Four Indie Podcasts That Have Made Changes For The Better

  Making changes to an existing podcast is often like working on a car as it travels down an expressway at 60 MPH (KPH). It also takes courage because people don't like change, even if it's for the better. 

However, independent podcasters who embrace change despite the risks are brave entrepreneurs who are not afraid to upset the proverbial apple cart. Today, we'll look at four examples. 

Two of the changes are name (title) changes, while the third change is a revised podcast opening, and the fourth is a rethinking of the show format and audience interactions.

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 The Life Shift adds a new trailer

On The Life Shift podcast, host Matt Gilhooly has candid conversations with people about the pivotal moments that changed their lives forever.

On the podcast's website, it reads: "We all have our stories, but through these conversations, we discover communities. We learn that there are commonalities through the ups and downs that we all face. But most importantly, we learn that we are not alone."

The Life Shift podcast highlights life-altering moments and humanizes the struggles and triumphs through them all.

Creator/Host Matt Gilhooly told us: "I recorded a new trailer and a new opening for The Life Shift."

While doing so may be a minor tweak, such changes can be seismic to listeners. Moreover, Matt's new trailer crystallizes the objective of the show. 

Check out the trailer here: https://youtu.be/DY7gXXj7vZA 

The Life Shift just announced that it has surpassed 475,000 views. 

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Crafted podcast is renamed Future Around & Find Out (FAFO)

Independent technologist and former NPR journalist
Dan Blumberg has announced the rebranding of the three-time Webby Award-honored podcast CRAFTED to its new face: Future Around & Find Out (FAFO). The rebrand marks a strategic shift toward the future, away from past-tense case studies, to help builders navigate an
era that's equal parts exciting and terrifying.

Led by Blumberg’s journalistic rigor, optimistic-yet-critical lens, and experience as a product management leader at LinkedIn, The New York Times, banks, and startups, the show exists to help builders think clearly about AI and emerging technologies, grapple with the implications, and decide what to build next.

“Hey, you know what would be awesome? If we could build the future we want, before we f*ck it up. We can do it… we are building amazing things right now… but there’s also this dread a lot of us feel. I mean the headlines say AI is either going to put us all out of work – or straight up kill us – or lead to heaven on Earth. So, what do you think? Well, I think we have the power to build the future we actually want.” says Blumberg, creator, and host of FAFO.

The new season officially kicks off on February 3.

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 TIL Climate podcast renamed to MIT podcast

 MIT's TIL Climate podcast has rebranded to Ask MIT Climate for its eighth season, aiming to consolidate resources and expand its reach. The show continues to break down complex climate science, policies, and solutions, while expanding into video content on platforms like TikTok and YouTube

 Here is a one-minute video explaining the name change.

 This show is not a climate change cheerleader. Instead, it is a climate change explainer and a solutions investigative body.

Here's what I love about the Ask MIT Climate podcast. Most climate change podcasts are forbidden ground for climate deniers, because people are always afraid that information that conflicts with their worldview could be legitimate, accurate and viable.  

Yet, the Ask MIT Climate podcast is different. Their arguments aren't moral, ethical, spiritual, or existential. No, they reveal climate science in comprehensible slices, and they allow you to make the sandwich that makes sense of this data. 

In season eight, the new host will be Madison Goldberg, and our expectation is that she will be up to the gold standard maintained by Laur Hesse Fisher for seven seasons.

If you are confused by the conflicting and contradictory information flying around social media about climate change, or you just want to know more without the preaching, listen to the ASK MIT Climate podcast. 

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Famous & Gravy welcomes Arielle Nissenblatt to audit the show

The last change is the most intriguing. The Famous & Gravy podcast is a success story for independent podcasters. The show began with a three-minute trailer in late December 2021. In 2024, the show became part of the Wondery podcast network, making that quantum leap from indie to network-supported show. 

Even though co-creator/host Michael Osborne is where thousands of indie podcasters would like to be, he is not content to maintain without constant improvements.  As best-selling Canadian author Robin Sharma once said, "Small improvements over time lead to stunning results."

Michael Osborne realizes that wisdom and is on the road to those eventual results. To help him, Michael released an episode this week with Podcasting Hall Of Fame Inductee Arielle Nissenblatt, who Michael invited to audit his show and provide feedback. 

Listen to the episode because it's a fascinating diagnosis of a podcast by a seasoned pro (she's young in years, to be clear). For me, the most compelling part of the discussion was in the beginning, when Arielle laid some serious wisdom on Michael and the audience. Michael admitted that he didn't want to do a video version of his show, noting, "There is something pure about an audio exclusive show. Listeners come to an audio podcast with a lot less judgment and lot more grace."

"Visuals can be a distraction from the main experience," Michael adds.

As Michael grappled with not having a video version, Arielle Nissenblatt laid down some serious wisdom, saying, "If you don't want to add video as a podcaster, don't."

She goes on to say that adding a video version is not a guarantee of success and many who have invested the time, training, and equipment to go video have been disappointed by the meager results.

 If you're an independent podcaster or passionate listener, check out this episode.

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 All four of these podcasters have decided that the status quo no longer works for them, or, more importantly, for their current and future listeners. I can only add to Arielle's wisdom that if you don't want to do video, Don't! Following the crowd often leads to being last, not first, in line.

However, thinking like Michael Osborne can only improve your show. Don't be afraid of change. Ask your listeners what they want. Ask yourself what you want. Evaluate what the market wants. Talk to experts like Arielle or Anne from Tink Media. 

Consider the courage it took for Marc Maron to end his podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, after 16 years. That may be the most radical change of all. Mr. Maron said on his website, "We’ve done great work. There’s absolutely no reason to just keep plugging along because we can. It’s okay for things to end."

I'll end with a quote attributed to Albert Einstein. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."