If you’re still pulling your hair out over the lack of an additional operating hour on CNN’s airwaves, you can find a remedy in the form of the cable network’s new podcast.
“Podcast on CNN,” which launched in May and is hosted by CNN.com’s Bryan Bender, features newsmakers like former Justice Department official Vanita Gupta and actor-activist Rainn Wilson, each offering a different perspective on an issue — and there are interviews with others on several topics, including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Harvard law professor Noah Feldman.
“Podcast on CNN” offers “a unique opportunity to talk with key influencers from the worlds of business, media, government and politics, in a unique way,” according to the CNN article announcing the podcast. The podcast is the brainchild of CNN Worldwide executive editor for mobile and digital Henry Blodget, who leads the launch of the podcast and the accompanying website, CNNgo. The podcast is available for free download on CNNgo and on the desktop at CNN.com.
Here are 10 great things to know about the podcast:
1. It’s still free to subscribe to the podcast via a desktop (or mobile) computer or, if you listen via an Apple iOS device, iOS device on the go.
2. You can also get “Podcast on CNN” on CNN’s mobile app. This works well with the podcasts on CNNgo, especially the podcast featuring David O. Russell.
3. You can also get “Podcast on CNN” on the TuneIn Radio app, although there’s not yet a link to subscribe within the app.
4. The podcast has three sponsored episodes, including one by Netflix (currently available to all iTunes users); another sponsored by GE; and one sponsored by American Express (available for solo listeners). There are sponsors available, depending on the topic you’re interested in (though, for example, only brand-related content will be linked).
5. It’s completely free to listen to an episode.
6. You can get individual episodes by subscribing to the podcast via desktop, iOS or mobile app, or you can pick up a month’s worth of episodes for free (normally $0.99 each), if you’re not already subscribed. To subscribe by desktop, go to the Podcasts section of the CNN home page, go to “Subscribe” on the right side of the page, choose “Machine” and click the Subscribe button (the website will ask you to sign in with a Facebook account). A mobile app can be downloaded from the iTunes store, and TuneIn Radio is available for Windows phones and Nokia Symbian phones.
7. Each episode lasts three to five minutes, but there are four or five episodes available a week.
8. The guest lineup is fairly varied, including Miller Jenkins, The Washington Post’s Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and a columnist for CNN; Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of the bestselling book “Too Big to Fail” and a host of CNBC’s “Squawk Box”; Tom Mueller, a Washington Post reporter who appeared on CNN’s recent Zimmerman trial special; Sanford Bernstein analyst Neil Gabler; Leanne Aguilera, spokesperson for Virgin America; fashion designer Donna Karan; PEN American Center president Suzanne Nossel; and Yahoo News’ Katie Couric.
9. You can watch interviews featuring the guests on CNNgo. A clip from Aug. 3, featuring Wallace Matthews, the special assistant to the president for vocational pathways, shows how academic pathways intersect with jobs in the booming field of cybersecurity.
10. The production quality of the podcast is excellent — well done, smooth and fluid, with lots of lively, vibrant graphics.
Copyright 2016, The Washington Post