Entrepreneur and investor Naomi Simson launches Handpicked
Handpicked is the name of a new series from entrepreneur and investor Naomi Simson. The new podcast is the result of a collaboration between Simson, Jay Walkerden’s Podshape and agent Lauren Miller.
Simson calls her podcast a short form mentoring session that gets straight to what business owners need to know. Guests and their business questions are handpicked by Simson as she delivers advice around starting or saving a business and gives guidance on how to grow.
Naomi Simson has been the guest on many podcasts, all of whom reported increased downloads for her episodes, and she has now embarked on her own audio adventure.
“We wanted to flip the model and not have me just on a podcast interviewing different people,” Simson told Podcast Week‘s James Manning about the strategy she, Miller and Walkerden came up with. “People ask me about mentoring all the time and sometimes I feel I am repeating myself. This seems like a much better way of getting information to people that they can consume easily.”
Simson said she wanted to ensure season one had good diversity with rural, regional and metro businesses. “We also wanted start-ups and growth businesses and ones run by people of different genders and backgrounds.”
After requesting businesspeople to get in touch, Simson got bombarded with offers. “The age range goes from a businessperson who started at 19 through to someone in their 60s.
“What unites them all are the same challenges – finding more customers, keeping staff engaged and motivated, growing the businesses and making more money.”
Simson has an army of followers across various platforms. She has a newsletter, also called Handpicked (visit naomisimson.com to subscribe) and has no less than 2.8m followers on LinkedIn.
Naomi Simson has been ranked #2 global influencer when it comes to startups. She will be using the LinkedIn channel to showcase the Australian businesses she featured on the podcast to a big global audience.
Asked about the former Network 10 show Shark Tank Australia and her time as a “shark”, on four seasons she noted the Shark Tank Australia YouTube channel still runs the clips from all those shows to big, big audiences. “People are still stopping us in the street asking about the show.
“Are we sad it’s off air? Of course. We think it was a valuable source of information for people everywhere. It is important to continue to be able to showcase Australian businesses which is why I am doing this podcast.”
Handpicked with Naomi Simson is released every Monday, with a bonus episode every Wednesday called Handpicked Extra, that serves as a glossary and tool kit to review some of the key terms and insights revealed each week.
The first episode features Kerrie Richards who has been in manufacturing for 28 years, making products from Merino wool.
Handpicked launches with the support of two clients – Hummpro and Bendigo Bank.
See also: Podshape’s Jay Walkerden has been busy
Juliet Rieden and Bryce Corbett go on The Royal Record
Editor-at-large of The Australian Women’s Weekly and royal correspondent for the past 11 years, Juliet Rieden, has joined forces with her former colleague, Bryce Corbett, to produce the weekly podcast – The Royal Record – sifting royal fact from fiction, for LiSTNR.
Rieden and Corbett spoke to Podcast Week‘s Trent Thomas about why now was the right time to launch a podcast on the royals and why Australians are so enamoured with the royal family.
Rieden said that she had been thinking about it for a long while.
“Partly, every time that something happens to the royal family, I get calls from every media network in the country that wants to hear what I have to say. I was aware that I sort of became the only person who is seen as a royal correspondent in Australia because of my work with The Weekly and my work with the Palace that probably no other journalist does here.
“I was also very aware of the interest in the royal family here both from my work at The Weekly and my work on other networks and I thought a podcast might be a nice modern way to take those ideas and move them forward.”
Rieden said that while she had contributed to podcasts in the past that it was a new world to her. That’s when she reached out to Corbett who is a journalist with 25 years of experience, a published author and, via Squiz Kids (recipient of a 2020 Australian Podcasting Award), an award-winning podcast host.
Corbett said that the pair had been in discussions with LiSTNR for several months but the interest in the royal family was shown with one major moment in the news cycle.
“The death of Prince Phillip really crystalised a lot of thinking in the minds of a lot of media. There was enormous surprise from lots of media execs by the level of interest in the royals and in the death of Prince Phillip.
“If you combine that with the Netflix series The Crown, it underscores the appeal of the story that is the royal family. It is just so broad and cuts across so many demographics. It is not something that only people who buy women’s magazines are interested in because it’s history and speaks about who we are.”
Australians have always had an affinity to the royal family and Rieden believes this is due to the fact that they are Australia’s royal family as well as the UK’s.
When asked what to expect from the royal news cycle in the coming years the pair said that they expect it to keep giving and giving.
Rieden: “Initially I didn’t think it would be weekly but fortnightly or monthly, but I realised the news cycle changes so quickly, I could do a daily podcast if I had the hours in the day to do it. There is something happening in this space all the time and everyone has something to say about it.
“The interesting thing about royal reporting that is very different from any other reporting, in that a lot of it is watching, not talking, to your subjects. I have been privileged to do some interviews but they are very rare, and the majority of royal reporting is watching on and noticing and commentating. That level of commentary gives a lot of leeway to what people think because they are all dealing with their own personal vision, The more you watch of them the more you learn and the bigger picture you draw up, and that’s what I am hoping to draw on I have been watching them for 11 years.”
[Listen to The Royal Record here]
Maz Compton and Dr Sam Hay lead The Wellness Rebellion
The Wellness Rebellion with Maz Compton and Dr Sam Hay aims to reset everything that we know about our health and wellness, uncovering the truth and debunking the trends with science-based wellness information to improve your listener’s wellbeing.
Each episode in the new weekly podcast will see the pair discuss a wellness trend they want to know more about with Dr Hay providing listeners with the scientific facts. The hosts will then further explore the issue with weekly guest experts to cut through myths and deliver easy-to-understand truths to help people make choices to live healthier lives.
Compton said: “I, of all people, understand what it’s like to fall for a wellness trend. I’ve tried them all! And over the years I’ve been on my own journey of health and discovery. The Wellness Rebellion is about finding the truth, not the trend, and unpacking it with an expert, making what we chat about actually helpful.”
The Wellness Rebellion, produced by LiSTNR’s Mat Dwyer, is a weekly podcast that will be published every Monday.
[Listen to The Wellness Rebellion here]
News Corp launches dating and relationships podcast
News.com.au has launched a new dating and relationships podcast titled Kinda Sorta Dating.
Each week news.com.au’s dating columnist, Jana Hocking, will navigate her way through the maze of modern dating and relationships.
With the help of some famous friends and knowledgeable experts, Hocking explores topics that have everyone scratching their heads. Her guests will also share their own dating and relationship horror stories.
News.com.au editor-in-chief Lisa Muxworthy said: “Relationship and dating content is incredibly popular with the news.com.au audience and Jana brings a lot of light and fun to the topic.
“In our new podcast Kinda Sorta Dating, Jana will be talking to the likes of Candice Warner, Stu Laundy and Colin Fassnidge as well as putting the listener at the centre of the series by responding to their questions. We are really pleased that our audience can be involved in the podcast by asking Jana their relationship questions through a dedicated Facebook page, voicemail and email and she will then discuss and answer questions each week with her guest.”
Hocking said: “It’s 2021 and it feels like everyone is just ‘kinda sorta dating’. Trying to find love in a single ‘swipe’, while keeping our hearts open, barriers down and figuring out what the heck that text even meant – it’s exhausting!
“Throw in new dating terms like ghosting, breadcrumbing and love bombing and you’re left scratching your head.
“Kinda Sorta Dating explores the maze that is modern dating – it’s basically a dummy’s guide to finding love and having some fun along the way.”
A new episode of Kinda Sorta Dating will be published every Thursday.
[Listen to Kinda Sorta Dating here]
Magda Szubanski previews The Orchard podcast
Earlier this year, Audible announced their new crime podcast set for release in Winter, The Orchard.
With a lineup including the voices of Eric Bana, Magda Szubanski, Gary Sweet, and Olivia Deeble, The Orchard was recorded in Melbourne during quarantine.
Mediaweek’s Tess Connery spoke to Szubanski about recording the series. She said that more than ever during lockdown, people working in the industry were appreciative of their audience.
“It was great. I think everyone became so innovative about the way that things would be done. Eric was in the same room but at a great distance, and it was so terrific to see him.
“I think any of those in the entertainment and arts industry are just so grateful that people are finding innovative ways to allow performance to continue to happen. Because I think with the pandemic, the consumption of the creative arts is what got people through it – watching TV shows, listening to podcasts, all that sort of thing. But there is a particular thing that the arts do in terms of helping people with trauma – it gets in where other treatments often can’t. It’s not the only one, but it is a new angle on it.”
Queerstories joins Acast for third season
Queerstories, the award-winning podcast celebrating the culture and creativity of the LGBTQI+ community, has joined the Acast Creator network.
The podcast is part of a national storytelling project curated by Maeve Marsden, which also features a book and event series. It will now be hosted and distributed by Acast.
Curated, produced and hosted by the independent artist, writer and theatre-maker Marsden, season three of Queerstories has launched this week with the first episode featuring guest Sarah Tiong. Best known as one of MasterChef Australia’s favourite contestants from 2017 and 2020.
Marsden said: “With hundreds of episodes, the Queerstories podcast is such an incredible archive now, elevating the stories from the LGBTQI+ community that aren’t always heard. Partnering with a global leader in Acast allows me to bring these stories to more and more listeners — a perfect next step for the Queerstories project, as it continues to grow and further serve its thriving community.”
Queerstories features both professional storytellers and emerging talent, with each guest sharing the story they want to tell, but are never asked to — unexpected tales of pride, prejudice, resilience and resistance.
New episodes of Queerstories will be released every Tuesday. Upcoming guests include Samuel Leighton-Dore, Ellen Van Neerven, Liv Hewson, Omar Sakr and more.
Sarrah Le Marquand on success of Body+Soul and Stellar podcasts
Both Body+Soul and Stellar magazines have had a big year when it comes to podcasting. Body+Soul’s podcast Healthy-ish has doubled its audience since August last year and expanded to include a new long-form podcast, Extra Healthy-ish. In February, Stellar released their first podcast, Something To Talk About with Samatha Armytage.
Podcast Week‘s Tess Connery spoke to Sarrah Le Marquand, editor-in-chief of Body+Soul and Stellar about running podcasts connected to two different titles.
“The success of Healthy-ish is exactly a parallel story to the success of Body+Soul. It is really hard to put into words without sounding like you’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid, that growth in interest and consumer demand in all things health since Covid has been almost immeasurable. With Healthy-ish, it was a weekly podcast which became daily last year as a response to Covid, and it was so successful it’s become permanent.
“We’ve also now got Extra Healthy-ish. Healthy-ish is bite-sized, snackable to get your health and wellness tips. But we found that we were getting these great expert guests in and they had so much to say, there was genuinely too much. There was all this great stuff ending up on the podcast cutting room floor. So I think the success of Healthy-ish is drawn out now by Extra Healthy-ish.”
Sarrah Le Marquand
Le Marquand says that even though Stellar only entered the podcast world recently, they’re already seeing positive results.
“We’ve also had a lot of success with Stellar in podcasting this year, because we launched Something To Talk About with Samatha Armytage at the end of February. That’s Stellar’s first ever podcast, and that’s been hugely successful. It’s very different to Healthy-ish in the way that Stellar is very different to Body+Soul. The two very much reflect their magazines and their digital brands.
“I think it’s fascinating, the success of podcasting in and of itself. It’s just such an amazing story in media, a good news story over the last few years.”
[Listen to Healthy-ish here]
[Listen to Extra Healthy-ish here]
[Listen to Something To Talk About here]
Beyond Blue launches the second season of Not Alone
Beyond Blue has launched the second season of its podcast series, Not Alone, sharing stories from everyday Australians about their mental health, to help everyone with theirs.
Hosted by Walkley-winning journalist, interviewer, author and documentarian Marc Fennell, Not Alone aims to make mental health relatable and in doing so, reduce the stigma that stops people speaking up when they need support.
Season two of Not Alone explores the experiences of mental health from diverse communities across indigenous, LGBTQI+ and multicultural. In addition, this season discusses poignant mental health topics including suicide, the changing culture of men and mental health, postnatal depression, physical and emotional pain, self-acceptance, numbness and disconnection.
Not Alone podcast host Marc Fennell said, “This series has become so important to me. Every episode features courageous Australians getting very open and raw with me about their lives.
“But the really powerful part, for me at least, is how listeners have engaged with the series. Podcasting is still at its best when it’s intimate. I’ve had so many messages from people saying that they couldn’t help but hear their own challenges reflected in our guests. Ultimately, that’s what this project is really about: to remind you that no matter who you are or what you’re facing, you are not alone.”
Marc Fennell
The first episode, titled “Shifting male attitudes: My depression doesn’t make me weak” features TV personality Brad McEwan. In the space of two years, Brad lost his brother and father to suicide. He didn’t see either coming.
Wondery podcast’s television adaption coming to Stan
Stan has announced the new true crime drama series Dr. Death, starring Joshua Jackson (The Affair), Christian Slater (Mr. Robot) and Alec Baldwin (The Departed) will premiere soon.
Based on Wondery’s hit podcast, Dr. Death is inspired by the true-crime story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a rising star in the Dallas medical community. Young, charismatic and ostensibly brilliant, Dr. Duntsch was building a flourishing neurosurgery practice when everything suddenly changed. Patients entered his operating room for complex but routine spinal surgeries and left permanently maimed or dead. As victims piled up, two fellow physicians, neurosurgeon Robert Henderson and vascular surgeon Randall Kirby, as well as Dallas prosecutor Michelle Shughart, set out to stop him. Dr. Death explores the twisted mind of Dr. Duntsch and the failures of the system designed to protect the most defenseless among us.
