This Veterans Day, we're celebrating the veterans who share their stories and the podcasters helping ensure those stories aren't forgotten.

One example is The Lost Art Project: Veterans' Voices, an independent oral-history initiative dedicated to recording and preserving firsthand accounts of military service and life after the uniform.

In a special Veterans Day episode released November 9, veterans reflect on friendships, traditions, shared experiences, and what service continues to mean long after leaving the military.

It's a meaningful reminder of something we believe deeply at Podfest: Every voice has a story worth hearing. And sometimes, recording that story is one of the most important things we can do with a microphone.

To the veterans in our Podfam and beyond, thank you for your service. We're honored to celebrate your voices and the stories you choose to share.

Listen to the Veterans Day episode: More Than "Thank You for Your Service"

More Than 1,000 Podcasts Are Coming Together for Something Bigger Than Downloads

Podcasters from 52 countries are joining forces to spotlight charitable causes, reminding us that the power of a microphone isn't always measured in downloads, rankings, or revenue.

We talk a lot about podcast growth.

More listeners. More downloads. More subscribers. More opportunities.

And while those things can be exciting, sometimes it's worth remembering that podcasting can accomplish something that doesn't show up on an analytics dashboard.

It can make people care.

And more than 1,000 podcasters around the world are coming together to do exactly that.

Podcasthon, a global initiative that brings podcasters together to support charitable organizations, recently announced that more than 1,000 podcasts from 52 countries and territories have already registered for its 2027 event.

The goal? Bring together as many as 5,000 podcasts, each using an episode to shine a spotlight on a cause that matters.

And the best part? You don't need a massive audience to participate.

What Is Podcasthon?

Podcasthon is an annual initiative that invites podcasters to dedicate one episode to a nonprofit or charitable organization of their choice.

During one designated week, participating podcasts publish episodes highlighting the missions, stories, challenges, and impact of those organizations. It's a simple idea with the potential for meaningful impact.

Imagine thousands of podcast hosts around the world, all using their platforms during the same week to introduce listeners to causes they might never have encountered otherwise. Some may highlight organizations fighting hunger. Others may spotlight mental health resources, education initiatives, environmental causes, or nonprofits making a difference in their local communities. Each creator chooses a cause that resonates with them and together, those individual episodes become a global effort to raise awareness.

Podcasthon began in 2023 with approximately 300 French-speaking podcasters. By 2026, the initiative had grown to more than 2,800 registered podcasts representing 65 countries.

Now, with more than four months remaining before the 2027 event, over 1,000 podcasts have already signed up. And the initiative isn't limited to one language or region. Podcasters are participating in English, French, Spanish, and German, bringing together creators and communities from across the world.

That's a powerful reminder of what can happen when independent voices work toward a shared purpose.

Your Podcast Doesn't Have to Be Huge to Make a Difference

Here's what we especially love about this initiative. There's no minimum audience size required to participate. You don't need 100,000 downloads. You don't need a celebrity guest. You don't need a major sponsor. You simply need a story worth sharing and a cause you care about.

Think about it.

A nonprofit might struggle to get someone's attention for 30 seconds on social media, but a podcast can offer something different.

A thoughtful conversation. A personal story. An opportunity to hear directly from the people doing the work. And sometimes, that's what helps a listener connect with a cause in a meaningful way. Even if only a handful of people listen, those people might learn something new, volunteer, donate, or share the story with someone else.

That impact matters, too.

Want to Participate?

The 2027 Podcasthon takes place March 13–19, 2027.

Participation is free, and registration is open.

Here's how it works:

1. Register your podcast.

2. Choose a charitable organization you'd like to highlight.

3. Record an episode sharing its story or mission.

4. Publish your episode during Podcasthon week.

5. Share the episode to help spread awareness.

That's it.

You can choose an organization connected to your podcast's subject matter, your local community, or a cause that's personally meaningful to you.

And if participating isn't right for your show, you can still support the initiative by listening to and sharing participating episodes.

Learn more or register: https://podcasthon.org/register

What This Means for Indie Podcasters

There's something special about the relationship between a podcaster and their listeners.

People invite our voices into their daily lives. They hear our stories. They learn alongside us. They sometimes come to care about the things we care about. And that connection can be powerful.

Podcasthon is a reminder that the value of a podcast doesn't always come from how many people hear it. Sometimes it comes from what happens because someone listened. A new perspective. A meaningful conversation. A connection to an organization doing important work. A listener inspired to make a difference.

Not every podcast needs to participate in a charitable campaign, and not every episode needs to serve a larger cause but it's encouraging to see thousands of creators demonstrating what's possible when we use our voices collectively. Because podcasting isn't only about building an audience. Sometimes it's about using the audience you've already built to make something good happen.

And that's a story worth sharing.

Don't Let Your Podcast's Best Year Become Its Biggest Tax Bill

April is a terrible time to start thinking about your podcast's taxes.

You spent this year landing sponsors, collecting affiliate payouts and selling merch to at least one cousin who swears it wasn't a pity buy. By the time you sit down to file, the year is closed. So are most of the moves that could have lowered the tax on all of it.

The reality? December 31 is the deadline that counts, and you have seven weeks. Here are four moves to make before then.

1. Treat Your Show Like a Business

This one sets up everything else.

Your podcast doesn't need an LLC to be a business. It needs you to run it like one.

The difference shows up on your tax bill. A business deducts the mic, the software and the hosting. A hobby pays tax on what it earns and gets none of that.

So start with the basics. Give the show its own bank account, track every dollar that comes in and goes out, and know how it's going to make money.

Once the show brings in real money, the next question is whether an S-Corp could cut it even further. Depending on your setup, it may not be too late to make one count for 2026, as long as your salary runs through payroll by December 31.

2. Buy the Gear You Were Going to Buy Anyway

The camera upgrade. The second mic for in-person guests. The acoustic panels you keep staring at in your cart.

If it's set up and ready to use in your studio by December 31, the expense counts for 2026. A mic still sitting in a shipping box on January 3 can't.

One rule here. Don't buy gear just for the write-off. A deduction lowers your tax bill. It doesn't refund the purchase.

3. Find Every Dollar You Earned

Starting this year, a lot of your sponsor, affiliate and Patreon money won't come with a tax form. Most businesses only have to send you a 1099-NEC if they paid you $2,000 or more. The income below that is still taxable.

Pull a list of every payer now, while you can still chase down a missing invoice.

4. Open the Retirement Account

Money you put into a traditional Solo 401(k) comes off your taxable income. For 2026, you can contribute up to $24,500 yourself, and your business can add more on top.

It's often the biggest deduction a self-employed podcaster can take. If your show runs through an S-Corp, your part has to go through payroll by December 31, so don't let the holidays eat that window.

What This Means for Indie Podcasters

Think your show's too small for this to matter? The IRS doesn't grade on a curve. Whether your podcast made $500 or $50,000, it's taxable.

The full checklist has four more, including how the spare room you record in could be worth a $1,500 deduction and why buying your Podfest Expo ticket in December could lower your 2026 tax bill.

Read it, pick the moves that fit your show, and if you'd rather not guess, book a free call with Visor.

Podfest Messenger readers who book by November 27 get 50% off Visor setup fees.

Rather listen than talk? Join our free year-end webinar on December 1. Camera off is fine!

Your next listeners are searching for podcasts like yours.

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Get ahead with Ausha's PSO Control Panel.

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Rank higher. Get discovered. Grow your audience.

• Jobgether hiring for Podcast Manager (Guest Booking and Editing)

• Jobgether hiring Podcast Localization Specialist

• Her Campus Media hiring for Multimedia Producer (Video & Audio)

• Thrive Consulting hiring for Head of Content

The 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐁𝟑 Podcast Show — live on 𝕏 — presents an in-depth exploration of the Web3 ecosystem, covering its latest trends, innovations, and developments. This podcast offers Expert insights, insider discussions, and valuable knowledge about the Crypto Industry: DeFi, NFTs, GameFi, SocialFi, DAOs; RWA tokenization, AI, the Metaverse, and more.

Perspectives Into Practice is a Christian women's podcast about real faith, faith growth, and learning to walk with God in everyday life - where faith moves beyond inspiration and into practice.

Hosted by Jessica DeYoung, each episode explores what spiritual growth actually looks like in real life. Through honest conversations about healing, obedience, trust in uncertainty, and faith in hard seasons, this podcast helps you see life through God's perspective and respond with practical spirituality.

Rather than polished testimonies or surface-level encouragement, these episodes center on lived, real faith - the perspective shifts God is shaping right now. You'll hear how faith is being practiced in ordinary moments and receive simple, meaningful action steps to help you deepen your walk with God and grow closer to Him daily.

If you are navigating healing and faith, trusting God in difficult seasons, or longing for faith growth that feels grounded and authentic, this space is for you.

BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS A STORY / PORQUE TODOS TENEMOS UNA HISTORIA QUE CONTAR. My podcast connects and relates through the sharing of regular peoples' stories of courage, transformation, adventure, love, overcoming life’s challenges and career changes. It is a platform to give ordinary people’s stories from all over the world the chance to be shared and preserved. You will listen to stories of captivating people, both young and elderly, that I, your host Daniela, meet on my life journey. Communicating wisdom, knowledge and personal experience, these stories will connect, motivate, inspire and relate to your own. Our stories become the language of connections. Let's ENJOY, CONNECT AND RELATE. COMPARTE, CONECTATE Y DISFRUTA. I have shared stories of people from Asia, Europe, North America and South America. If you want to share your story on my show, please get in touch because everyone has a story.

Host Bob Woodley examines the news in a way that might have flown under the radar in Not the Headlines! Let's Go Back Through the Listening Tube examines historical points of relevance from the week, and how they influence today's world. Bob will also welcome guests who have something interesting to talk about. All three options are available separately. It might be serious, it might be funny, but it's always informative.

Publish Your Book with Morgan James

Turn your podcast into a powerful, profit-driving book with Morgan James Publishing. As the publisher for entrepreneurs, experts, and creators, Morgan James gives you the credibility of traditional publishing with the speed and flexibility today’s content leaders demand.

With Morgan James, you get to retain your valuable intellectual property rights, earn higher royalties than typical publishers, and plug into global distribution that makes your book available wherever books are sold. If you’re ready to elevate your authority, expand your platform, and create a book that drives real business growth, Morgan James Publishing is the partner built for podcasters.

Morgan James Publishing