[epic] Over the Mountains blog & podcast (setup and launch)
Over The Mountains by Life Itself is a podcast and blog exploring the understandings and system shifts needed to bring forth a Second Renaissance, to live within a metamodern reality that works for everyone.
We want to set this up and announce it and start releasing the first podcast series - see #1294
Acceptance
- [ ] Shaping re OtM 🚧2025-11-17 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D5vjXtCm4ZeCZRddsoi7Zs7TsFXadfh1NloebPwYR3Q/edit?tab=t.v629nl7qbel
- [x] Press pack e.g. blurb, about etc ✅2025-11-17 see blurb section in https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D5vjXtCm4ZeCZRddsoi7Zs7TsFXadfh1NloebPwYR3Q/edit?tab=t.lldwkxnffnua#heading=h.8fda9em80aa7
- [x] Set up substack ✅2025-11-17 https://overthemountains.substack.com/
- [x] Set up podcast (and post ep 1) ✅2025-11-17
- [x] Post announce with ep 2 ✅2025-11-17 https://overthemountains.substack.com/p/over-the-mountains-new-blog-and-podcast
Press pack
- [x] Title and subtitle
- [x] Blurb
- [x] Medium
- [x] Ultra-short e.g. 2-3 sentences
Set up substack
- [x] Create dedicated substack ✅2025-11-07 https://overthemountains.substack.com/
- [x] Welcome post
- [x] Pinned on front page
- [x] About page 🔥🔥🔥 ✅2025-11-17
- [x] Hide the Notes page for now
- [x] Set the publication image ✅2025-11-14
- [x] Set the welcome page image
- [x] Setup subscribers
- [x] Import LI ⛔2025-11-12 imported and waiting on approval from substack ✅2025-11-13
- [x] Import Little Wiser ✅2025-11-12
- [x] Import LI Research ✅2025-11-12
Podcast setup
- [x] Artwork (square version with podcast icon, 1400px) ✅2025-11-14
- [x] Title
- [x] Description (reuse subtitle / blurb)
- [x] Add it on substack ✅2025-11-14
Test everything
- [x] Post episode #1 (no mailout) and check it ✅2025-11-13 posted and seems fine
Set up links to existing podcast services (need at least one podcast in first)
- [x] Connect to Life Itself youtube https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/30627373184532-How-can-I-connect-my-YouTube-account-to-my-Substack ✅2025-11-13 💬2025-11-17 nb it doesn't publish with cover thumbnail ... or with a full description which is kind of annoying.
- [x] Connect to Life Itself podcast so podcast episodes publish over (or create a new podcast)
- [x] Work out how this is done and if possible (we already have main life itself podcast channel) ✅2025-11-13 see detailed analysis below.
- [x] Submit to apple podcasts ✅2025-11-14 submitted. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/over-the-mountains-podcast/id1749126016
- [ ] Remove episodes which aren't part of over the mountains (or revert this change)
- [x] Submit to spotify podcasts 🚧2025-11-14 finding a lot of problems ✅2025-11-17 kind of done for now - connected but has made a new podcast i can't even admin 🤦♂️
- [x] Submit to youtube podcasts ✅2025-11-14 ok there are 3 options here. Create from substack rss feed. from playlist and create from scratch. issue from doing from substack rss is i think we will end up ✅2025-11-17 made this from scratch rather than ...
Announce post
- [x] Write an announce post ... ✅2025-11-17
- [x] Post it up ✅2025-11-17 https://overthemountains.substack.com/p/over-the-mountains-new-blog-and-podcast
2025-11-17
Exact sequence
- [x] Update about page
- [x] Liam's post live ... (youtube ...) with clips (no mailout)
- [x] Put up announce post with Liam's post
- [x] Pin it to front page
For Sean
- [ ] Use new image design (square for podcasts / rectangle for start of podcast)
- [ ] use the new blurb going forward consistently
- [ ] Does it need tweaking for just podcast (? maybe just remove the word blog??)
- [ ] Does not need to publish to youtube separately as substack should do it automatically ...
Inbox
Questions
- [x] Do i add civilizational paradigm to subtitle ✅2025-11-13 yes for now tho sylvie was meh
Future / extras
- [ ] Jingle for Over the Mountains
- [ ] Paid subscribers ... (set up stripe)
- [ ] Setup up proper life itself substack account so publications are owned by that not Rufus Pollock 🚧2025-11-13 managed to login to life itself substack account but transferring a single publication to a new owner doesn't seem easy ...
- [ ] Ask Substack support if / how this this possible
- [ ] Main motivation for this is want to not have the SEO preview include my name e.g.
Over the Mountain by Life Itself | Rufus Pollock | Substack
- [ ] Also setup youtube podcasts for main Life Itself podcast
- [x] Set up over the mountains chat group ✅2025-11-17
- [ ] check with S if she wants that ...
- [x] Add Jonah and Sylvie
Analysis
Questions
- [x] Do we do a mailout announcing the podcast series (and the vision overall of Over the Mountains) ✅2025-11-13 yes
- [x] Do we use a dedicate domain or a substack url to start with? ✅2025-11-12 it doesn't matter to just stick for substack for now as we can redirect later
Podcasts analysis
Situation
- We currently have Spotify, Apple for distribution (but not Youtube or overcast)
- Spotify: 2 podcasts - life itself and ordinary people. ordinary people has no episodes.
- [ ] https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/life-itself/ (what is this podcast??)
- Apple podcasts: Confusingly we have two shows with exactly same rss (maybe one via spotify??) but both have followers ...
- Spotify: 2 podcasts - life itself and ordinary people. ordinary people has no episodes.
Apple
| Followers | Listeners | Engaged Listeners | Plays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life Itself Podcast | 128 -0.8% |
40 -26% |
26 -16% |
284 -50% |
Life Itself Podcast Life Itself |
28 +17% |
29 +38% |
18 +80% |
262 -6% |
Complication
...
Questions
- [ ] ➕2025-11-12 who is the owner of the Life Itself Podcast on spotify (because i can't edit the settings on it 🤦♂️)
- [x] How should we create the podcast on youtube ...? via rss, via a playlist via ... ✅2025-11-17 probably best to do within youtube rather than from rss to have a bit more control
- [x] can you make a podcast from videos? ✅2025-11-13 Yes, you can.
- [x] Does spotify publish to apple podcasts for us? ✅2025-11-13 No it doesn't.
Overall ...
- Do we create a new podcast show / series on whatever platforms we have ...?
- 👍 easy to do - we just dump
- Or do we try and publish this as part of existing podcasts
- 👍 we have existing subscribers in podcast app
- apple: 194
- spotify: 226 followers
- youtube: none ...
- 👎 big issue is no way to easily do this without some funky merging of rss feeds somewhere.
- 👍 we have existing subscribers in podcast app
Hypothesis
- On apple take over one of the two podcasts
- On spotify create a new show
- On YouTube create a new podcast / show
Hello, some design suggestions from me:
- [x] Change background colour and font-style (Done - but feel free to amend)
- [ ] Add Custom 'Publication Wordmark' in branding section to allow stylistic distinction between 'Over the mountains' (main title) and 'by life itself' (secondary title) in main header
- [ ] Change publication logo to something more legible as a small icon
Regarding announcement, I see that the subscribers have already been ported over - would suggest that in addition to releasing the next podcasts one by one, the first post that goes out to these subscribers should be an intro post introducing the series - with links to the podcast that has already been release, and hints about what is coming soon.
Regarding announcement, I see that the subscribers have already been ported over - would suggest that in addition to releasing the next podcasts one by one, the first post that goes out to these subscribers should be an intro post introducing the series - with links to the podcast that has already been release, and hints about what is coming soon.
Already planned 👍 and should go out today.
Extensively updated the issue with the all the stuff in my local knowledgebase. Nearly complete ...
FIXED. Plenty more we can do and this is done for now.