Preserve This Podcast

Podcasts rely on RSS feeds for distribution. But what happens when podcasters stop paying for RSS hosting? How can we keep podcasts accessible? In this episode, Molly Schwartz and Sarah Nguyen explore options for free self-hosting for the Preserve This Podcast podcast. Featuring Dave Winer, Jason Scott, Elsie Escobar, and Brad Smith.

Metadata makes podcast files accessible. Follow Kaytlin Bailey, host of the Oldest Profession podcast, as she tries to make little-known histories of sex work accessible, now and in the future. We will cover MP3 ID3 tags, episode descriptions, transcripts, and how machine learning will affect podcast discovery. Featuring host and producer Molly Schwartz, and archivists Dana Gerber-Margie and Mary Kidd.

Get ready for the digital storage showdown! Nearly everyone has a hard drive horror story. If you listen to this podcast, you won’t be one of them. In this episode we work with Amanda McLoughlin and Eric Silver, two indie podcasters working with the Multitude production collective. We go over the best techniques for backing up files, from hard drives to RAIDs to cloud storage. Find out more, download our zine, and RSVP to our workshops at preservethispodcast.org.

The first step in preserving a podcast is to get organized! For this episode we work with Dan Weissman, the producer of a podcast called An Arm and a Leg, on organizing his files. We cover folder structures, file naming conventions, and the challenges of navigating digital oceans of stuff. Find out more, download our zine, and RSVP to our workshops at preservethispodcast.org.

Alice Y. Hom is an oral historian who is trying to turn the interviews she’s collected into a new podcast, called Historically Queer. But even though Alice has devoted her life to preserving overlooked pieces of history, she has no idea how to preserve her podcast. Find out more, download our zine, and RSVP to our workshops at [preservethispodcast.org].

“The Podsucker” is a machine that Jason Scott built in his basement 15 years ago. Jason was trying to capture all the podcasts -- before they disappear. Preserve This Podcast is a series about how podcasts are disappearing. And what podcasters can do to save them. Follow along with our podcast preservation exercises by downloading the zine at preservethispodcast.org.