Kanban for podcasters: from guest booking to published episode
Podcasting looks simple from the outside: two people talk, someone presses publish. Behind each episode is a chain of handoffs. Book the guest. Send the prep questions. Record. Wait for the guest's audio file. Send to the editor. Wait for the edit. Write show notes. Get the guest's approval on a clip. Schedule. Promote. For an independent show or a small production team, most delays are at the handoffs, not the recording.
A 2D board makes those handoffs visible across every episode in the pipeline.
One row per episode
Each episode in progress is a row: "Ep 84: Maria Lopez on pricing", "Ep 85: listener Q&A". Most shows have three to six episodes in progress at once.
Columns that show who has the ball
- Mine: your work: send prep questions, write show notes, design the cover art, schedule the episode
- Other: waiting on guests and collaborators: guest confirming a date, guest sending their local recording, editor delivering the cut, guest approving a clip
- Next Steps: coming stages: promotion posts, newsletter mention, transcript
- Done: finished steps
The guest is usually the bottleneck
Guests are busy and doing you a favour. Their part of the process, confirming a time, sending audio, approving a clip, is where episodes stall. Put each one in Other with their name. Axtio shows how many days each has been waiting and flags anything over a week, so you know when a polite nudge is due. See a follow-up cadence that gets replies.
Batch your own work
Recording and editing go faster in batches. Use the board to see which episodes are at the same stage and do their show notes, art or scheduling in one sitting. See how to plan your week for a simple batching rhythm.
Keep a release buffer
Shows that publish weekly do best with two or three episodes ready ahead of time. The board makes the buffer visible: count the rows in the final stage.
Promotion is part of the episode
Many shows publish and forget to promote. Treat promotion as actions in the same row: clip for social, newsletter mention, guest share request. The episode is not done until those are done.
Accessibility
Transcripts make episodes accessible and searchable. If you publish them, put "publish transcript" in each episode row so it is not forgotten.
Podcasting platforms like Apple Podcasts publish requirements for show artwork and metadata in their Podcasts for creators documentation, worth checking before your first release.