Photo by Clint Adair on Unsplash
The Rephonic’s podcast graph was recommended to me by Oscar Trimboli. Now, how did that amazing connection come about? I can only assume the master networker Claire Pedrick had something to do with it. In our recent chat on The Coaching Inn, we briefly talked about Oscar.
Now, I do listen to Oscar’s own podcast (Deep Listening), but—those who know me won’t be surprised—I actually first came across his work through Dave Stachowiak’s Coaching for Leaders podcast, where Oscar is something of a regular guest (listen here, here, or here).
So when Oscar DMed me to share this tool, I was curious. Rephonic lets you enter the name of a podcast and see a beautiful web of connections—shows that share listeners, based (I believe) on Apple Podcast data. It’s clever, fun, and clearly built with podcasters, marketers, and curious minds in mind. It helps people explore relationships between podcasts, discover new shows, and better understand listener behaviour.
But here’s the thing. I’m not just a podcast listener—I’m an educator and a lifelong learner. And I use podcasts to learn. I don’t just follow shows—I follow people. I track their appearances across platforms, listen to conversations on specific topics, and reflect on how ideas show up in different places and voices.
In my conversation with Claire, I mentioned how frustrating it is that no podcast app really does what I want it to do. I don’t just want a playlist—I want a learning tool. I want to be able to:
- pull out my own listening data,
- map my habits,
- tag themes,
- track and connect who I’ve heard and where,
- and add my reflections to it.
So while I love playing with Rephonic, I also find myself wishing I had the skills to build something similar—for personal learning. A tool not just for discovery or promotion, but for meaning-making.
So here’s my pitch—to anyone looking for a new project: Build a tool for podcast listeners who learn. Let us access our listening history. Let us annotate it. Let us spot patterns. Let us grow through reflection. And let’s stay ethical while doing it.
If you built that, I would be your first client.
And while we’re at it—Oscar, if you’re still reading—perhaps I should come clean: in terms of your Listening Villains, I might be a bit of a shapeshifter. Some days I’m the Dramatic Listener. Other days the Shrewd One and on other days I am the Interrupting One. Often, I’m the Lost Listener (hello, fourth villain)—wandering through podcasts, full of curiosity and questions, missing the obvious… but luckily, there’s always the rewind button.
I mean well. I love this world. I’ve learned so much from the people in it. It’s not just audio to me—it’s connection, insight, learning, reflection.
So maybe what I’m looking for is a way to map not just the podcasts I’ve heard, but the journey I’ve been on through listening. That’s why I created the Coaching PodClub where I find fellow listeners to unpick our learning and reflections from podcasts. It’s not a podcast, just a space to learn, reflect, and share. And everyone is welcome.
Candida Javaid Coaching & Mentoring 