In a world of popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience, Call Her Daddy and Theo Von, Black is on a mission to champion the things that are strange, new, weird, trailblazing and genre-defying – shows that will be remembered a decade from now.

The problem is unlike film, podcasting doesn’t have a canon. That’s why he’s created the Essential Listening Poll, a rundown of the Top 100 Greatest Podcasts of all time, curated by a cross-section of leading audio makers, journalists and academics that’s been unveiled at Podcast Movement, with the support of Amazon Music.

We welcome Alan Black back to Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about discoverability, the broken economics of podcasting, and why he believes there needs to be more tastemaking in the audio space.

Read more about the Essential Listening Poll, here.

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Announced at Podcast Movement in Dallas on Tuesday, with support from Amazon Music, the list was voted on by a wide-ranging group of podcasters, hosts, journalists, and academics, who shared their top five shows, reflecting the work that has most inspired, engaged and influenced them. Voters included Alex Blumberg (StartUp), Brendan McDonald (WTF with Marc Maron), Hrishikesh Hirway (Song Exploder), Latif Nasser and Lulu Miller (Radiolab), Alex Sujong Laughlin (Normal Gossip), and Leon Neyhfak (Slow Burn), among other prominent audio makers. 

The Top 3 podcasts on the list are no surprise, with This American Life taking the #1 spot, followed by Serial and New York Times podcast, The Daily. Rounding out the Top 10 are WNYC’s Radiolab, S-Town, Heavyweight, Reply All, WTF with Marc Maron, Gimlet’s StartUp Podcast, and Love and Radio.

Several Canadian podcasts also made the list, with CBC Podcasts well-represented, including Hunting Warhead, which came in at #32, Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo (#33), WireTap (#38), Stolen (#52), Sea of Lies (#97), and Terry O’Reilly’s IDEAS, which squeaked onto the list via an eight-way tie in 100th position, alongside the likes of The Joe Rogan Experience, Wiser Than me with Julia-Louis Dreyfuss, and The Diary of a CEO, among other titles.

Somewhat inspired by the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound poll, which has ranked the Top 100 “greatest films of all time” once a decade since 1952, Black believes the lack of a podcasting “canon” means a lot of shows that have been off the charts for five to seven years, get lost in the annals of podcasting’s discoverability problem.

“Podcasting has nothing like that,” Black told Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast. “You can go Google ‘best podcasts of all time’ and you’ll find kind of annual lists, people saying the best of the year or the best of the first six months of the year, but there was really nothing that gave you a definitive list of the really important, monumental shows that inspired the shows to come.”

He’s optimistic the poll will be “a jumping off point” for new listeners to explore the history of podcasts and find those shows that broke new ground. While the Top 10 to 20 are shows the public is familiar with, Black says the rest of the list is littered with podcasts most people have probably never heard of.

“It is quite fascinating. Shows like Call Her Daddy or Theo Von…a lot of the chat cast shows, those did not make the list,” said Black. “They are insanely popular, but I think probably…those are shows people enjoy, but when you think of the things that made you, those are less significant.”

“The list is dominated by shows that stick with you. Shows that aren’t simple – like press record, don’t do much editing, do a little sound mix and publish. The shows on the list – the Radiolabs and the S-Towns and the Love and Radios – these are shows that are about mood and tone and they tell stories that are fascinating, human stories that stick with you. And I think the list tells you a lot about the things that people think about 10 years after they’ve listened to them,” he continued.

Explore the full list, along with ballots from featured voters here. You can also listen to the top 100 Greatest Podcasts of all time in a special Amazon Music collection.

Alan Black joined Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about the Essential Listening Poll, discoverability, the broken economics of podcasting and more. Listen on your favourite podcasting app or here:

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Vista Radio

The CRTC has approved a new broadcasting licence for Mohawk Multi Media Inc., initiating a power increase for its English and Kanien’ke:ha (Mohawk) language Indigenous ration station in Kanesatake/Oka, Que. The applicant currently operates low-power Indigenous radio station CKHQ-FM Kanesatake and is transitioning the station’s status to protect its frequency. The station will operate at 101.7 MHz (channel 269A1) with an effective radiated power of 51 watts (omni-directional antenna with an effective height of the antenna above average terrain of 55.9 metres). The station will broadcast 126 hours of programming a week, 119 hours of which will be local. The remaining seven hours will consist of wrap-around programming originating from Indigenous radio station CKRK-FM Kahnawake. 

StatsRadio has added more stations to its audience measurement service, which is now serving 107 stations across Canada and the U.S. This summer, the Quebec-based startup will begin servicing eight new stations, including Jewel 98.5 (CJWL-FM), ELMNT FM 95.7 (CFPO-FM), CKCU-FM 93.1 and CHUO-FM 89.1 in Ottawa, as well as PROUD-FM (CIRR-FM), ELMNT FM 106.5 (CFPT-FM), CJRU 1280 AM and CHOQ-FM 105.3 in Toronto.

MRC Data says the Alt Rock genre continues to grow with the support of its hardcore fans. MRC says 30% of U.S. music listeners tune into Alt Rock monthly with a majority of those listeners considering themselves fans (listening at least weekly). In addition to growth in streaming, they’re also buying the genre more (+20% vs. 2020). The uptick in genre consumption has led to Alt Rock album success on the Billboard 200 with albums like “OK Orchestra” by AJR, “Scaled and Icy” by twenty one pilots, “Delta Kream” by The Black Keys, “Chemtrails Over the Country” by Lana Del Rey, and “Medicine at Midnight” by Foo Fighters, debuting in the Top 10.

Spotify has launched its live audio product, the Spotify Greenroom app, in 135 markets for both iOS and Android, following its acquisition of Betty Labs in March, the company behind sports-focused audio app Locker Room. Spotify says the Greenroom offering will continue to evolve as new programming hits the platform spanning music, culture, entertainment and sports topics. It will also launch a Spotify Creator Fund, which will help live audio creators monetize their work. Interested creators can sign up to find out more about participation when the fund opens later this summer.

Amazon Music has launched DJ Mode for its U.S. customers to bring the feel of live radio to music streaming. DJ mode will serve up personalized, hosted stations, supported right now on four playlists: Rap Rotation, Country Heat, All Hits and Billie Eilish Takeover. The service is bundled as part of Amazon Music Unlimited.

The DGC (Directors Guild of Canada) Podcast officially launched this week with each episode featuring a conversation between filmmakers that takes listeners behind the scenes into the technique and process behind their work. Hosted by DGC Directors Aubrey Arnason and Katia Café-Fébrissy, among those featured in creative conversations are Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Yung Chang, John Fawcett, Tatiana Maslany, Sarah Polley and Garrett Bradley.

LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, Matt Cundill catches up with Christian Zyp, a host on University of Alberta campus and community station, CJSR 88.5 FM Edmonton where he helms the show “Moving Radio.” This episode does not have any discussion of breaks, bits, PPM numbers, digital anything, or workforce reductions. This is the story of community, friendship and gratitude. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

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