Spotify's face-scanning age checks, the best computer for podcasting, Shadows at the Door's Moth Week, and more

Issue 312 of The Fiction Podcast Weekly is brought to you by The Indie Podcasters’ Survey.

When you share your podcasting experiences in the Indie Podcasters’ Survey, not only can you enter to win gear from Lewitt, you can also get a copy of our Podcast Growth book, with tons of strategies to share your story with the people who want it most. Take the Indie Podcasters’ Survey so we can bring you more strategies to share your story with the world.

News, Roundups, and Announcements

• Podnews reports that “Spotify is adding age verification for users in the UK to access mature content, including podcasts marked as ‘explicit’. It uses a service called Yoti, which employs face scanning or asks you to upload images of your ID. It’s part of the UK’s Online Safety Act.” Wow, I bet Spotify will love all that tasty data. I bet they’ll keep it super-duper secure, too. Below, you can find more details about the age restriction.

• Spotify introduces face-scanning age checks for UK users, as some furious fans threaten to return to piracy, by Rowan Davies for Techradar Hoist the main sail, me hearties! Chances are that if you go to the podcast’s website, you can find their RSS feed listed on their “listen now” page and listen to the show on Overcast for free.

• Realm and Night Vale Presents announce multi-year partnership. Realm will oversee ad sales, distribution, and live events representation for the full Night Vale Presents slate.

• The Totally Phony, Overhyped, Artificial, Counterfeit YouTube Video Podcasting Revolution by Frank Racioppi for Ear Worthy pulls no punches and tells no lies.

• Evo Terra’s curated new collections in The End for your queue, including Feminist Fiction and Award Winners.

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Creator Resources

• RØDE CallMe is a new feature for the RØDECaster Pro II and RØDECaster Duo, designed to facilitate remote audio communication.

• Sarah Buchynski’s been busy! What’s the Best Laptop for Podcasting and Audio Production in 2025? and Best Computer or PC for Podcasting & Audio Production in 2025? are ready to help you make upgrading your setup easier.

• Every month is Pride Month. Indie AF’s Pride Special for 2025 includes conversations with LGBTQ+ audio drama and fiction podcast artists, made expressly for you.

• Designing The Midnight Walk’s Dark Fantasy Game Audio Jennifer Walden interviews sound designers Ola Sivefäldt and Christian Björklund for A Sound Effect about spatial audio, ambisonics, and making spooky fantasy worlds.

• Naming a Podcast is aimed at non-fiction podcasters, but you may reap some benefits from reading it.

• Got screen fatigue? I know I do. Fortunately, you can get the highlights of The Fiction Podcast Weekly in audio form. Check out The Fiction Podcast Weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

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Opportunities

• Casting "The Philanthropist's Conversation: Season Two", a fictional podcast investigating food resilience through exploring the cultures, traditions, and methodologies of global cuisines. “The podcast is a co-production between Lower Street Media and the client (a charitable organisation in the food resilience space).” Listing expires August 11.

• Casting "My Boo Buddies," a new children's podcast series featuring lovable ghost pets, spooky adventures, and tons of heart. “Think Bluey meets Casper the Friendly Ghost.” Listing expires Aug. 29. This one sounds cute & fun. Go get ‘em, Tiger!

• ICYMI: The SONOHR Radio & Podcast Festival in Switzerland is looking for international audio-based artistic works and performances that go beyond the limits of conventional audio productions (radio plays, produced audio pieces, podcasts) and explore new, unheard of, creative and daring approaches to the medium. Deadline: 4th August.

• The Women’s Audio Mission Internship Program (San Francisco) is a 13-week paid internship allowing women (transgender or cisgender) and non-binary/gender-expansive individuals in California’s Bay Area to learn audio engineering skills. The next deadline is the 4th of August.

• The James Castle House Residency is a 2-week or 2-month residency at the James Castle House in Boise, Idaho, “for mid-career artists in any creative field (except for particularly loud or messy ones) who are legally allowed to work in the United States.” Selected residents may receive a stipend. So, if you’re quiet and tidy, then this is for you.

• The Black Appalachian Storytellers Fellowship is a fellowship for oral tradition culture bearers from designated counties in Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The fellowship offers an award of $5000. Deadline: 11th of August.

Milestones & Debuts

• Next week is Moth Week on Shadows at the Door! Join us as Geoffrey Troughton travels to Point Pleasant to investigate some disturbing reports and do some soul searching... Starring David Ault, Graham Rowat, Rissa Montanez, Jamie Petronis, and featuring many famous cameos!

• Route Styx. What if mythology’s River Styx converged with America’s iconic Route 66? If you’re unfortunate enough to find yourself at Charon’s Freight & Fuel, buy anything but the gas. Paying for gas pays the toll. The road you’ll return to will be different from the one you left, you may have more (or less) passengers than when you started, and what you’ve been running from your whole life might finally catch up with you.

• The Big D. Englishman John 'Jinky' Spence has travelled to 1970s America to pursue his twin ambitions: to become a successful private eye and to achieve acting stardom.

• Don’t Mind: Sealskin Rock completed their tenth and ultimate episode of the Sealskin Rock season.

Keep sharing good stories.

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