Compiled by Grace Gollasch and Tess Connery
Katie Williams on becoming the Gwyneth Paltrow of Australia with Better For It
Back in March, Podcast Week spoke to Better For It host Katie Williams as she returned for a new season of her popular health podcast. With the second season well and truly underway, Podcast Week’s Tess Connery swung by to ask Williams how the show has been evolving and what comes next for Better For It.
“It’s been going really well, we’ve been expanding the topics massively,” says Williams. “The way Better For It is now, whatever health challenge I’m going through, I will find an expert in that field to give the best advice, resources and tools for other people also going through that.
“The whole point of Better For It is that it’s a health and wellness podcast to inspire people to redefine what healthy means to them and to question their health habits. Then we give them tangible tools to make those positive changes.”
While each episode tackles a different topic with a different guest, Williams says that the format stays the same.
“Every episode is a how-to, we just frame it differently. For instance, one of the episodes is how to set boundaries and say no, but we’ve framed it as ‘if it’s not a fuck yes, it’s a no.’
“Wednesday episodes are solving a health issue, and then on Mondays, we do three tips for anything really in the health and fitness space – three tips for eating more intuitively, three tips to digest your food better, three tips to create a killer morning routine. So it’s a really diverse podcast in holistic health. The goal for me is to be the Gwyneth Paltrow of Australia.”
Back in March, Williams said that she would be “talking about different types of therapy, kinesiology, energy worth, crypto, gut health and all the weird and wacky stuff that I do that I want to normalise.” Having taken the plunge, she says now that it was actually a particular episode with Ryan Rose Evans around shame that stands out as a highlight.
“The episode is about how to identify and let go of shame. The biggest thing for me has been feeling shame around my sexuality and being able to let go of that – I don’t really identify as bisexual, I don’t love labels, but I now am in a same sex relationship, and I have previously been with men. I think really diving deep into the sex chats has been really interesting, we’ve had three sex therapists come on.”
Looking ahead, Better For It will be keeping Williams busy for the foreseeable future.
“The way I would prefer the podcast to keep moving is to go down this controversial taboo line. There are not a lot of bisexual women who jump on their podcast to speak about their sex life, coming out to their family, being in the media, suffering from mental health after a big television show. I was trolled for my sexuality after Big Brother. I think what we’re talking about, and the experts that we’re getting in is cutting through the bullshit that’s on the internet.”
With an audience that is growing every day, Williams says that she ultimately hopes that the podcast will help people question what makes something healthy.
“I want them to be able to question everything they’re doing in their health – from their nutrition, fitness, sleep, sexual health, financial health, from the words they say to themselves, to the environment they’re in. I want them to understand that their health is so multi layered, and to tackle each part of it one step at a time.
“I want the audience to come on a journey with me to better themselves one habit at a time, and to feel that they have an empowering community behind them.”
[Listen to Better For It here]
Acast acquires Podchaser to deliver podcast data and accessibility
Independent podcast company, Acast, has signed an agreement to acquire podcast database, Podchaser.
The planned acquisition aims to strengthen Acast’s commitment to ensuring podcasts are accessible across all platforms. The integration of Podchaser and its data will aim to deliver the industry’s richest set of authoritative, structured metadata.
Ross Adams, Acast’s CEO, said: “As true champions of open podcasting, Acast and Podchaser combined will accelerate the innovation and democratization of the podcasting ecosystem for podcasters, listeners and advertisers everywhere.
“Together we will unlock the vast opportunity that we know exists for open podcasting to not just have parity with the data held by closed, paywalled platforms, but to leap forward and surpass them.”
Once integrated, this combination of Podchaser and Acast will push forward innovation, elevating discoverability for all in the industry and providing an even better resource for listeners, advertisers and partners.
The acquisition of Podchaser follows a number of high-profile recent announcements from Acast, including its integration with Facebook owner Meta and podcast giant Marc Maron joining the Acast Creator Network.
ARN and Fremantle announce Family Feud The Podcast with Peter Helliar
An iconic game show is making the move from TV to podcasts with the launch of Family Feud The Podcast, from ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia, the KIIS Network, and Fremantle.
Hosted by comedian, actor and TV personality, Peter Helliar, the new series is based on one of the world’s most popular game shows, Family Feud. Each episode features two celebrities as they fight for glory.
The podcast features Australian comedians, musicians, chefs, and actors including Waleed Aly, Tony Armstrong, Tom Gleeson, Osher Günsberg, Claire Hooper, Nazeem Hussain, Samuel Johnson, Meshel Laurie, Jessica Mauboy, Luke McGregor, Pia Miranda, Dave O’Neil, Matt Preston, Denise Scott, Ryan Shelton, Merrick Watts, and Will & Woody.
Peter Helliar, host of Family Feud The Podcast says: “Family Feud has been a family favourite for decades in Australia. I’m excited to be taking such a beloved television show and giving it new life as a podcast.
“What makes this show so fun is that you can enjoy it alone or play along as you go if you’re listening with other people. So, if you’re hitting the road with family or mates, be sure to listen in for some healthy competition to get the road trip started!”
[Listen to Family Feud The Podcast here]
So Dramatic! reaches new milestone with 6 million downloads
So Dramatic! is celebrating several exciting milestones this week.
On July 18, the TV & Film Podcast So Dramatic! with Megan Pustetto celebrated two years since its first episode. Since its launch, the show has produced over 200 episodes and six million downloads.
Additionally, So Dramatic!’s daily podcast, So Dramatic! Daily, which launched in February 2022, has hit half a million downloads in just six months.
CEO & Founder Megan Pustetto said: “I am incredibly proud of the team and all of our massive achievements in such a short space of time.
“The growth So Dramatic! has seen in its first two years has been exponential, so I am extremely excited to see what we can achieve in the next year and beyond.
“Our key focus will be continuing to entertain, inform and challenge our audience with thought-provoking celebrity news with a strong focus on female-driven content. We are so grateful for the support of our audiences who have helped us achieve these huge milestones.”
Football Australia releases new video podcast for the Australia Cup
Football Australia (FA) and I Want It Yesterday are bringing together the next generation of football creators to tell the stories of the 2022 Australia Cup through five video podcast episodes.
Each episode will cover each fixture from the Round of 32 to the Grand Final.
The Magic of the Cup video podcast will be hosted by Claudio Fabiano and feature some of I Want It Yesterday’s talent network, such as Adamo De Nigris, Kat Sasso, Daniel Olaniran, Kat Haddad and more.
They’ll be joined by current & former NPL/A-Leagues players in a light-hearted, yet educational preview of all the biggest names and potential hidden gems that will be in action during Australia’s biggest knockout sports competition.
I Want It Yesterday have utilised their video podcast studio in Sydney to create a full-length audio-only show for all listening platforms, as well as a full-length video show, social cutdowns in all vertical formats and cultural pieces to sit within the program as segments and highlight the unique tradition of some of Australia’s oldest football clubs.
[Listen to The Magic of the Cup here]
National Library of Australia debuts Bookmark This podcast
Bookmark This is a new podcast by the National Library of Australia. The first series, Off Stage, is hosted by freelance journalist and playwright Melanie Tait.
It covers Australian theatre, dance, music, and film stories through an exploration of the National Library’s exhibition, On Stage: Spotlight on Our Performing Arts, running until August 2022.
Guests on the podcast include curators, authors, and academics. Freelance podcast creator and producer Kim Lester is the podcast’s technical producer and sound engineer.
[Listen to Bookmark This here]
AFR podcast, How I Made It, releases second season
The Australian Financial Review’s podcast interview series, How I Made It, has returned for a second season.
In each episode, host and co-rich list editor, Julie-anne Sprague, chats with those featured on The Australian Financial Review Rich List. The guests discuss their life and backgrounds, share stories of building wealth from the ground up, and provide advice and insights along the way.
The first season featured Jack Cowin, Jane Lu, Tony Walls, Jessica Sepel, Wes Maas, and Graham Turner as guests.
[Listen to How I Made It here]
