A New Coat of Paint

This week marks three years since we launched Relay FM. Frankly, I cannot believe it has been that long, but as they say, time flies when you're having fun.

We're marking the occassion in a couple of ways this week. The first is a brand new web design. Here's the earliest grab of relay.fm from the Wayback Machine:

 
 

That design worked well we had just a handful of shows, but as we approach 30 podcasts, it has been time for a rethink for a while. And what a rethink it is...

 
 

The new homepage features the newest episode in the sidebar, with the next 8 most recent episodes making up the main column. The page uses the color pallette introduced with our iOS app, which really lets the show art pop off the page.

Once inside the site, each show page uses a key color defined by the show art, giving each show and episode a sense of identity and place.

This new design makes it easier than ever to see how to subscribe to a show or support it with a membership, all while letting the content take center stage.

Under the covers, the website still runs atop our custom CMS, which lets us prepare show notes, links and more with ease, even on the go with an iPhone. (You can even do real work in the CMS on an iPad!)

When you visit Relay FM on a mobile device, the site is faster, leaner and much easier to get around.

We owe a huge thanks to the mysterious @forgottentowel, who is the designer behind every single part of the Relay FM brand. That vision was brought to life by Jason Charnes, the developer we work with on the website and CMS.

We hope you enjoy the new coat of paint. There's a lot more to come this week, so stay tuned!

Introducing Query

Serenity Caldwell has a long background in helping people with their Apple products. She started out as a Creative at Apple retail, teaching classes and training individuals on how to use the software that came on their devices. After writing at Macworld, she now works as the Managing Editor at iMore.

Before I was a professional podcaster, I had a career in IT. Like Serenity, that started at my local Apple Store, but behind the Genius Bar.

Today, we're both getting back to our roots and launching a new podcast named Query. I've wanted to work with Serenity for as long as I can remember, and we are both super excited about this show.

Each week, we will be answering two community-submitted questions, then knock out three quick ones during the Speed Run. The show notes for each episode will be full of the resources we discuss. We're serious about our homework, but sidebars and nerdy jokes are going to be par for the course on Query. It's a little part help desk, a little part Car Talk, and we're keeping the runtime to just 30 minutes each week.

Here's how you can subscribe:

Be sure to follow the show on Twitter and ask questions using the #askquery hashtag!

Relay FM Meetup at the App Camp for Girls Fundraiser

As you may know, Relay FM is hosting a meetup at WWDC this year, but our tickets sold out really quickly. But for those of you that may have missed out, we have some great news!

We are working with women@wwdc and James Dempsey and the Breakpoints to host a mini Relay FM meetup at their App Camp for Girls benefit on Wednesday, June 7.

At this event there will be a special Relay FM meet-and-greet section inside the venue. So grab your tickets now, and be sure to get there at 7 PM to meet up with fellow listeners and some of your favorite Relay FM hosts.

All proceeds for this event will go to App Camp For Girls, a non-profit educational program for girls, transgender, non-binary and underrepresented genders in technology.

At App Camp For Girls, aspiring developers brainstorm, design, code, and pitch an iPhone app in one week, while being inspired by role models in the tech industry.

Doors open at 7 PM for the women@wwdc cocktail hour with plenty of time to meet and mingle. Then music starts at 8:30 when James Dempsey and the Breakpoints take the stage to perform a full concert of humorous nerdy songs including favorites from their #5 Billboard-charting comedy album, Backtrace.

We want to support this amazing cause to help them meet their goal of raising $35,000 to support App Camp For Girls at this event. Your generous donation will go directly toward funding this year's programming and future growth.

This event is open to all ages. To consume alcohol at the event, you must be over 21.

Find out more and grab your tickets now. We look forward to seeing you there!

Introducing Originality & Roboism

We are thrilled to announce two new podcasts today, Originality and Robosim:

We are thrilled to announce two new podcasts today, Originality and Roboism:

Originality is hosted by Aleen Simms and K Tempest Bradford. The show is all about exploring the wheres, hows, and whys of creative genius. The hosts are joined each episode by a diverse assortment of guests from a variety of fields.

Originality will be publishing every other Thursday. Here's how to subscribe:

Roboism is a podcast mostly about robots. Alex Cox and Savannah Million care about how robots, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are affecting our culture.

Roboism will be publishing every other Tuesday. Here's how to subscribe:

We are very happy to have Alex, Savannah and Tempest join Relay FM, and are excited to have Aleen back on the mic. Both of these shows are great, and we think you'll really enjoy them.

Introducing Download

 
 

Today, we are happy to announce the newest Relay FM podcast, Download.

The truth is there are way too many tech stories to keep up with each week. That's where Download comes in. Here's the idea:

What are the most important technology stories right now? From products and companies to services and trends, Download’s weekly panel of experts analyzes the biggest topics in tech ... and a few you may have missed.

Download is hosted by Jason Snell and produced by Stephen Hackett. It will feature a rotating panel of guests every week and the most important stories across the broad spectrum of consumer tech.

Episode 1 is out now. You can check it out here.

Here's how to subscribe:

Relay FM is an independent podcast network for people who are creative, curious and maybe even a little obsessive — just like its hosts.