Kattie Laur: What's Holding Back Canadian Podcasting?

Kattie Laur is one of the most insightful voices in the Canadian podcasting landscape today. As a producer, audience growth specialist, and creator of the Pod the North newsletter, she sits at the intersection of content creation and strategy. Her work spans both the creative and analytical sides of podcasting—helping shows not only sound great, but actually reach and grow their audiences.

Known for her candid takes and deep industry knowledge, Kattie brings a unique perspective on what’s working—and what’s not—in Canadian podcasting. In this episode, she joins us to unpack the real challenges facing the industry and explore practical solutions.

This conversation explores the role of organizations like the CBC, the hesitation of brands to sponsor podcasts, and the importance of balancing production with audience growth strategies. Kattie also highlights that success shouldn’t be measured by downloads alone, but by listener engagement and consumption.

We dive into discoverability, noting that it’s often less about platform limitations and more about strong podcast packaging and promotion. The rise of video podcasting is also discussed, including its higher costs and impact on creators.

This episode doesn’t just diagnose the challenges—it offers a roadmap.

Canadian podcasting isn’t lacking talent or ideas. What it lacks is:

• Funding

• Infrastructure

• Strategic alignment between creators, platforms, and brands

Kattie makes it clear: The potential is there—but unlocking it requires intention, investment, and collaboration.

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Kattie has a very good newsletter worth paying for called Pod The North.

And here is our video of the episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1bAmdyU-nA