podcast] breaks Apple Podcasts’ content guidelines.”)

Podnews reports that “Spotify for Creators released a new set of terms and conditions. The company has sent an email explaining the key updates.” Podnews shows the changes to Spotify’s terms and conditions highlighted here, in Diffchecker.

In The-Emperor-Has-No-Clothes-Again News, Podnews also reports that Oxford Road Uncovers Stunning 25% Gap In Podcast Video Ad Performance. I wonder how well Oxford Road and Podscribe’s latest white paper, "Re-Thinking YouTube: Why Your Video Podcast Ads Are Converting 25% Worse Than Audio,” performs in Google search results?

RAJAR has released Autumn 2025's MIDAS survey of audio consumption in the UK. Results show that 14% of female respondents listen to fiction and drama podcasts, compared with 7% of men. Comedy was the most popular, selected by 29% of male respondents and 31% of female respondents.

Podnews reports that Podcasting and Audio Given a Seat on the Creative Industries Council Following AudioUK Campaign. Congratulations, AudioUK!

The Top: Be the main sponsor of an issue for $99 per week or $340 for four weeks.

The Middle: Purchase a Classified Ad for $28. These sit in the middle of the email and have no accompanying graphics.

The Bottom: Get your link and logo in our Supporter Gallery for $4.99 a month or $50 a year. New Supporter Gallery sales are temporarily suspended while I figure out recurring payments. Thank you for your patience. ​

The Program audio series year in review: 2025 details the producers’ strategies for sustainability over the past year, and how they worked out.

The Sojourn HQ shares a nugget of wisdom about writing for Audio Drama.

In the December edition of All Hear, Talia Augustidis shares opportunities for podcasters, as well as Tips for Listening Events.

Recording Nature Sounds – A Trail Mic Guide (Step-by-Step) by Paul Virostek for Creative Field Recording

Are Video Clips Stealing Your Podcast Listeners? by Katie Paterson for The Podcast Host

OpusClip Can’t Spin Straw into Gold. But It Can Save You Time, by me, Lindsay.

Flat Downloads Don’t Always Mean Flat Growth. But They Might Hide a Bigger Problem is the latest episode of Podcraft.

Casting Call: Paranormal Investigation Audioseries. Listing expires 6 January.

ICYMI: Sonic Dash is a 48-hour competition to create a 2-minute audio piece entirely from scratch. The contest starts on 9th January at noon ET and ends at the same time on 11th January. The registration deadline is 4th January, 12 pm EST.

The Wave Farm Media Arts Assistance Fund provides financial support to applicants residing in New York State for new or recently completed sound art for public presentation to New York State audiences. Grant awards assist artists in completing new work, reaching public audiences, and advancing artistic exploration and public engagement in the media arts. Deadline: 15th January, 11:59 pm ET.

Voice Characters in an Action Role-Playing Game + More Voiceover Jobs, by Ashley Steves for Backstage

HEY, GUESS WHAT? If you send in your favorite winter-holiday-themed fiction podcast episode (or whole podcast), and if I receive enough of them, I will send out a special issue of The Fiction Podcast Weekly with good things for your podcast queue to enjoy over the Yule-through-Twelfth Night Dark Time. Send it to me at The Fiction Podcast Weekly’s submission form, click the box for “Launches & Milestones,” and include how this relates to the winter holidays.

The Haunted. My name is the Keeper and I have a cavern full of new hauntings.

Other than that, no relevant launches came across my desk this week, which stinks because it’s THE DARKEST TIME OF THE YEAR, at least in the Northern hemisphere. Quit launching in October! Launch in December or January when everyone’s hibernating and needs an escape!

Tink Media’s Audio Delicacies are back for the festive season, with recommendations from podcast luminaries of whom you should also take note. Bookmark this list!

Comedy Gold! This collection, curated by Evo Terra for The End, could take your mind off the news in a good way (and help you win Whammageddon, if you keep your earbuds in while shopping)

Christmas Is Coming. This Chrimble-themed collection (again, curated by Evo Terra for The End) could potentially lull your drunk uncle into avoiding political and social commentary.