Diversion Publishing has formed Diversion Podcasts, a new production unit and podcast studio that will develop and release original nonfiction audio series hosted by veteran nonfiction authors.
The new unit's first podcast was made available yesterday; The Dream Team Tapes is a 10-episode series focused on the renowned 1992 USA Olympic basketball team composed of such iconic athletes as Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Three other podcasts, which will be available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and other podcast platforms, are set for June.
Diversion Podcasts will be directed by Mark Francis, formerly with SiriusXM. Fancis said Diversion Podcast is working with authors to adapt and serialize Diversion titles and turn them into book-based audio entertainment. The initial slate of Diversion podcasts will be hosted by Diversion authors, but Diversion Podcasts plans to produce podcasts with a variety of authors and publishing houses.
Diversion Publishing CEO Scott Waxman said the podcasts will feature primary source interviews, supported with sound production in combination with the input of authors deeply invested in the subject matter. Waxman said, “We’ve taken the source material of audiobooks and transformed it with an entirely new approach to production, creating dramatic, and educational series.” Waxman said podcasts could be expanded beyond their scheduled run, depending on their popularity.
The Dream Team Tapes is hosted by sportswriter Jack McCallum, author of a 2012 book on the fabled basketball team on which the podcast is based. The podcast features recorded interviews with Jordan, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and the other members of the gold-winning Olympic team.
Starting on June 1 the initial Diversion Podcast series launch will also feature The Good Assassin, the story of a Mossad Agent and a team of Holocaust survivors who hunt down Nazi war criminals, hosted by nonfiction author Stephen Talty. On June 15 look for the debut of The War Queens, stories about history’s greatest female military leaders, hosted by the father/daughter team of Jonathan and Emily Jordan; and on June 29, Diversion will launch Guest of Honor, the story of a controversial 1901 White House dinner meeting between African-American leader Booker T. Washington and President Theodore Roosevelt, hosted by bestselling author Deborah Davis.
Waxman hopes to do about 12 podcasts within the first year of the new studio's operation.
