The Admiral’s Log
Notes on podcasting from the Seaplane team.
Does a Podcast Need Video, or Is Audio-Only Enough?
Most of the recent push toward video podcasts is coming from platforms, not from anything that actually makes a show better. Once a major platform decided to bet on video (hellooooo Spotify!), pressure trickled down to every show, video or not. Audio-only remains the stronger craft choice for the large majority of shows, and tacking on video tends to make the product worse while multiplying the cost. By a lot. That said—video does have its place with the right show.
How Long Should a Documentary-Style Episode Run?
Forgive our bluntness: that’s the wrong question!!!! (mostly.) A better one would be: how long does this specific story take to earn its ending? A documentary episode should run exactly as long as the material supports real depth, and not a minute longer just to hit a number that sounds standard.
Should A Podcast Be Seasonal or Ongoing?
Most organizations default to "ongoing show" without really deciding it. It's the shape people picture when they picture a podcast, so it's the shape they build toward, even when nobody's actually checked whether there's enough material to sustain it past episode ten.
Should This Be a Documentary or an Interview Podcast?
A podcast is one of the only media formats that doesn't actually require a fixed length or shape. There's no twenty-two-minute rule, no broadcast hour to fill. That freedom is the whole advantage of the medium, and it's exactly why this particular choice matters more than people assume. Get it wrong, and you either force rigid structure onto material that wanted room to breathe, or let material ramble that actually needed a real shape.
Podcasts for Environmental and Conservation Nonprofits
Environmental and conservation nonprofits can use podcasting as a way to diversify their communications efforts and move towards specific messaging goals: build an emotional connection to a place or species that a fact sheet can't create, translate complex science or policy for donors and the public, or document fieldwork directly, giving supporters real access to the work their donations fund.
Podcasts for Public Media Organizations
Public media is a different kind of beast: you're already a media organization, with reporters, archives, and broadcast infrastructure most nonprofits would envy. The goals here usually come down to three things: build a new revenue stream as federal support shrinks, reach an audience beyond your broadcast signal, and do it without pulling reporters off the beats that already keep the newsroom running.
That first goal has gotten more urgent recently. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting wound down in early 2026 after federal funding was cut, and stations across the country have had to rethink how they sustain local journalism without that support. Podcasting has become part of that answer for a lot of stations, partly because it's a real path to national listeners and the kind of major-donor support that comes with reaching.
Podcasts for Family Foundations
Family foundations making audio content have an extremely varied array of interests, but what they share is likely one of three goals: tell the personal story behind why the family or founder cares about a cause, build trust and communicate real impact to grantees, co-funders, and the next generation of the family itself, or recruit other funders to a specific initiative by making the case in a way a grant report can't.
Podcasts for University Research Institutes and Academic Centers
Research institutes might find that podcasting can be a great way to address one of three goals: satisfy a grant's public engagement requirement, translate ongoing research for an audience beyond peer reviewers, or build a center's reputation as a place doing work worth paying attention to. This is a different client than a university's central communications office, which usually handles news, admissions, and general institutional marketing.
Podcasts for Advocacy and Social Justice Organizations
Advocacy and social justice organizations usually come to podcasting with one of three goals: change hearts and minds on an issue with people who don't already agree, mobilize existing supporters around a specific campaign or vote, or hand the microphone to people directly affected by the issue.
How to Turn a Research Report or White Paper Into a Documentary Podcast
Most research reports get written, get funded, get a launch event, and then get read by a few dozen people who already worked on them. The findings are real, the stakes are real, and almost nobody outside the field will ever open the PDF. That gap is exactly what a podcast is good at closing.
Podcast Production for Historical Societies
Audio content from a historical society starts with one of three goals: make an oral history accessible to people instead of sitting in a database, deepen local relevance so your community sees the society as alive and current rather than a building full of old things, or support a specific campaign like an anniversary, a new exhibit, or a membership drive.
Podcasts for Arts Councils
An Arts Council is usually not telling a single institution's story. Rather, you're representing dozens or hundreds of grantees. A podcast for these groups start with one of three goals: show the public and legislators what your funding actually produces, give grantee organizations and individual artists visibility they couldn't get on their own, or build the case for continued or increased public arts funding.
And to add complexity, here’s a real thing that happens: sometimes the podcast isn't yours to produce at all. A grantee might come to you having already built a show of their own — the California Arts Council-funded We Won't Move: A Living Archive, hosted by three artists telling the stories of APA artists past and present, is that kind of project. These are very unique opportunities to have available, and having the ability to make it happen only deepens the relationship with the people who help make your organization’s work possible.
Podcast Production for Orchestras & Performing Arts Organizations
When creating a podcast for the performing arts, you usually start with one of three goals: lower the barrier to entry for new audiences, deepen the relationship with subscribers and donors who already show up, or support a specific milestone like a new season, a world tour, or anniversary. You can build toward all three eventually, but pick one to start. A show trying to do everything ends up doing nothing for anybody in particular.
Podcasts + Museums, A Natural Pairing
Audio content for museums often starts with one of three goals: add depth to a specific exhibition you’re proud of, solidify the relationship with your visitors and keep in touch with your members, or become a resource to the people who'll never walk through the door. You can accomplish all of these goals with different types of audio programming, but for the most impact, keep it focused. Pick one.