Tony Doe: Into the Podverse

Let's go to Lagos! Tony Doe is one of the most thoughtful voices in Nigeria, and he's here to provide some excellent insights into the past, present and future of podcasting.

As a former Nigerian radio broadcaster turned podcaster, Tony reflects on the lost intimacy of radio as studios chase visual appeal and social media reactions, and explains why he rejects the idea that video is the “next phase” of podcasting. He warns creators about building shows inside walled gardens like Spotify and YouTube, sharing personal and second-hand stories of lost control and opaque platform decisions.

Podcast Preservation and Proliferation

We speak quite a bit about one of Tony's most important personal projects, the Nigerian Podcast Index. Built by Tony and other Nigerian industry veterans, it's an independent public directory designed to document, preserve, and make discoverable every independent podcast created in Nigeria or by Nigerians.

It's a fantastic tool created to fill a critical gap in data, discovery, and monetization for African podcasters, while navigating tough challenges like language barriers, infrastructure limits, and payment restrictions.

Just a quick scroll through their homepage should show you what an incredible undertaking this project really is.

More Tony For Your Feed

If you want to hear more from Tony (and why wouldn't you?) he's got two shows of his own that are both well worth your time.

Football fans may want to dig into his long-running Arsenal fan podcast, Up Gunners!, for some insight into why folks continue to support a team that struggles as much as Arsenal historically has. I'm sure Leafs fans can relate.

On the flipside, Sound Off fans and pod-heads might particularly enjoy Into the Podverse, Tony's show about the innovation, challenges, and opportunities shaping African and global podcasting. If it piques your interest, make sure you also subscribe to the newsletter on Substack.