Tag: radio

Smartspeaker listening is massively up, but sure, delaying podcasts will help drive adoption

The BBC really need to add more Siri intents to Sounds to enable smart speaker listening.

Rajar data continues to show that Smart speaker listening is on the up.

As someone thoroughly locked into the Apple ecosystem, until recently I’ve not been able to easily ask to BBC Radio services through my HomePods. I had to follow some Reddit posts to install shortcuts “hey Siri play Bbc 6 music” and suddenly I find myself listening to more BBC Radio as a consequence.

Previously I think you had to listen to stations ‘enough’ for Siri to recognise the activity, then it could be a suggested shortcut. It was a bit ugly, and down to how intents originally worked.

The Siri APIs have got more developed over time, and now it is possible to do this in a way that doesn’t require upfront declaration.

It’s funny then, that given the choice of “adding a play with Siri intent to BBC Sounds” or “delaying podcast release to open platforms”, that Auntie chose the latter…

This has the strange result:

  • The BBC’s first party actions have me listening to less BBC Podcast Audio – why listen to a topical podcast 4 weeks later, and having to remember to check BBC Sounds doesn’t match my workflow
  • Actions by a Third-Party, have me listening to more BBC Live audio

I know there are always backlogs, but Siri intents have been around for a while now…

Some great new/newish podcasts

Searching for a new podcast after Serial, there are loads of them to choose from right now.

Podcasting, after many of the UK newspapers pulled out of it, is going through a resurgence, here are some suggestions of additions to your listening list if you’re feeling a bit lost without Serial.

(I’ve still not listened to Serial, please don’t hate me).

NPR’s Invisibilia is from the same stable as RadioLab, but isn’t quite as heavily produced. Delving into the mind the first few episodes have been really enjoyable.

Alex Blumberg’s (formerly of This American Life and Planet Money) meta-podcast Startup about the launch of his podcasting empire (the one about the mistake is great listening to everyone who’s ever made one in business) has already stolen the hosts of internet show TL;DR to given us Reply All. Basically the same format, quirky stories about people and the internet.

Meanwhile back at WNYC TL;DR has a new host, and is still worth a listen.

Finally, Helen Zaltzman from Answer Me This now hosts a show about words, The Allusionist. It’s much shorter than AMT, and the first episode describing her suffering at her family’s puns will be all to real to anyone who listens to The Bugle.

You’ll be literally drowning Mail Chimp mentions and Square Space promo codes, did you know they’ve just launched Square Space 7 which integrates Getty Images… THEY’VE GOT TO ME.

Is scientific tear-down fair use?

Ben Goldacre is being asked to take down an extract of a show illustrating woeful misunderstandings of the MMR vaccines, and the risks associated with it.

Ben Goldacre has been asked by the lovely Lawyers at Global Radio to take-down his 44 minute extract of Jeni Barnett’s piece she did on MMR. Jenni, who later admitted she was woefully ill-prepared and started off an emotive debate on her blog with the standard pathos laden phrases like “as a mother…”, spouted a load of quasi-plausible pseudo-science about how awful vaccines were.

As Goldacre and others have pointed out many times, the Wakefield claims are totally refuted/withdrawn/dismissed now. There is no evidence that immune systems are overloaded by vaccination. There is a plethora of evidence that Measles is returning.

I hope he finds some legal representation, because at a time when we’re questioning the impact finance reporting can have on the real world economy, we should ask the same about science. But “as a mother…” people don’t tend to have opinions about the state of the credit default swaps market.