The New Rules of Podcasting (2026)

📌 Podcast Blueprint Workshop, Sept 8th 👉 https://depth-candor.kit.com/7ce288d99f We're on a break until the first week of September — see you there! 📥 Grab the free 10-step guide 👉 https://tenstepstolaunch.depthandcandor.com/ 👩🏽‍💻 Apply for Emerging Voices Accelerator 👉 https://hiwote.typeform.com/to/RETSnMtR \---------- I went to The Podcast Show in London - one of the biggest podcast conferences in the world - and asked the people who actually build shows for a living the questions I get from beginners every week. Justin Jackson (founder of Transistor), Jeremy Enns (Podcast Marketing Academy), Jesse Baker and Eric Nuzum (executive producers on Esther Perel's Where Should We Begin). Here are the 5 takeaways I brought back: 1️⃣ IS THE IDEA WORTH MAKING? - Jesse's test isn't "will it succeed", it's "is it something you can't stop thinking about?" Then Eric's follow-up: keep getting more specific until nothing else like it exists. 2️⃣ DOES EVERY PODCAST NEED VIDEO? - the honest answer nobody gives you: there's no single correct way anymore. The real question is whether video makes YOUR show better and whether it's worth the extra work. 3️⃣ HOW DOES A NEW SHOW GET DISCOVERED? - Jeremy's distinction that reframed this for me: exposure gets you seen, attraction gets you chosen. Most people have an attraction problem and treat it like a traffic problem. 4️⃣ WHAT MAKES A SHOW WORTH EXPERIENCING? - I watched an AI podcast company get booed on stage. But the real threat isn't AI hosts. It's when the AI summary of your show is better than your show. 5️⃣ HOW DO YOU FIND A FORMAT? - a format is just a repeatable promise your audience recognises. You find it by making the thing, not by planning it for months. Plus the story of how a small, imperfect show I made called Depth & Candor is exactly what got me hired. Subscribe for weekly podcast production tips, and tell me in the comments which takeaway you needed most. 🙋🏾‍♀️ Who am I? Hey, I'm Hiwote, but my friends call me Hiwi! 👋🏾 I'm a podcast producer, and I've worked on shows like Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel, This is Dating (featured in TIME Magazine as one of the best podcasts of 2022), and projects with The New York Times, TED, and more. My goal? To help aspiring podcasters gain the creative clarity and confidence they need to create shows that are as unique as they are. –––– Ready to start? ✅ Subscribe for weekly tips on how to create and grow a podcast that feels like you. 📥 Grab the free 10-step guide: https://tenstepstolaunch.depthandcandor.com/ Want to Stay Connected? 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emergingvoicesstudio/ 🔗 Mentioned in this episode: Three Books podcast → https://open.spotify.com/show/6mahGgTDbirBM5IaPBZ8lS Transistor (Justin Jackson) → https://transistor.fm/ Podcast Marketing Academy (Jeremy Enns) → https://podcastmarketingacademy.com/