This year brought seismic changes to the podscape—splashy, big-money acquisitions by companies like Spotify, uneven, big-money débuts by players like Luminary—and, above ground, a healthy crop of reliably good, bountiful content. New daily-news shows arose beside the stalwarts; impeachment podcasts sprang up. History podcasts brought perspective, music podcasts brought joy, and one of my favorite podcast genres—the locally produced NPR-style narrative investigative series—continued to flourish.
Earlier years’ successes brought rewards, too. Earlonne Woods, of the great inside-San Quentin State Prison podcast “Ear Hustle,” transitioned to civilian life while continuing to co-produce the show. Reporting done by Madeleine Baran and her peers at “In the Dark,” in 2018, helped the case of its subject, Curtis Flowers, reach the Supreme Court in June—and then, on December 16th, it helped Flowers get released on bail, after twenty-three years in prison. This month, the…
