Frequently Asked/Anticipated Questions

"Pods-Blitz" is the name of a podcast hosting software.
"pods-blitz.org" is the first instance running this software.

The software is written in the programming language rust, which is an excellent basis to make it very fast and reliable. It has all features you can expect from a modern podcast publisher and even rivals commercial platforms in some respects. It's free and open-source and new project members are always welcome. Have a look here if you are interested in contributing.

Although Pods-Blitz is a very lightweight software, you don't have to worry that your podcast grows "too big" (has too many listeners). All audio files can optionally be uploaded to any S3 bucket. Listeners will then automatically download episodes from there. This means that traffic peaks cannot bring down your server.

With Pods-Blitz anyone can publish a podcast, independent of any commercial podcasting "platform" and of course free of charge.

With our hosting instance pods-blitz.org and the open-source project we want to support the independent podcast community, especially in Germany. We would love to see you hosting your own instance. Wether you install an open instance for anyone to register, or use Pods-Blitz for your own podcast(s), please send us a message and we will list your instance/podcast here.

While it's true, that about 20 years after the first podcast was published, podcasters can choose from a variety of services, we felt that there was still something missing. If you want to stay independent and quickly install your own software there are not that many options.

Pods-Blitz wants to make it as easy as possible to start a new podcast. You can either add the software to your own (virtual) linux server, or if that's not your cup of tea, look for an already running instance and ask the admin if you can join. (As the project is just getting started, only pods-blitz.org is open for registrations at the moment.)

Just fill out a small form here. We will check your request and you will hear back from us soon (normally within 24 hours). You will not get an automatic email reply. Please be patient, this is a free service, which we provide in our spare time.
If you want to promote any commercial product, you should consider using another podcasting host.

Podlove, and Pods-Blitz share some similar goals, but are not affiliated with each other and developed independently. Podlove consists mainly of three plugins for the well-known publishing software Wordpress: "Web Player", "Publisher" and "Subscribe Button". In order to use Podlove you will therefore first need a wordpress instance.
Pods-Blitz, on the other hand, is a small stand-alone software, that only needs access to a MySQL or MariaDB database (think "Wordpress + Publisher Plugin"). Additionally, Pods-Blitz integrates the Podlove web player, so visitors to your website can directly listen to an episode without subscribing to the RSS feed.
When choosing whether to install one or the other, consider these differences:

• A Pods-Blitz instance can host more than one podcast (each with a separate (sub-)domain),
  this is not possible with Podlove
• Several users can share a Pods-Blitz instance, but publish their podcast(s) independently
• With Podlove, you can use all other wordpress plugins
  and you have more options to customize your website
• With Podlove, you cannot import an existing podcast
• The initial setup and configuration of Pods-Blitz is much easier,
  but don't take our word for it, just try it yourself ;-)

In case you want to move your podcast from Podlove to Pods-Blitz, it's also possible to import the analytics data, so nothing gets lost (although the Pods-Blitz analytics look different).