Compiled by Trent Thomas
Cath Curtin on new eps of Birth Baby and Beyond
Hosted by midwife Cath Curtin, Birth Baby and Beyond is created for expectant parents, new mums, new grandparents and for anyone wanting to know more about becoming a parent. In the show Curtin shares over four decades of experience, guiding listeners through the highs and lows of being pregnant, giving birth and the complexities of parenting.
The podcast has released its sixth season this week and Mediaweek‘s Trent Thomas caught up with Curtin to find out what listeners can expect from the new episodes.
The new episodes of Birth Baby and Beyond dropped on Wednesday which also would have been Curtin’s mother’s 100th birthday, a fact that Curtin finds serendipitous. When asked how she continues to keep the content of the podcast fresh six seasons in, Curtin said that with a topic like this there is always things to talk about.
“In obstetrics, you’ve got pregnancy, you have childbirth, then you have the postnatal period for the mother, and then you have the growth and development of the baby. And seriously, it’s never-ending, and there’s always something to talk about. This one is all about sleep, from newborn to five years of age. As a maternal and child health nurse, that is the biggest issue, helping women understand and learn about their babies sleeping because babies don’t sleep a lot to start with.”
In the new season, Curtin shares her top tips for getting your baby to sleep and answers listener questions about sleep. She also interviews Australia’s leading IVF specialist Dr David Wilkinson and unpacks the stigma surrounding miscarriage with obstetrician Dr Stephen Cole.
“I wanted to help women get some accurate advice. The other two things are, I’ve got a specialist in IVF talking, and also a specialist on recurrent miscarriages. They are all interesting and confronting topics,” said Curtin.
As mentioned above, the focus of this season is sleep which Curtin identified as a vital issue for new mothers.
“I’ve done this for 43 years. I’ve actually understood how important it is, for new parents to understand what babies actually do, not what they want them to do. So it takes time as in weeks and months. And it takes weight gain over weeks and months for a baby to sleep.
“It’s a big shock being sleep deprived. You think I have been out partying and I’ve done this and that but it’s on another level this type of sleep deprivation.”
Season five featured a large number of Q&A’s, Curtin said this helped her understand what information her audience needed.
“I asked through Instagram, what were your main issues, and I got such a great response. I thought it was worth putting them into an episode itself. I could feel how anxious women are about having their baby’s sleep and it really affects women emotionally. Not only the sleep deprivation but just the pride if their baby sleeps well. They can say look my baby sleeps really well. It makes them feel like a good mother. As crazy as that seems.”
Curtin said the podcast was important and provided accessibility to parents and other family members.
“I have people who say the podcast is so important. They can listen to it while they’re pregnant and learn whenever they want to. They can listen to it in the middle of the night when they’re feeding their baby, or when they’re walking. It’s a great medium for women to listen. Over the six series, I’ve really tried to pick information that I know is really important.”
[Listen to Birth Baby and Beyond here]
August Podcast Ranker sees big changes
The new Australian Podcast Ranker charts include listener and download figures by podcast title for the first time in the August data.
The changes provide the market with greater insights on podcast consumption to assist with advertiser investment decisions and help accelerate the commercialisation of the growing podcast market.
The top three podcasts in both the Top 100 Ranker and Top 100 All-Australian Ranker are Hamish & Andy (LiSTNR – SCA), Casefile True Crime (Audioboom) and Life Uncut with Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne (ARN/iHeartMedia).
Leading the rankings, Hamish and Andy had 919,000 monthly listens in August and just over 2m downloads.
Casefile True Crime and Life Uncut were the only other podcasts with over half a million listens.
A total of seven podcasts had over 1m monthly downloads. In addition to the top three already mentioned above, the others were The Update (Nova), 7am, Stuff You Should Know and The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
Several podcasts were impacted by the change in the rankings. SEN Breakfast was ranked #10 in July, and it sits at #35 on the new chart.
The Whateley podcast also dropped, down from #13 to #45.
The KIIS 101.1 breakfast show podcast Jase and PJ has been replaced by Jase and Lauren with the change of host seeing the series drop from #21 to #49.
Nine Radio’s Ben Fordham Live dropped from #26 to #41.
The total monthly downloads in August were 49m, up from 47.8m in July.
Below see comments from members of the Audio industry:
SCA chief content officer Dave Cameron said: “SCA is Australia’s No.1 creator and publisher of audio content and we have never created so much amazing and diverse, original content on a daily and weekly basis or worked with so many brilliant creators in our history. It’s delivering rapidly growing audiences across our digital and broadcast platforms. Creating the No.1 podcast in Australia, as well as creating the most amount of original Australian content every day is an extraordinary achievement for our radio and LiSTNR content teams,”.
SCA general manager digital audio Grant Tothill said: “LiSTNR has created a premium, personalised digital audio ecosystem for both audiences and advertisers, and across the SCA network reaches more than 4.5 million Australians and is growing fast. Streaming hours and time spent listening across our radio brands, podcasts, news and music continues to surge, with consumers making digital audio part of their everyday lives,”
ARN’s head of digital audio, Corey Layton said, “As Australia’s #1 Podcast Network – with the most listeners and downloads in Australia – we are leading the industry with our commitment to creating quality connections for our audiences and commercial partners across all of our platforms. We continue to invest in the evolution of the iHeartPodcast Network by expanding our diverse offering and working with the best audio content creators in Australia and across the globe.”
New Mum, Who Dis? Ash London chats motherhood
After five years Ash London has wrapped up her popular radio show, Ash London Live to launch her very own podcast, The Ash London Podcast.
Every week London will attempt to figure out how to keep living her best life, while the world around her seems to be on the verge of impending doom. Expecting her first child in just a few short weeks, the podcast is her journey from a young and carefree radio host travelling the world to attend gigs, to a new mum drowning in nappies, to whatever the hell comes next.
To kickstart season one of the podcast, titled ‘New Mum, Who Dis?’, London welcomes her first guest: mother, supermodel and CEO, Miranda Kerr.
Speaking to Ash on the podcast about her entry into motherhood, Kerr said: “I specifically said when I’m 27, I’m going to have my first baby. And what was really funny is that on my 27th birthday I thought to myself wow you know I’m 27 and I remember looking back and saying that I’d always want to have a baby when I’m 27 but that’s the furthest thing from my mind right now. Little did I know that I was a couple of weeks pregnant.”
Ash London, said: “I often walk away from interviews with a newfound love and appreciation for my guest, and that’s certainly what happened in my chat with supermodel and CEO Miranda Kerr. It’s easy to forget how much she’s achieved in both her career and family life, and I left our conversation more inspired than ever to follow my own passions, even after the baby arrives. Also, how the hell does one walk the catwalk for Balenciaga while pregnant? The only walking (or waddling) I’ve done is to the fridge for more Gaviscon. Bring on season one of The Ash London Podcast – I hope women around the country are as inspired by these incredible guests as I have been.”
[Listen to New Mum, Who Dis? here]
Mark Howard branches out with The Howie Games Artist Series
Mark Howard, the host of The Howie Games, is expanding his repertoire with the launch of The Howie Games Artist Series on LiSTNR. The series will start with singer-songwriter Paul Kelly, who discusses in-depth his new song Every Step Of The Way about the racism experienced by AFL player Eddie Betts.
Kelly wrote the song a year ago after seeing Betts bare his soul on national TV about the racism he experienced on and off the field during his playing career.
Mark Howard said: “It’s hard to tell what Paul loves more: sport or music. To hear him break down some of his most famous songs and explain how they came to be, shaped by his own experiences at the footy, the Boxing Day Test or life on the road, was captivating. His brand-new song will seep into your bones and leave you with a myriad of questions. Chatting with Paul Kelly was the best two hours I’ve spent for a long time.”
The Artist Series sees Howie interview famous artists and creatives from diverse fields who have a passion for sport. It gives audiences an insight into some of their favourite artists who they may have been unaware had keen sporting interests. The lively conversations kick off discussing the guests’ love for sport and what role that has played in their artistic careers and lives more broadly.
Other guests across the series include iconic radio and podcast star, Andy Lee, Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, iconic singer-songwriter from INXS Kirk Pengilly, former triathlete, actor and host Daniel MacPherson and comedian, podcaster, TV host, author and Howie’s high school best mate Wil Anderson.
[Listen to The Howie Games Artist Series here]
Meghan Trainor joins ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network
Meghan Trainor has announced her new podcast, Workin’ On It, that she will co-host alongside her brother Ryan Trainor. The podcast will premiere on Thursday, September 16th in Australia. Co-produced by Cloud10 Media and iHeartMedia, the pair will tackle topics such as becoming a new mum, navigating Hollywood, mental health, and everything in between.
“Ryan is one of my favorite humans ever. He always keeps me humble and real and I’m so grateful to have a brother/bestie like him,” Meghan said. “I hope that getting to share our stories will make people laugh with and at us.”
“I might be biased but I think that Meghan is the funniest person in the world.” Ryan says. “I can’t wait for everyone to realise that she’s not just ‘that Bass girl.’”
Workin’ On It will be available on iHeartRadio and all other major podcast streaming platforms. This is one of many new endeavours for Meghan as she began 2021 by penning a deal with NBCUniversal Television and Streaming Entertainment for a cross-platform partnership. In the coming months, fans will also get to watch her as the host of Top Chef Family Style on US streaming platform Peacock and as a judge on Clash of the Cover Bands on E!.
Workin’ On It is distributed by ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network.
Talk Money To Me by Equity Mates Media launches on Acast
Equity Mates Media, the number one finance and investing network for young Australians, has added to its stable of podcasts with the launch of the all-new, all-female-hosted podcast Talk Money To Me. Talk Money To Me joins six other Equity Mates Media podcasts distributed by Acast.
Talk Money To Me is a new wealth podcast making sense of complex subjects for everyone from seasoned veterans to first-time investors. Co-hosts Candice Bourke and Felicity Thomas help listeners understand and navigate everything in the financial landscape by drawing on their extensive expertise in wealth management, sharing smart financial strategies, investment ideas, interviews with market leading experts, and their own lessons and learnings from years of experience.
The Outer Sanctum joins Acast Creator Network
The Outer Sanctum, the all-women podcast that does footy chat differently, has joined the Acast Creator Network. Hosted by 10 Aussie Rules fans, The Outer Sanctum discusses and uncovers AFLM and AFLW stories from the outer, creating a place for football conversations often neglected.
Acast’s partnership with The Outer Sanctum will amplify the reach of the podcast and diversify its revenue through premium ad products available through the Acast Marketplace — such as sponsored stories and branded content.
Released twice weekly, the podcast features football observations and interviews with contributors to Aussie Rules, who share their unique experiences and points of view.
The podcast is hosted by Dr. Kate Seear, Emma Race, Nicole Hayes, Shelley Ware, Lucy Race, Rana Hussain, Julia Chiera, Tess Armstrong, Alicia Sometimes, and Felicity Race. The Outer Sanctum is described as a combination of human rights, feminism, and a commitment to representing anyone who has ever felt ‘on the outer’.
DM Podcasts adds four female-focused shows
After the success of The Betoota Adovcate Podcast, Daily Betoota and a range of sporting podcasts on their roster, DM Podcasts has welcomed four new podcasts to create more female-focused media.
Ranging across a breadth of categories such as sex, relationships, comedy and women’s sport, DM Podcasts have added Selfish Sesh, That’s Orgasmic, Chicks and Balls and Big Natural Talents to their already diverse range of talent.
