life-itself
[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 ...