Podcasting 2.0 May 1st 2026 Episode 259 - "SlopJacked"

  Dave ships first-party data at the app level - the new /upload/followcounts endpoint changes everything. Plus the podcast:contact; proposal, RSS.com's Alberto Betella on AI disclosure as enforcement substrate
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ShowNotes
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  Bloomberg article we discussed about podslop, featuring the chicken guy from Alabama
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  01 - DAVE SHIPS /upload/followcounts — FIRST-PARTY DATA AT THE APP LEVEL (folder: 01 Dave-Ships-Followcounts)
    New PodcastIndex API endpoint shipped April 30 — apps with publisher API keys can now POST follow-count CSV uploads back to PodcastIndex
    Format: feed_url,follow_count — max 50MB per upload
    Dave: 'First party data at the app level is something we've never had, so we've been handicapped. This will be a critical step to get the training data set for the new model training as well.'
    Why it matters: until now PodcastIndex inferred subscriber counts from indirect signals. Apps directly know who's subscribed but had no way to share that back without privacy concerns. CSV-of-totals threads the needle.
    Question for Dave: which apps committed first? What does the "new model training" refer to?
    Mastodon announcement
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  02 - <podcast:contact> NAMESPACE PROPOSAL (folder: 02 Contact-Namespace)
    Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) proposed a new <podcast:contact> namespace tag in GitHub Discussions #770
    Dave on Mastodon May 1: 'makes a ton of sense'
    Goal: structured way to expose podcast contact info (host email, social handles, business contact) — currently scattered across iTunes-tagged email/owner fields with no standardization
    Walk through the proposal — what fields, optional vs required, what apps would do with them
    GitHub Discussion #770
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  03 - ALBERTO BETELLA (RSS.com CEO) — AI DISCLOSURE TAG AS ENFORCEMENT SUBSTRATE (folder: 03 Alberto-RSS-AI-Disclosure)
    May 1 Podnews Weekly Review interview — Alberto Betella, CEO of RSS.com, lays out the framework: AI disclosure isn't just a label, it's the legal mechanism that lets hosts and platforms ACT against undisclosed slopcasts. RSS.com and Spreaker have AI disclosure in the RSS feed already (RSS.com expanded in March 2026). EU AI Act Article 50 enforcement starts August 2nd 2026 — fines up to €15M or 3% of global turnover for non-disclosure of AI in matters of public interest. Podcasting fits perfectly. Plus Alberto's "substance test" (1% rule for intro music etc.) and James Cridland's terrifying wrap on AI "doctor" podcasts giving medical advice.
      Podnews Weekly Review - Alberto Betella interview
    Clips — 4 clips
      <b>— SETUP: VOLUNTARY OR MANDATORY DISCLOSURE? ALBERTO REFRAMES — DISCLOSURE PAIRED WITH PLATFORM TERMS IS THE ENFORCEMENT —</b>
      01 Alberto Betella (RSS.com CEO) - AI Disclosure Tag Lets Hosts Pull Episodes (1:23)
      <i>Adam: Alberto on the loud voices in the industry framing this purely as ad fraud / money — he says stop barking, start disclosing.</i>
      <b>— THE INDUSTRY BARKING ABOUT MONEY AND ADVERTISEMENT —</b>
      02 Alberto Betella (RSS.com CEO) - People Barking About Money and Advertisement (0:19)
      <i>Adam: And here's the worst-case James paints in the wrap — synthetic voice labeled a "doctor," medical advice, no human in the loop.</i>
      <b>— THE DANGEROUS-CONTENT ENDPOINT: SPAM VOICE CALLING THEM A DOCTOR / TERRIFYING —</b>
      03 James Cridland (Podnews host) - Spam Voice Calling Them A Doctor Terrifying (0:36)
      <i>Adam: And to close out — James on what Stephen Goldstein from Amplify Media tells him every time he mentions me.</i>
      <b>— STEPHEN GOLDSTEIN: I REALLY LIKE YOUR SHOW JAMES, I WISH YOU'D STOP TALKING ABOUT ADAM CURRY —</b>
      04 James Cridland (Podnews host) - Stephen Goldstein I Wish Youd Stop Talking About Adam Curry (0:04)
    should I disclose.ai
    EU AI Act Article 50 (effective Aug 2 2026)
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  04 - TUCSON DENTAL CARE SEO SPAM PODCAST CLEANUP (folder: 04 Tucson-Dental-SEO-Spam)
    Dave killing dozens of duplicate "Transform Your Smile With Tucson Dentist"-style SEO spam podcasts across hosting companies
    Latest one slipped into Apple Podcasts: "Transform Your Smile With Tucson Dentist"
    Dave: 'Whoever is posting SEO spam podcasts for Tucson dental care needs to stop. I've killed dozens of them across hosting companies so far.'
    Talk about the auto-flagging tooling we walked through last week (PC20-258 "Perceptron") — is the spam classifier catching these? What's the loop?
    Apple Podcasts listing
    Mastodon
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  05 - AI HARDWARE CRUNCH — $65 BILLION US POWER EQUIPMENT BOOM (folder: 05 AI-Hardware-Crunch)
    US power equipment market eyes $65B boom on AI datacenter buildout
    AI Hype Meets Hardware Crunch (ZeroHedge, Apr 30)
    Connects to last week's discussion of compute economics — DeepSeek V4 efficiency vs hyperscaler power demand
    Hyperscaler bubble thesis from NA: GPU-as-a-service will democratize inference and bypass the datacenter buildout
    Brookfield-Backed Compass Pulls Out From Major Northern Virginia Data Center Project (ZeroHedge)
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  06 - ANTHROPIC + AI PRICING FOLLOW-UP (folder: 06 Anthropic-AI-Pricing)
    Cost-of-power pressure on hyperscalers — even at $20/mo Pro plan, Claude Code heavy users were costing Anthropic $60-$150/mo (per PC20-258 reporting)
    Anthropic weighs raising funds at $900B valuation, topping OpenAI (CNBC)
    Apple delivers a nearly perfect quarter, with a CEO change and an AI update ahead (CNBC)
    Apple CEO Tim Cook warns of extended memory crunch (CNBC)
    Atlassian lifts annual revenue forecast as AI features, enterprise sales boost growth (Reuters)
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  07 - ROBLOX TANKS 18% ON CHILD SAFETY MEASURES (folder: 07 Roblox-Child-Safety)
    Echo of the broader "platform must protect kids" pressure — connects to YouTube/TikTok/Apple parental controls debates
    What does podcasting do here? Are kid-targeted podcasts subject to similar pressure?
    Roblox shares plummet 18% as child safety measures weigh on bookings (CNBC)
    Roblox shares plunge as forecast cut signals safety measures weighing on user growth (Reuters)
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  08 - BOARDROOM NEWS BITES (folder: 08 Boardroom-News-Bites)
    Humanoid Robots Enter The Workforce. How Long Before Workers Revolt? (ZeroHedge)
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Clip Sources
  03 Alberto-RSS-AI-Disclosure
    Podnews Weekly Review - Alberto Betella interview - James Cridland & Sam Sethi
    should I disclose.ai (Alberto's framework site)
    EU AI Act Article 50