Dear Subscribers and potential earbud-wearers,

Everyone is talking about radio, all of a sudden. What they’re really talking about are “Podcasts.” The term is a mashup of “iPod” and “broadcast.” That’s kind of funny, when you stop to think about it, since at least one of those things doesn’t exist any more.

iPods! Yes, it is sad to say that the iPod Classic has been officially discontinued, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was asked about it just last month. He said, “We couldn’t get the parts any more.” Welcome to our world, Tim!! As long as he is being super-honest, I wonder if he’d admit that the battery on his iPhone lasts as frustratingly short a time as mine does.

Podcasts were invented by a computer programmery guy named Dave Winer who helped figure out the thing called RSS feeds. Frankly, I don’t know what exactly that has to do with Podcasts, but he is credited with being the actual inventor of them.

But it was Adam Curry who immediately popularized them. Adam may be best remembered as an original MTV vee-jay, when his hair was so extremely ‘80's that it actually kind of looked very 1780's, positively Beethoven-esque.

Later, after a haircut, he (Adam Curry) created a very influential music show called “Daily Source Code” which was really the first popular Podcast. This happened way back in 2004 so let’s say Happy 10th Anniversary to Podcasts!

In 2004 there were a couple of hundred podcasts and some tens of thousands of listeners. Last year, Apple reported that there have been over 1 billion Podcast subscribers through the iTunes store! Tim Cook should say a big thank you to Dave Winer, Adam Curry, and his hair!

Regarding podcasts, some research I conducted reveals that more men than women listen to podcasts and that 70+% of the most popular pod-casters are men.

Currently, however, the most popular podcast is called Serial. It is the most downloaded podcast in the iTunes Store and everyone — driven by the chattering intelligentsia — is telling everyone they know about it. A woman named Sarah Koenig is the journalist/storyteller and her producer Dana Chivvis are creators, with an editorial and executive produce-orial assist from Ira Glass. And a massive NPR marketing push.

I like it along with everyone else and I highly recommend it.

But remember a couple of weeks ago we talked about how quickly “backlash” happens now? Well whaddya know. While I’m still thinking I’m all cool for being on the leading edge of podcast proselytizing and it turns out there’s already a backlash! Or, at the very least, a difference of opinion, which is actually a good thing.

I’m hooked. Serial is a ‘whodunnit’ and I’m going to listen to the rest of the episodes to see who, in fact, did or didn’t dunnit.

The LZ Sunday Paper does not unfurl an intriguing murder case over several months. It is what is known as a “closed ended” format, whereby you don’t have to have read the previous one to know what is going on in this one.

Occasionally, as with matters of Mailchimp and the topic of “backlash,” we sometimes refer to the same subject repeatedly. Usually, the Sunday Paper just brings the news of the week about women in business to you. And by business we mean politics, digital, tech, media, music, tv, film, fashion, sports, and culture, delivered roughly in that order, ever week.

Don’t forget to send any interesting stuff you think we may have missed, tell us what you think, and encourage people to sign up at our website,LZSundayPaper.com.

Many of the articles and other musings that we don’t have room to include in the weekend edition are tweeted out all during the week @LZSundayPaper.

Go download a podcast and we’ll see you next week— if you ever get your time back.

LZ

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