A Dump Truck Full of Worms: Pods Like Us: Chronicles - 9th August 2026

The Skip Heard Around the Podcasting World - Spotify's "Skip Forward" fallout The big story of the week: Spotify's new ad-skipping option for premium users, first flagged by James Cridland (PodNews) and picked up by Elsie Escobar and Rob Walch on In and Around Podcasting. Marv unpacks why it's such a headache for ad-supported podcasters, traces it back to Spotify's 2018 "Active Media" experiment in Australia, and previews Neil Veglio's upcoming Podmastery episode (Monday 10th August) on how creators might respond — including making shows "less skippable."Sodajerker Songwriting Lab — quick announcement A special one-day workshop from Bri and Si of Sodajerker on Songwriting, Friday 4th September at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, with songwriters Sacha Skarbek and Ben Parker. Small groups, hands-on writing, open to songwriters of any level. Details and booking: sodajerker.com/labMeta's $942 million New Mexico ruling A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $567 million on top of an earlier $375 million penalty, bringing the total to $942 million over harm to children and teens on Facebook and Instagram. The ruling also mandates stronger age verification, safety education, and deletion of under-13 user data. Marv connects this to the wider question of platform design and engagement, and what it might mean for podcasters who rely on social media for discoverability.Musical tangent: Yazoo, Alison Moyet, and Prefab Sprout Prompted by a Stephanie Fuccio Substack post about the band Yazoo (Yaz in the US) and singer Alison Moyet ("Alf"), Marv goes down a musical trivia rabbit hole — including a nod to Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout, whose reported perfectionism has allegedly kept several albums unreleased.Around the podcasting SubstacksFrank Racioppi on the new International Advisory Board for Eurowaves, and a review of fiction podcast American AfterlifeNeil Veglio (Podmastery) on letting go of the "consistency is key" mythStephanie Fuccio on perfectionism vs. creating, and on how a podcast's real direction often only becomes clear in hindsightRob Walch explaining the AMP Accords and the IAB's role — guidelines, not commandmentsJohn McDermott's newsletter and listening round-upTony Doe's Into the Podverse — new podcast launches, PodGround funding news, and Elsie Escobar's 20 years in podcastingA shared surprise that no black woman appears on Forbes' highest-earning podcasters listPaul D Brazil's Substack piece on actors who've had songs named after themHousekeeping An apology for a missed Wednesday episode due to a tricky multi-part edit, plus thanks to sponsor RSS.com.After the sign-off A trailer for Keep the Flame Alive, the Olympics and Paralympics podcast.