Podcast Reports From Ear Worthy — 9/28/26

Teaching Through Emotions

Teaching Through Emotions, the award-winning podcast hosted by teacher educator and psychotherapist Betsy Burris, PhD, will release its fourth season on October 1. For the first time, the show will take listeners inside real Teacher Support Groups (TSGs). TSGs are the sessions
Burris has run for teachers over the past 20 years, following educators from
struggle to resolution.

Teaching Through Emotions helps teachers feel better and teach better by treating difficult emotions and behavior, in both students and teachers, as data rather than problems.

Each episode of the new season centers on one teacher’s story: what’s
bothering them, how the support group and Betsy Burris reframe the issue, and the plan of action that follows. The host then closes the loop with a follow-up conversation, so listeners hear how the story resolves.

“The work teachers do in TSGs is miraculous. They come into our meetings
feeling angry or frustrated or panicked, sure they know what’s going on in their difficult relationships, and they leave feeling calm, centered, and
compassionate — and completely surprised at the complete change in the way they see things. On top of that, they forge strong and kind connections with colleagues they would never otherwise get to know. It’s a rich experience for all,” says Betsy Burris, creator and host of Teaching through Emotions.

Season four arrives at a pivotal moment in the school year, just as the “honeymoon period” ends and makes room for the everyday pressures of the classroom. The first episode drops October 1st, leading up to World Teachers’ Day on October 5 and World Mental Health Day on October 10.

Episodes will explore classroom management struggles, the weight of teacher burnout, and the “bad feelings” that come with high-stakes teaching, offering listeners practical tools alongside the reassurance that they’re not alone.

Beyond the podcast feed, Burris publishes weekly essays and practical tools for teachers on her Substack, along with her book, The Feeling of Teaching.
New episodes of Teaching Through Emotions Season 4 begin October 1

Salad With A Side Of Fries Celebrates Seven Years With A Seven-Part Miniseries

It’s been seven years of our weekly health and wellness savant, Jenn Trepeck, offering us “wellness without the weirdness.” The podcast, which has won multiple awards, set a new template for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For Jenn Trepeck, you don’t have to train like a Navy SEAL or eat like a world-class athlete.

Jenn Trepeck told me: “One of the things I love about health is that, even with all we know, we’re constantly learning more; it’s fascinating to see how new information and new research inform us all. Our capacity to change and keep evolving as consumers and as experts is part of what keeps me in this space and in awe of the human body. We see this evolution through the seven-episode retrospective.”

Jenn reflects on the personal side of the show: “For me, this reflective mini-series highlighted the themes that took over the wellness zeitgeist each year. Some were clear to me at the time when producing each piece of content, choosing each expert and topic; others were not clear until I collated all the data. Much of it showed me that the world is catching up to themes and information I’ve been talking about with my clients for decades. It is still MY frontier in wellness to change the state of healthcare by empowering individuals to reclaim autonomy over their health and lives.”

To celebrate those seven years, Jenn Trepeck is pulling back the curtain on every guest’s “Next Frontier in Wellness” prediction the show has ever recorded. The Next Frontier Files began by revisiting Year One; the show launched in August 2019 and collided head-on with a global pandemic. From genetic optimization to mental health and a stubborn pull toward back-to-basics wellness, this look back sets the tone for the entire seven-part series. The Learnings in this episode included: how early guests predicted genetic optimization and personalized health long before it became mainstream; why mental health emerged as the single biggest theme once the pandemic hit in 2020; what back-to-basics wellness really meant to nearly a dozen different guests in Year One; and which Year One predictions on anti-diet culture, sobriety, and CBD are still playing out today.

Check out the Next Frontier Files at Salad With a Side Of Fries.

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever Launches 4-Episode Mini-Series on 2001: A Space Odyssey

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever creator/host Ayesha Khan brings together a bevy of exceptional minds to discuss the groundbreaking film 2001: A Space Odyssey in a four-part new mini-series. The first episode was
released in two parts on September 27th, 2026, and is part of the Every
Single Sci-Fi Film Ever podcast’s chronological examination of sci-fi cinema since 1902.

In 1964, the ‘Golden Age of Science Fiction’ was well and truly over, but hot young director Stanley Kubrick decided to make what he called “the proverbial good science fiction film” with the assistance of sci-fi writer extraordinaire Arthur C. Clarke. Four years later, 2001: A Space Odyssey was released. Audiences and critics were largely split into those who adored the film and those who despised it. Some describe it as awe-inspiring; others find it utterly boring, and it has continued to divide opinion over the decades. It has, however, become a staple on best-film lists.

Ayesha Khan says: “It is a film that undoubtedly changed the genre and the industry. Despite contrary rumors, the film was an instant hit in a socially tumultuous time.”

The mini-series will focus on the film's production, its pioneering special effects, the sound design, and Stanley Kubrick.
Guests
• Paul Franklin: Two-time Oscar winner for best visual effects
• Michael Benson: Artist, award-winning filmmaker and author of the widely acclaimed Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece.
• Scott Bukatman: Cultural theorist and professor of Film and Media Studies at Stanford University.
• Nathan Abrams: Scholar behind the monumental 2024 book Kubrick: An Odyssey about the late, elusive director.
• Midge Costin: Sound designer on blockbuster films including Days of Thunder and Armageddon.
• Christine Gengaro: Academic and author of Listening to Stanley Kubrick: The Music in His Films

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The award-winning and critically acclaimed Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever podcast works its way chronologically through the 20th century’s sci-fi films with the help of the most sought-after academic minds. Each film is examined and put into the historical and cultural context of the time it was made.
Producer Ayesha Khan is a solo indie podcaster who began the podcast as a
passion project in March 2024 with the 1902 film Le Voyage dans la Lune and has been traveling through space and time in the hope of reaching the present!

Wavemakers Helps Business Indie Podcasters Monetize

What I love about Wavemakers Audio from the UK is that the agency is set up to help indie podcasters make money. Monetization is the “Golden Fleece” in podcasting because it is so difficult.

While their client list is confidential, Wavemakers has helped numerous professionals use their podcast to secure business. For example, Polly, Dawn, and Ruth used their agency-backed shows to secure high-value program enrollments, speaking gigs, and B2B sales.

Wavemakers Founder Lynsay Gould told me: “I’ve been in podcasting for ten years. At Wavemakers, we work with established service-based business owners, mostly coaches, consultants, and founders, who want a podcast that grows their business.”

Lynsay also started the company to help more women get heard through podcasting and monetize their podcasts through their own products and services.

Lynsay says: “When podcasting talks about monetization, it nearly always means advertising, and for the shows most people make, that framing is useless. A service business with a few thousand engaged listeners will never out-earn its own client work through sponsorship, and chasing ad revenue at that size pushes you to optimize for downloads instead of for the twenty people who could hire you.”

Lynsay notes that, “The question isn’t what the show earns. It’s what the show closes. None of that revenue appears in any industry chart, because nobody counts it. A consultant closing a £20,000 retainer with someone who found her through episode 34 shows up in her accounts as consultancy
income and in podcasting’s figures as nothing at all, which is why the sector keeps calling itself hard to monetize.”

Lynsay continues: “People buy from the person whose voice has been in their ears, not from the show. Deloitte found 75% of listeners say they trust the hosts they listen to, and about a third tune in to follow a host rather than a subject. Cumulus and Signal Hill found 56% of weekly listeners name podcast hosts as the influencers who matter most to them, nearly three times the number who said social media influencers. My clients sell five-figure services. That takes a lot more trust than an ad slot can carry.”

Lynsay maintains that we don’t really have social media anymore; we have interest-based media. People get served what they’re interested in rather than what their friends are up to, and what everyone is competing for is attention. Turning up more often works, as long as what you bring is worth someone’s time.

Lynsay also emphasizes the short-form podcast. She told me: “Almost nobody is making the second show. Only 7% of podcasts publish with two days or less between episodes and 21% of episodes run under ten minutes, so the short daily slot is close to empty. I started looking at this because of what I was seeing across our clients’ shows. The ones publishing shorter and more often were converting better than the longer, less frequent ones, in terms of trust, connection, and sales rather than downloads.”

If you do public speaking, consulting, coaching, or other professional businesses, check out Wavemakers Audio.

Famous & Gravy Podcast Joins Campaign to Make 9/25 “Dolly Parton Day”

Almost as soon as Dolly Parton died, a grassroots campaign emerged to enshrine September 25 as an annual day of celebration and remembrance.
September 25 was chosen as a nod to her enduring song and film 9 to 5. Nashville, Portland, New Orleans, and other cities have joined the effort through proclamations and public events.

“We live in extremely divisive times, which is one reason we need to work to secure 9/25 as Dolly Parton Day,” said Michael Osborne, host and creator of Famous & Gravy. “Her music, films, Dollywood, and everything else she created will endure. But her deeper legacy may be the way she
used her fame as a force for good. More than any other famous figure, Dolly turned celebrity itself into a channel for gratitude, forgiveness, and love.”

The episode, National Treasure (Dolly Parton), was released on September 25 across all major podcast platforms, with full video on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Episode and podcast players will also be available at famousandgravy.com/dolly-parton.

Launched in 2021, Famous & Gravy is an award-winning independent podcast created and hosted by Michael Osborne. Each episode examines the life of a celebrity who died in the 21st century through
biography, humor, and personal reflection. The show asks what a famous life can reveal about our own lives.

In The Zone: Understanding Big Feelings For Kids

Quality kids’ podcasts are scarce, so this new show is especially gratifying.

In The Zone: Understanding Big Feelings For Kids is a musical audio series for early learning listeners that follows Leon, a lovable chameleon whose colors change with his emotions. Whenever Leon experiences a big feeling, the magical Zone Center transforms alongside him — glowing red for frustration, blue for sadness, yellow for nervous energy and excitement,
and green when calm returns.

Guided by the warm and playful Ms. Maya, voiced by Suzanne Jamieson, Leon and his friends — Ziggy, Ollie, Lulu, and Nia (voiced by Broadway’s Patti Murin, Emmanuel Carter and Jason Rabinowitz) explore relatable childhood experiences through imaginative storytelling, original songs, and playful humor. Each episode introduces a simple, age-appropriate
“Feelosophy Tool,” designed to help young listeners recognize their emotions, calm their bodies, and build healthy self-regulation skills.

Rather than telling children how they should feel, “In the Zone” celebrates every emotion as a natural part of growing up. From waiting patiently and coping with disappointment to facing fears and expressing gratitude, the series empowers preschoolers with practical strategies they can
use at home, in the classroom, and beyond.

Created specifically for audio, “In the Zone” combines immersive sound design by three-time Grammy Award-nominated Jason Rabinowitz of Little Loud Studios (Tinkercast, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Sesame Workshop). The show promises memorable music and engaging characters to
spark children’s imaginations while supporting social-emotional learning in a fun, accessible way.

At its heart, the series delivers a reassuring message to every child: every feeling is welcome, every feeling changes, and you can always Find Your Green.

Suzanne Jamieson is an award-winning singer-songwriter, yoga therapist, and creator whose upbeat pop music for families has topped SiriusXM Kids Place Live and won honors including Best Children’s Song at the International Songwriting Competition. Through her music, writing,
and Substack newsletter, she helps parents and kids build joy, resilience, and connection, all while having some fun.

Ali de Guzman is a Filipina-American writer and vocalist from Anchorage, Alaska. After losing her father at a young age to suicide, she became a mental health advocate through stand-up comedy and has been a featured comic at The Hollywood Improv, Sacramento Punchline, and
The Alaska B4UDieFest. She was selected for the inaugural class of NBCU’s Thousand Miles Project (2022), has written scripted rom-com podcasts for FOX’s MeetCute since 2024, and continues to raise awareness through her written work wherever she can.

Interestingly, the show is releasing a companion Parent Pod, which’ll go out alongside the kid-focused show and is meant to help parents apply these teachings.

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Check out books by Frank Racioppi. Everything from novels and nonfiction to podcasting books and essays. Coming in 2027: The Best Independent Podcasts Of 2027.

Ear Worthy is a digital publication dedicated to helping independent podcasters/creators grow.