How Number 1 Podcasts Get Made (and found) – Jason Hoch

Episode • Sep 5, 2024 • 34m

Get two insider scoops in Epi 26 on how to create — then share — top podcasts: First up, podcast veteran Jason Hoch, creator of many number one shows, shares with host E.B. Moss how he made stuff work at HowStuffWorks…. Then Jason tells how serendipity led him to collaborate with Tenderfoot TV to make the groundbreaking show, Atlanta Monster …and what he thinks are the ingredients for not just chart-toppers, but compelling stories that are essential listening today.

Jason’s success continued at Imperative Entertainment with Boomtown, (soon to be cross-over IP as a TV show!) which was an eye-opening experience and led him to launch his own company, Wavland, to capture real human narratives.

But first, Jason had to get a passport… then learn why E.B. calls him the Forrest Gump of podcasting….

Since then, the company has already created and delivered the podcast chart topper, “Noble” – a deeply-reported story which resonates with audiences on multiple levels.

‘I have an unquenchable thirst for fresh original stories and the people behind them. And if we don’t tell these stories soon, they’re bound to be lost forever.’
— Jason Hoch, CEO, Chief Creative Officer, Wavland

NEXT: It’s a brief but brilliant bonus interview with Mathew Passy, the creator of the Podcast Beacon, an NFC device that simplifies the podcast discovery process, making it as easy as a tap on your phone.

In the previous episode of Insider Interviews, also captured during Podcast Movement, discoverability and ease of user experience in finding/listening to podcasts was high on everyone’s wishlist. Mathew’s new tech gives us hope for that wish to be a reality.

Key Moments:

00:00 E.B. Moss Delivers More from Podcast Movement

00:23 Meet Jason Hoch: Podcasting Pioneer

02:42 The Rise of How Stuff Works in Podcasting

04:16 The Birth of Narrative Storytelling

04:46 The Apple Visit, Up and Vanished and an Atlanta Monster

08:20 Discovering a World of Audio Storytelling in Boomtown

13:45 Noble: A Respectful Dive into a Scandal

17:56 Business Side of Podcasting

19:44 Brand Purpose and Values

21:07 Creating High-Quality Podcasts

25:15 The Importance of Preserving Stories