In today’s podcast news roundup, Finneas features the first season of the iHeartRadio artist-led “Song Stories” podcast; sportswriter Tom Rinaldi tells the story of MLB star Lyman Wesley Bostock Jr. in a new Fox Sports podcast; production company SALT hires Luminary’s Kenzi Wilbur and Spotify’s Robert Adler; and more.

APPOINTMENT

Grammy-winning music producer and musician Finneas will be the featured artist of the first season of iHeartRadioit is “Song Stories” podcast series, scheduled for July 20. Hosted by iHeartRadio podcast writer and producer Jordan Run Tag, the show will invite leading musicians to tell the stories of their songwriting process, production collaborations and live tours. In the inaugural season, Finneas (Billie Eilish’s older brother) will share insight into the making of his debut album, “Optimist,” which was largely shaped by the events of 2020. Upcoming seasons of “Song Stories” will present a new artist with each dedicated season chronicling the creation of their new album and the tour that follows.

“My connection with my fans is so important to me, and I loved sharing my album with them,” Finneas said in a statement. “I’m so excited to team up with iHeartRadio to bring them into the intimate process of creating the album through this podcast. It’s a big part of me and I can’t wait for them to hear how it went. past.

Fox Sports set a July 18 for his debut “Westley”, his first serialized audio documentary series produced, written and hosted by an Emmy-winning journalist Tom Rinaldi. The eight-part series tells the gripping and heartbreaking story of Lyman Wesley Bostock Jr., the activist-turned-athlete who became one of Major League Baseball’s top hitters and was murdered mid-season at the height of of her career. The first four “Welsey” episodes will be available next Monday on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify, as well as FOXSports.com and the Fox Sports app.

SiriusXM embroiderer announcement “Rubirosa”, a documentary podcast created and hosted by an actor, author and storyteller Christopher Rivas will premiere on July 27. Produced by Stitcher’s Witness Docs unit, the 10-episode series tells the story of Porfirio Rubirosa, the Dominican diplomat and playboy who may have inspired Ian Fleming’s iconic James Bond character. Rivas, a Dominican-American, examines how his life might have been different if James Bond – his childhood hero – looked like him. “Rubirosa” is created and produced by Rivas, with additional support from Stitcher senior producer Abigail Keel and producer Kevin Tidmarsh; and produced by Workhouse Media, Amelia Baker, Mackenzie Munro and Ari Anderson. Kameel Stanley is the executive producer of Witness Docs. Story editing by John DeLore, technical direction by Casey Holford and original music composed and performed by Wilson Torres, Yeisson Villamar and Marcos Varela. The podcast’s theme song is composed by Allison Leyton Brown.

Hearst’s Beautiful house launched season 2 of “Dark House,” which explores America’s most haunted houses and the stories behind them, on Wednesday, July 13. The new season features infamous haunted houses from across the country, including Ackley House (Nyack, NY), Manson Family Murder House (LA), Chop Chop House (Boise, Idaho), Watcher House (Westfield, NJ) and the Conjuring House (Burrillville, RI). The podcast is hosted by Alyssa Fiorentino, Director of Brand Strategy and Audience Development for House Beautiful, and Managing Editor Hadley Mendelsohn.

content studio brazen project and organization of public media PRX announcement “The Fall of Kabul” an eight-part podcast taking listeners on “a cinematic journey” through Afghans’ personal experiences surrounding the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul, nearly 20 years after coalition forces forced them out of the power. Moderated by an Anglo-Afghan journalist Nelufar Hedayat and executive produced by the co-founders of Project Brazen Thomas Wright and Bradley Hopethe first two episodes of “Kabul Falling” will launch on Monday, August 1, with new episodes airing on Mondays through the anniversary of the Taliban takeover through the eve of the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. september.

EXECS

SALTthe Los Angeles-based studio behind podcasts like Dave Chappelle’s “The Midnight Miracle” for Luminary, has announced the hiring of Kenzi Wilbur (below left), formerly at Luminary, as Vice President of Partnerships and Development, and Robert Adler (bottom right), previously a post-production supervisor at Spotify, as head of post-production. Founded by partners Jamie Schefman, Noah Gersh and Nick Panama, SALT productions have included “Blackout” and “Carrier” (QCode), “The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon” (Spotify), “Hit Job” (Broadway Video) and “Dr. Death: Miracle Man” (Wondery).

public radio WNYC announced Ave Carrillo has been named executive producer of local podcasts. In the role, she will focus on expanding the Newsroom’s audio storytelling capability, which will involve defining a podcast strategy, building a production team, and conducting a pilot project to determine the sound and the management of offers at the station’s request. Carillo will report to Sean Bowditch, Director of Audio Strategy, and will begin later this summer. She joins the newsroom at WNYC Studios, where for the past seven years she served as senior producer for “The New Yorker Radio Hour.”

OFFERS

Michael Rapaportit is “I Am Rapaport: Stereo Podcast” joined iHeartMedia iHeartPodcast Network, which will continue to distribute the show on all major audio platforms. Every Tuesday and Friday, listeners will hear the actor-director “share his strong, funny, and offensive takes on life, sports, music, movies, and everything in between,” according to iHeartMedia. Rapaport’s show featured him interviewing guests such as Martin Scorsese, Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Tyson, Ice Cube, Charlamagne Tha God, Ellen Pompeo, Allen Iverson, Juliette Lewis and Method Man.

Streaming Media Company Curiosity Inc. reached an agreement with iHeartMedia to launch the Curiosity Audio Network, who will develop and release several podcast projects throughout the year. The Curiosity Audio Network will feature original content as well as podcasts to complement the programming of Curiosity’s streaming library of documentary films, shows and series. The “One Day University” podcast series is now live on the Curiosity Audio Network, featuring talks by professors from some of the world’s top colleges and universities. Later this year, Curiosity will present its first original podcast co-produced with iHeartMedia, a series that will blend pop culture, history and true crime with a deep dive into the mystery surrounding the life and death of “Cold War Cowboy” Dean Reed. Also forthcoming is the “Untold History of Sports in America”, examining the role sports have played in shaping the American psyche.

LAUNCHES

Disctopia, a podcast hosting and streaming service for independent creators, has rolled out a video podcast feature, which allows users to upload podcast videos and automatically add them to their RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. The company said video podcasters on the Disctopia platform will also be able to access video-specific analytics, including listener location, daily listener count, daily downloads and engagement. via its True Play analytics dashboard.