We believe the world is still filled with wonder

Award-winning musician John Legend tells Christiane Amanpour why he's telling the history of talent show "Afghan Star" in his newest project.

Legend relays stories of people who risked their lives for music during Taliban control, the television show that unlocked opportunities for women and re-instilled a love of music in a whole generation. They talk about taking music and voting for granted, and how to channel this newfound appreciation into the 2024 election.

An "evocative" new podcast, also named "Afghan Star", describes the excitement the show caused in the country as it emerged from a "long period in which all forms of joy" had been suppressed, and it contains vivid accounts of what it was like to live through that era.

The criminal's extraordinary life was recently turned into a podcast by Kaleidoscope - which sparked the idea of a potential film.

The show was hosted by Daoud Sidiqi, who remembers the country’s musical renaissance after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, and how his show became an entertainment juggernaut, with villagers huddled around a single television hooked up to a generator. This is a reminder of how reality shows can actually mean something.

In one sense, this series is less about the talent show itself than what surrounded it: the suffering and resilience of ordinary Afghans, and how light entertainment accrued unusual weight after a long period in which all forms of joy were routinely starved.

It is cleverly produced, weaving the sounds of gunfire, chanting crowds and music to evoke the horrors and joys of Afghanistan’s turbulent recent history…In telling the story of a TV talent show, Legend and his team highlight the liberating and unifying power of music and what happens when it is lost.

The series will explore how the talent competition inspired women singing without hijabs, the country’s first rapper, people of warring ethnic groups hugging and cheering for each other on stage and how a ragtag team scrambled to make the show every week, and the dangers they faced.

Some relatives say Lorenza Marsala was killed by the mafia for her land; others claim she was killed for being a healer, or witch, and she crossed the wrong person. Today, Piazza’s exploring that history in a nonfiction podcast, also titled The Sicilian Inheritance, which complements her novel.

I needed to know the truth about what happened to my great-great-grandmother Lorenza Marsala. I became obsessed with solving Lorenza’s actual murder and, because I am an incredibly thorough content creator, decided to make a true crime podcast about it.

It's a delicious mix of mystery and adventure, served up with a side of Sicilian food and wine, all set against the backdrop of breathtaking scenery and wrapped around a cast of characters that draw you in.

Designed as a nonfiction true crime-ish audio series that serves as a companion to her upcoming novel of the same name, The Sicilian Inheritance sees Piazza trying to solve her great great grandmother’s murder, which may or may not be tied to the Sicilian Mafia way back in the day.

“And the essence of the story being, how does somebody acquire this much power? Why is it that the rest of government and other contractors have become so paralyzed and sclerotic that they can't do some of these things?”

To go along with the investigative podcast Obsessions: Wild Chocolate, which charts a journey through the rainforest in search of ancient cacao sources, Swiss chocolatier Stettler has put together a box of sustainably harvested, decadent, single origin bars inspired by the story. A pretty excellent combo, if you ask me.

A new startup is looking to disrupt the podcast space by betting big on overseas content.

Osborn, who most recently oversaw Vice's global audio division, will be the podcast company's evp, head of podcast development.

The podcast company is co-founded by the former iHeartMedia podcast executive Mangesh Hattikudur and 'Sleepwalkers' host Oz Woloshyn.

Podcast startup Kaleidoscope has raised $3.5 million in convertible notes for seed funding led by North Base Media, the co-founders tell Axios.

It is marketed as the ultimate chocolate without guilt, the product of a modern-day, environmentally friendly search for the world’s rarest cacao.

The eight-part series — a production from iHeartPodcasts with Kaleidoscope and Samizdat Audio — tells the story of Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and his 313 days in space amid the collapse of the USSR. At the time, "hell was Breaking loose in Russia," Bass says, but the astronaut was committed to his work — and just as committed to his country.

Bass has planted his flag firmly back in the space community with the release of a new podcast called The Last Soviet. Bass hosts the eight-part podcast, which brings to life the experience of cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev.

Lance Bass is hosting a new podcast called The Last Soviet, the real-life story of a Russian cosmonaut left stranded in space for 313 days after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Lance is the perfect host because he trained to be a cosmonaut himself. If that's news to you, you're not alone.

Top creators and executives, gathering at the Hot Pod Summit, mulled over monetization and new formats as the market matures: “This industry has changed every year for the last 10 years, so if we’re only going to cater to the now, then where are we?”

The podcast, an iHeartPodcasts production(opens in a new tab) with Kaleidoscope and Samizdat Audio, comes at a poignant time, with the past serving as prologue.

The buzzy podcast startup Kaleidoscope, launched by ex-iHeartMedia and Mental Floss executive Mangesh Hattikudur and 'Sleepwalkers' host Oz Woloshyn, is ramping up production on several new shows…

“There is chocolate and then there is wild chocolate. […] Listeners don’t have to love chocolate to enjoy the close calls, mishaps, and exotic eccentrics Jacobsen encounters along the way—think Fitzcarraldo meets Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”

Lance Bass never made it to space, but now he returns to the story of the man he'd heard so much about while training

It’s a remarkable story, expertly narrated by Bass… The sound design is also excellent, with the sounds of the Mir space station interspersed with archive audio of news reports and crackling transmissions from mission control, all set against a tinkling otherworldly soundtrack.

In the hands of Mangesh Hattikudur, previously the host of Part-Time Genius and part of the HowStuffWorks brain trust, the podcast really comes to life when the show becomes a moving reflection on being a second-generation immigrant.

Fewer acquisitions, smaller budgets, diminished dealmaking—but it’s not all bad! “There’s been no recession among listeners,” says one audio guru. “There’s still more room to grow.”