In this episode, we're going to India to talk with Abhishek Baxi of Podcast Hub!

Abhishek is a prolific writer covering tech and podcasting and is the founder of Podcasthub.in, covering the podcast ecosystem with a focus on the Indian podcasting industry. He is a digital consultant working on digital social media, mobile strategy for brands, organizations, and local businesses. He is also a technology journalist, a Senior Editor at Neowin, a Contributor at The Morning Context, and a Columnist at Hindustan Times.

We talked about:

• Abhishek's origin story: How he became obsessed with blogging and jumping into podcasting
• The entirety of the Indian podcasting scene: What is happening there? Abhishek gives us a detailed overview of all the podcasting players in the Indian podcasting space
• From Amazon's confusing strategy in India to Spotify's acquisition of shows, and India's audio consumption culture 
• How do we make the jump to go from radio to podcasts?
• Are independent producers and content houses doing well in India? What about investment and circulation? 

Enjoy!

Links

• Podcast Hub
• Abhishek's Website
• Abhishek's Twitter
• Abhishek's LinkedIn
• Abhishek's Instagram

In this episode, we are going to China to have a conversation with someone who is gathering stories there, none other than the Host of Mosaic of China: Oscar Fuchs!

Oscar is the Host and Producer of Mosaic of China, a lighthearted English language podcast showcasing an array of people who are currently making their mark in China. Previously the Co-Founder of a headhunting company, that venture brought him to many different countries in Asia: three years in Japan, six years in Singapore, three years in Hong Kong, and five years in China. Now he is based in Shanghai.

In this episode we talk about:

• Oscar's origin story, from completing a 250-kilometer ultra-marathon in Namibia to starting Mosaic of China.
• The preconceptions and assumptions of China that Oscar is tackling with each episode
• Podcasting best practices in China and why we need two RSS feeds
• What's in the pipeline for Oscar as he wraps up Season 1
• The meaning of Asia as a word and how it is defined by Western influences

Enjoy!

Links

• Mosaic of China Website
• Mosaic of China WeChat
• Mosaic of China Instagram
• Oscar Fuchs' LinkedIn

In this episode, we're going to take a trip to Taiwan, to have a chat with the host of the A.Connector Podcast, Mark Forman.

The Brooklyn Bluesman, as he is notably called RBBluesman, Mark is part of a consultancy providing various business education and communication training, speaking services online on the internet and live in-person originally from Brooklyn, New York. He studied Chinese culture and history in university and moved to Taiwan from 1987 to continue Chinese language studies.

From the podcasting perspective, he is right up there with the core group of podcasters starting up the first-ever podcasts. So we are going to do a little bit of time travel when it comes to talking about how podcasting started, now with his current show, A.Connector, satisfying his curiosity by talking to interesting people around the world.

We talked about:

• His origin story: How Mark started podcasting, coming into contact with the medium 
• Mark's connection to Evo Terra, a previous guest and amazing guy (Hi Evo!)
• The social dynamics between Western and Asian culture, not only from a podcasting perspective, but in terms of communication. 
• How conservative should we be when it comes to starting a podcast in Asia,
• The methods of showcasing frustration and moral outrage according to two different cultures
• Mark's thoughts on the Asian podcasting scene and much more. 

Enjoy!

Links

• Mark's Twitter
• Mark's Website
• A.Connector Twitter
• A.Connector Podcast

In this episode, we're going next door to Singapore to talk to a star in Asia's podcasting scene: Niki Torres! 

On a mission to reach out to thriving women and deconstruct their success stories, Niki, the Host of Chief Best Friends, talks to business partners who are actually best friends to see how can they thrive in their startup or their idea while keeping a healthy relationship with each other. And I thought I reached out to her after her launch of season two, to see how she is doing.

We talked about:

• How Chief Best Friends started: its missions, values and the impact that Niki is aiming for
• The other podcast ideas she's had and pitching this show in Splice Beta, the event for Asia's digital media transformation.
• The lack of awareness and biases that we tend to have in the VC world, the business world and the startup world. What are the different issues and barriers that women have to tackle all the time? 
• Handling her podcast with strict criteria for guests
• Nuances in Asia's podcasting ecosystem and its differences between the Western markets from cultural to language barriers.

Enjoy!

Links

• Chief Best Friends Website
• Business Friendships Funds Substack

Kicking off Season 3, we are talking with Rovik Robert, Co-Host of SG Explained!

SG Explained explores and takes a deep dive into all things Singapore-related: from policies to racism and history of Singapore to lighter subjects like chicken rice (one of my favorite foods!).

Since Rovik has been doing this for a couple of years now, I reached out to him to see his thoughts on starting this show and navigating through multiple topics of different levels of sensitivity in a multicultural context. Plus (of course), his observations on the Singaporean podcasting scene.

We talked about:

• Rovik's podcast origin story and starting up SG Explained
• His workflow and choosing the right topics and making sure, to get the most out of each opportunity in trending topics like racism, especially in Singapore
• The art of conversation, and the three types of conversations you can have
• How Rovik cooperates with his cohosts well, even if they have different opinions
• The other podcasts he's working on, including one internal within a corporate environment

Enjoy!

Links

• SG Explained Facebook Page
• Rovik's Instagram
• Mentioned Shows
  • 99% Invisible
  • Dave Chen show
  • New Naratif's Podcasts

Hello there, Norman here and welcome to Podlovers Asia, season three, coming in. If you are just tuning into the show, Podlovers Asia covers the Asian podcasting scene through conversations with producers, hosts, and independence as well as leaders in the podcasting space covering anything related to Asia's podcasting ecosystem.

And that as a very strange phrase to say, because what is the Asian podcasting ecosystem with every country, every market having, their own factors, their own nuances. That makes it unique. 
I, your host am on a mission to map that out so that anyone that is interested in tapping into the markets here would be much more informed and will collectively grow the ecosystem altogether.

With season three, coming out, expect more conversations throughout the Asian continent from Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and many more

Excited to get back into this. If you have any recommendations for people that I should talk to.

Tweet at me at Podlovers Asia, or send me an email [email protected]. That is [email protected]. And send me over someone that you think might be a great fit for the show. And we can have an amazing conversation about what makes up each and every Asian market. So without further ado, let's dive into season three, coming out soon. Take care.

• Podlovers Asia Group
• Splice Low-Res 3: Freelancing opportunities in spite of covid (Future Plans for Podlovers Asia)
• Splice Coverage

• Nikesh's origin story, how he went from spending decades writing novels, doing spoken word to diving into the world of podcasting
• His writing process: Using TV and screenwriting techniques to create fast binge-worthy episodes
• The unique structure behind Indian Noir and its multiple shows
• Nikesh's take on the creative podcasting scene and how to tap into it as a budding podcaster/creative

• 4:57 Writing in a dying publishing industry: Nikesh's origin story
• 8:18 Poetry and the beauty of recitation
• 11:15 "I've always had a very dim view of the world" Focusing on crime, and the start of His Night Begins
• 14:11 "What about our stories?" The void of Indian crime and horror stories
• 18:43 Indian Noir's audiences span the globe because stories transcend cultural contexts
• 20:31 Spikes in listenership from overseas (US, Middle East, Australia), and Horror in Asia
• 22:46 A billion people and multiple languages: The sheer potential of translating Indian Noir
• 24:46 Indian Noir's multi-show structure: Indian Noir X, One Shots, FearFM and Desi Crime
• 29:09 "I do not think of Indian Noir as a podcast" Nikesh compares running his show to HBO
• 29:56 "Television is the most superior, supreme form of storytelling, full-stop."
• 32:37 The release schedule for Indian Noir, the podcast run like a TV channel
• 36:44 My own fiction show, Tempered Fables, the lore and continuity behind it
• 40:38 The beauty of oral storytelling
• 41:50 Oral storytelling has always been the oldest form of storytelling
• 43:58 How Nikesh feels about ending His Night Begins
• 45:37 "I get complaints if there isn't an episode" The fierce loyalty of His Night Begins fans
• 46:18 The pressure of ending a show, and writing a satisfying ending
• 49:48 Nikesh Murali will be the sole actor of Indian Noir, and why
• 53:10 The challenges of being a single voice actor
• 55:12 Indian Noir as a duty, novel adaptations, and the satisfaction of making a podcast
• 58:33 Invest in your craft, invest in your skillset
• 1:03:59 The learner's mindset
• 1:05:20 What Nikesh would like to see more of in the Asian podcasting scene - critical analysis of the scene itself
• 1:11:13 EXTRA: More on fiction, backgrounds and accents!

• Listen to Indian Noir in your favourite app
• Indian Noir Website
• Indian Noir on Audioboom
• Indian Noir Twitter
• Nikesh's Website

• The leap of faith from auditing at KPMG to fulltime podcasting
• The mindsets, struggles and worries behind starting your own independent podcast business
• Why countries in Asia are not 'advertiser-ready' yet, plus growing trends

• 02:57 - Meeting with Danny's first client and his origin story
• 5:59 - "He sent a thousand Facebook messages": hearing about Happiness Initiative inspires him
• 9:08 - Leaving KPMG: What was going through Danny's mind?
• 15:32 - Building up Fabl Productions, how Danny captures opportunity
• 17:51 - Danny shares tips on how to dive into podcasting as a business
• 20:07 - "They're not looking for one way, they're looking for the best way" what aspiring podcasters look for in Asia
• 21:00 - Podcasting for money in the short term and McDonalds
• 23:34 - Comparing success to the best podcasters, and Joe Rogan's episode one
• 24:51 - The intangible benefit of podcasting, according to Danny
• 29:00 - What is on Danny's podcast playlist? Renegade Radio!
• 33:50 - What Danny would like to see more of in the Asian podcasting scene?
• 41:26 - BONUS! We chat freeform about my story, random stuff happening podcasting-wise and other shenanigans :)

• Fabl Productions website
• Facebook Page
• Instagram

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Twitter

• 青春抛物线 (Pillars Of Youth)
• The Anthropocene Reviewed
• Planet Money
• Freakonomics

• Check us out on Podchaser!
• Join the discussion on Kyrie!
• Here's our main website!
• Buy me a coffee! :)

• The mission behind the Passion People podcast,
• Naga's observations and predictions on the Indian podcasting scene
• The definition of passion as a pursuit of expression

• 02:55 Naga's origin story and how he got into podcasting
• 05:30 "We're always safeguarded in India" Unlocking his source of passion
• 10:26 The helm, the grain and the ripple star: Passion People's Logo
• 14:53 There are no failed pre-interviews, and our different interview methods
• 20:09 "I have no dream guest" How Naga keeps the podcast relatable
• 22:45 About fans who reached out about losing their passion
• 25:47 How does one find their own definition of passion?
• 31:44 India's podcasting scene: Naga paints a picture (Indies, Companies, Monetization)
• 41:12 How India's broadcasting companies are tapping into the podcasting space + challenges
• 47:17 The rise in smart speakers, and religious audio content
• 48:48 The rise of India's podcast apps
• 50:26 Naga's predictions for Indian podcasting and O2Pod Collective's plans
• 54:19 What would you like to see more of in the Asian podcasting scene?
• 56:19 Naga's podcast playlist

• Naga's Medium
• Naga's Twitter
• Passion People Podcast Twitter
• Audioboom Website
• Medium Publication
• O2Pod Collective YouTube Channel
• Community Building to Foster the Podcast Ecosystem - Saif, Faiza, Vishnu, Shankar & Naga – India

• Maed in India
• IVM Podcasts
• Aawaz
• Suno India
• Darknet Diaries
• Bhaskar Bose
• Musafir Stories
• Indian Noir
• O2Pod Collective

• Check us out on Podchaser!

• His origin story, how he shared his first show with truck drivers who burned podcast CDs for long distance driving
• Building up Podiobooks to launch the careers of many different authors (750 books!)
• Thoughts on privacy and why he doesn't mind compromising some of it in order to get the better experience online.
• I played a game with him, a hypothetical situation where we tried to grow the Asia podcast market!

• 03:19 What Evo hates about today's podcast apps
• 06:51 Mobile-only listening and the different types of podcast listeners
• 09:49 How Evo started Show no. 40 on October 12th, 2004
• 13:46 How listeners get their podcasts in the early days of podcasting
• 17:56 The first 40 podcasters, and the start of the Podcast Community
• 19:19 19 - the number of shows that Evo has hosted over the last 16 years
• 21:06 Launching the careers of many authors with 750 books through Podiobooks
• 24:52 Being a paid podcaster for hospitals, and the mission behind Podcast Pontifications
• 27:07 Podcasts are an easier way to gain access to expert insights
• 29:57 "Retention rate of audio is vastly superior to video" and the 85% metric
• 31:19 Is Apple the defacto source of data for podcast listener analytics?
• 35:30 "Your privacy is an illusion" Evo gives a very different answer to Rob Walch of Libsyn on podcast privacy
• 41:35 Hypothetical game: How do we grow the Asian podcast market? Thailand's barriers, and South Korea as the leading example

• Podcast Pontifications
• Email
• Twitter
• Instagram

• iPodderX (NOW DEFUNCT)
• Juice Receiver
• Podiobooks
• Tee Morris
• Podcasting for Dummies
• Bangkok Podcast

• Reply All
• Geologic Podcast
• Twenty Thousand Hertz