S1E12 - Ologies’ Alie Ward on reaching 50 Million Downloads by treating scientists like rock stars

Mar 24, 2021

In this engaging discussion, Alie Ward, a science journalist and the vibrant host of Ologies, shares how she turned scientists into rock stars, aiming to make science accessible and exciting. She reveals the key to her podcast's success—reaching 50 million downloads by building a community-driven platform. Alie emphasizes the importance of involving listeners through questions and participation, and shares her insights on launching membership programs early to support creative projects. With her storytelling approach, Alie highlights the adventures of scientists, breaking down misconceptions and battling anti-science sentiment.

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INSIGHT

Science As Celebration

Ologies celebrates the breadth of science and elevates researchers as cultural figures.
Alie Ward frames scientists as rock stars to make their work compelling and relatable.

ANECDOTE

From Closet Recording To Paid Editors

Alie started Ologies independently after networks rejected her for lacking an audience.
Early Patreon income paid editors and helped her stop recording alone in a closet on her birthday.

INSIGHT

Audience Scale And Topic Sensitivity

Ologies crossed 50 million downloads and averages 250k–300k per episode.
Topic wonkiness drives episode variability up to ~400k downloads.

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In this episode, we have Alie Ward as a guest! Alie is a science journalist and host of Ologies, a smart, fun science podcast filled with bizarre stories and science knowledge from many different fields (or -ologies!).

She is also the Daytime Emmy Award-winning science correspondent for CBS’s "The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation with Mo Rocca,” and host of “Did I Mention Invention?” on the CW.

Reaching 50 million downloads on Ologies, we reached out to talk about:

Building a science podcast with the audience, and how they get involved
Turning scientists into rockstars and tackling anti-science sentiment
Misconceptions about scientists and the adventures they have
Why Alie recommends starting a paid membership from the beginning
Smart ways to involve the audience so they go from passive listeners to fully invested (and paying) subscribers!

Enjoy!

Timestamps

2:16 Describing Ologies to the high school teacher
3:57 Starting Ologies independent from networks
5:17 Ology's listening stats
6:19 Ology listeners choose to have fun and do some lifelong learning
6:46 "There is science in everything"
7:52 How Alie Ward sustains the show through paid membership and ads
9:47 Choosing where the money goes, and the art of giving back
11:06 Who are the listeners? Alie Ward describes the Ologites
13:05 Turning scientists into rockstars and the battle against anti-science sentiment
16:02 Scientists have adventures, and the academic ivory tower
17:01 Building the podcast with the audience: How Alie Ward started Ologies
19:07 You don't have to build your show alone
21:30 People who will support you will support you from the start
23:11 What are you giving to your supporters for $5 a month?
24:02 What Alie would do differently with paid memberships
25:41 What's next for Ologies

Join us in the FREE Supercast premium feed and you get to hear Alie talk about:

The power of establishing a strong relationship with the listener from the very beginning
The fear of throwing all of ourselves into our passions
Taking risks, and getting permission as a creator

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