Alex Blumberg of Gimlet Media

TL;DR

Alex Blumberg explains that Gimlet Media sources podcasts by betting on visionary hosts/showrunners rather than using analytical metrics, and acquires independent shows that have built a significant audience (e.g., ~100k downloads).

Key insights

• Sourcing stories is done team-by-team; there is no magic formula beyond being curious, reading widely, and making phone calls.
• Sourcing a podcast (the show concept) is like starting a TV show: it needs to be specific enough to remember but open enough to generate ongoing stories.
• Gimlet does not use an analytical process to pick shows; the key is finding a visionary host/showrunner – analogous to betting on a founder in startups.