There’s only one thing you can guarantee in the Podcasting Industry: change. Changes to the roles we see, the shows we create and how we communicate with our audiences. 2025 has been a massive year for change, and Richard Clark was right on the money.

This week I’m joined, once again, by Richard Clark: Founder & Owner of Area Code Audio based in Chicago to cover his predictions made at the beginning of this year for how podcasting was going to change in his Podcasting For Humans newsletter.

You were introduced to Richard in last week’s episode, in addition to finding out about his newsletter efforts and the first two of his main predictions for 2025. This is Part 2 of that conversation, so if you’d like to fill in the blanks, scroll up the Rethinking Podcasting feed and listen to Part 1 first.

In this episode, we’ll round off our discussion about human connection and tackle three big predictions Richard made about big funding for podcasts, companies creating their own engaging shows, and the marketing spend moving from social media to newsletters and podcasts. There’s a lot here to chew on, and there’s so much that he got right, that it’s well worth the listen.

What I picked up from this chat with Richard is that engagement and investment are the two major things changing this year. As podcasters, we get swept up in the short-term pivots and growth hacks, but keeping an eye on the long-term affectations on the industry will help you build your sustainable goals for your show.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• "Death of the Follower" YT video with Jack Conte
• Sounds Profitable with Bryan Barletta & Tom Webster

Get in touch with Richard:

• Area Code Audio Website
• Area Code Batavia Podcast
• Podcasting For Humans Archive

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Chapters:

• (00:00) Change as the Only Constant in...