About the newsletter

The Big Minute is a newsletter by podcast producer, consultant, coach, and fan Mark Steadman. Each week features a new podcast episode recommendation, with particular focus put on one minute of audio.

Mark first started writing critically about podcasts in 2009. Then he wrote something snarky that upset a host and he put the thing on pause for 13 years. Now he's trying to understand and share what "good" sounds like, so that fellow podcasters have something to judge their work against. It also gives readers an opportunity to discover a new podcast they might enjoy.

Mark made his first podcast in 2008, and has since produced shows like the cult favourite Beware of the Leopard, and the immersive kids' comedy Molly Whiskers and the Blue Tentacle. He founded a podcast hosting company in 2016 which he sold in 2021, and now helps make shows for people who want to change the world.