Success in any media is all about mass appeal. To attract a substantial audience so that advertisers can sell products and services, media from music to podcasting, TV to movies think numbers. Big numbers. The smaller the audience, the less ability to monetize for creators, advertisers, producers, and distributors.
Many independent podcasters created a show primarily because they believed they needed to serve an audience that is, in some way, ignored or neglected.
These podcasters get involved despite the challenging and often impossible financial imperatives. For corporations like Amazon, iHeart, Spotify, and SiriusXM, their creative actions are driven solely by profits, revenues, margins, branding, upselling, paywalls, and executive pay incentives.
Remember when Mylan raised the price of a two-pack of EpiPens by over 400%, pushing the cost from about $100 to over $600. During that same period, then-CEO Heather Bresch saw her total compensation jump by 671%, going from roughly $2.45 million to nearly $18.9 million.
The people I am spotlighting today are those who help the community by developing a podcast that probably won't get one million downloads and will not receive a Jay Sheety-like pay package.
They persevere anyway because they can, and because they're dedicated to a cause and a community.
Who are these people? Here are just a few examples.
The Life With Grief podcast is a support and empowerment show hosted by Grief and Soul Purpose Coach Tara Accardo. It is designed to be a safe space for grievers to normalize the complexities of loss, explore post-traumatic growth, and navigate life after tragedy.
The show features episodes on navigating widowhood, understanding grief fog, setting boundaries after loss, and moving from pain to purpose.
The Grief and Light podcast explores grief, loss, and life in the "after" openly and authentically. Nina Rodriguez says: "Our mission is to foster a grief-informed world, give a voice to the nuanced human experience of grief, and light the way for other grievers to feel hope as they navigate this reality."
As creator, host, and producer, she has built the show into a platform that amplifies griever voices, fosters compassionate understanding, and illuminates pathways forward, showing that grief is not something to “fix,” but something to tend, honor, and live with.
It is not that these women cannot and haven't monetized their podcasts. What these two women have accomplished, however, is to offer support, solace, guidance, and hope for those in the community who are grieving.
Consider Dan L. Morris, creator/host of Tracing The Path: The Connected 20th Century, a history podcast that explores surprising, hidden connections between 20th-century events, pop culture, and inventions. It features monthly, in-depth storytelling that shows how, for example, the 1967 Space Treaty connects to modern events.
After all, history is not just about learning facts, dates, battle names, and famous people. The show masterfully links world wars, political movements, cultural revolutions, and iconic products to show how they shaped the present.
Teaching Through Emotions (TTE), a podcast hosted by psychodynamic therapist Betsy Burris, has just announced a special episode centered on Vahombey Project, a school library project in the rural village of Bekitro, Madagascar. Alongside the episode, TTE is launching a fundraising campaign to support the library and its students.
Vahombey Project was founded by Jullian Androkae, podcast creative strategist and co-founder of PodVision, and a longtime producer of Teaching Through Emotions. The project brings library access and educational support to students at the local school in Bekitro, a community where basic resources like books, chairs, and even a working terrace are scarce.
The Hairy Chin Podcast is a women's health advocacy show hosted by Spencer Moore, designed to teach practical self-advocacy skills for navigating complex medical systems. It focuses on actionable, real-world skills rather than wellness trends, helping women prepare for appointments, communicate effectively, and manage chronic conditions or new diagnoses.
With the escalating cost of healthcare and the number of uninsured people, especially in the U.S., staying healthy or being treated can feel like navigating a minefield of both financial and emotional traps.
Beyond 6 Seconds is an award-winning podcast hosted by Carolyn Kiel, featuring candid, in-depth interviews with neurodivergent entrepreneurs, creatives, and advocates. It highlights their personal stories, challenges, and successes to shatter misconceptions and celebrate the neurodivergent community's diversity.
Sadly, too many people in our society couldn't care less about this cohort, which makes up about 10% of the population. The podcast's name, Beyond 6 Seconds, was inspired by a statistic Carolyn heard: recruiters look at a resume for about 6 seconds to judge an applicant's potential fit for a job. While that statistic may or may not be accurate, it inspired Carolyn to go beyond 6-second first impressions on her podcast, to give people time and space to share their stories without judgment.
I have so many more examples of podcasters whose creative flourish involved helping those who either can't help themselves or are relegated to the trash pile of cultural conversations.
In my job as a podcast reviewer and journalist, I have interacted with so many people of these heroes. Don't misunderstand me. It's not that these people don't want to make money or don’t try. Rather, they have decided that monetizing their podcast goes hand in hand with helping a community that is neglected, underserved, or both.
While Amy Poehler is winning awards, and the non-podcasting media exhausts its web pages on Jay Shetty's new multi-million contract, or the next hot sauce that some celebrity tastes goes viral on social media, I'll be rooting for a podcast protector such as award-winning journalist Jessica Shaw, who hosts Everyone Gets a Juice Box. Through candid conversations with parents who’ve been there, the series explores the realities of raising kids who learn and think differently.
In any industry, we can hope for participants who embody three qualities. First, they care about the industry. Second, they care about their customers, audience, or community. Third, the product (content) they produce has value and makes the world better.
I don’t begrudge Jay Sheety his huge, $100 million, three-year deal. Yet, I can’t help but wonder why Tara Accardo, Jullian Androkae, Betsy Burris, Carolyn Kiel, Spencer Moore, Nina Rodriguez, and Jessica Shaw aren’t being offered multi-year, multi-million-dollar deals.