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FTL & LRN.FM Updates

Millions of Listeners per month

August 28th, 2018 - 12:05pm by FTL_Mark in

I am often asked "How many listeners does FTL have?" This question is as reasonable as it is unanswerable. One person could listen to every segment of FTL: are they one listener or more? One guy I know downloaded 60,000 episodes of FTL; we don't even have that many episodes! You can see the cunundrum.

So, knowing this, I propose a different question: How many listens, rather than listeners, does FTL get per month?

Podcast: We get around 100,000 downloads a month. I am fine with calling these one listen. The industry standard for podcasts is to just ask for downloads. More than one person could clearly listen to a podcast, but some downloads are not listened to.

Radio: I have seen radio ratings for FTL in the past - though not all stations are rated since the companies that release these numbers only provide ratings for stations that pay for inclusion. In round numbers, FTL's AQH (Average Quarter Hour ratings), for the stations that are included in the...

We've launched a Mastodon and Telegram for FTL show prep and announcements!

August 26th, 2018 - 2:05pm by FTL_Ian in

This week, Free Talk Live opened an account on the Mastodon decentralized social network. It's basically a replacement for Twitter that is censorship-proof and it works very well. You can follow our posts on the new Libertarian/Voluntarist/Anarchist server "Liberdon" at http://toot.freetalklive.com .

Plus, we're now going to be originating our show prep posts via our new Telegram channel, "FreeTalkLive" . From there, they'll be shot out automatically to the FTL Mastodon , Twitter , and Facebook . If you're still following our posts on Facebook, they will appear there, but of course you almost never see what we put on Facebook because Facebook wants us to pay to reach you. If you want to see more than what Facebook will allow, I recommend you switch to...

Longtime Huntsville Affiliate WBHP Expands FTL, Goes Live! :: Discord Approaching 1,000 Users!

August 18th, 2018 - 5:40pm by FTL_Admin in

Since 2009 we've been a part of WBHP-AM's lineup in Huntsville, AL. WBHP is also simulcast on WHOS-AM in nearby Decatur. Recently, WBHP added an FM Translator, which is an FM station just large enough to cover the city of Huntsville. In addition, WBHP is now on an HD radio signal in Decatur at WDRM-HD2 on the FM band. That's not all the good news, as though we have been on weeknights in Huntsville/Decatur for years on WBHP, only recently have we begun airing live, 7-9pm Central! So, welcome to our new FM (and HD2) listeners in the area. To see our full list of over 190 radio stations airing Free Talk Live coast-to-coast and beyond, please visit our affiliates page .

Our Discord server is approaching 1,000 users! Were at 947 right now and more than half of those users have returned to the server...

We're dumping Skype and fully replacing it with Discord! :: Preuss Podcast Appearance

August 12th, 2018 - 7:22pm by FTL_Admin in

Years ago, we added Skype as a call-in option on Free Talk Live. This wasn't part of a sponsorship or any kind of partnership, but a way of increasing caller audio quality and an acknowledgement of the ubiquity of Skype as a platform. Sadly, after Microsoft purchased Skype it's seemed like they're running it into the ground. Audio quality is worse than ever and now a few weeks ago Skype forced an "update" that broke the program for on-air purposes. Not only can you not turn off the ringer (we tried multiple potential workarounds), the older Skype would allow you the option of assigning the ringer to a different soundcard. That feature has been completely stripped from the latest "upgrade". After being interrupted multiple times on-air by the ringing sound effect, I decided I'd had it with what has become a garbage app.

Thankfully, we added the "On-Air Call-In Line" several months ago to our new Discord chat server at Discord.LRN.FM and...

Mark Pulled a Molyneux, But We Stopped His Mad Power Grab

August 5th, 2018 - 7:35pm by FTL_Admin in

Last week began with the unfortunate news that FTL co-host Mark Edge pulled a Molyneux and used a DMCA takedown on a YouTube video he didn't like (one which used our show content). It would be one thing if Mark had done such an unprincipled thing on his own, but he claimed to do it on behalf of Free Talk Live. After an on-air rebuke, he apologized for doing it in FTL's name and has promised never to do it again. I will reiterate here what I have said on-air forever, which is that Free Talk Live does not believe in intellectual property and you are free to copy, edit, or do whatever you please with our content.

Thankfully, the week ended with the good news that Youtube restored the Mark-offending video upon my request, which made it clear to them that Mark made this move without authorization. FTL is no longer able to be blamed for any takedown, because the video is back and Mark has been publicly shamed for his...

Now over 850 members on our Discord chat server!

July 29th, 2018 - 4:46pm by FTL_Ian in

Thanks to everyone who has not only visited our Discord chat server , but especially to those who keep coming back! We started the LRN.FM Discord in January of this year and over 850 people have created an account, with 348 of them coming back within the last seven days! That's a large, active userbase. If you haven't dropped in yet, take a moment and visit http://discord.lrn.fm . You can download the Discord app or just use their web version.

If you like all the cool features we provide for free, whether it's our decade plus of audio archives , webcam , forum , or Discord chat , please take a moment to join our AMP program for $...

LRN.FM Satellite Fundraiser Patreon Update

July 21st, 2018 - 1:47pm by FTL_Admin in

The LRN.FM satellite fundraiser Patreon has been around about a year now and is up to 22 patrons and $132 a month coming in - that's over 10% of our current satellite bill! As you may recall we split off the satellite feeds from the AMP program so people could support either or both fundraisers directly. If you appreciate the fact that we broadcast LRN.FM across North & Central America and Sub-Saharan Africa, free-to-air (meaning listeners don't have to pay for our channel), then please get behind our satellite fundraiser Patreon for as little as $2 per month .

Also, you can connect with other listeners via our Free Talk Live forum here . Our forum software is modern and snappy - I think you'll like it.

Thanks for listening to and supporting Free Talk Live! Ian

New LPFM Affiliate in Daytona Beach :: Twitch Approaching 400 Followers

July 14th, 2018 - 3:49pm by FTL_Admin in

This week we welcome WZEA 107.1 FM in Daytona Beach, FL as our newest affiliate. WZEA is unusual among our affiliates in that they are a "low-power FM" and are airing our podcast, instead of our live show. As always, you can see our full list of affiliates (over 190!) here .

If you want to help us get to over 200 radio affiliates and beyond, please take a moment and join our AMP program for just $5 (or BTC) per month! Your contribution is our marketing budget - we've got some cool stuff we'd like to do, but can't afford it without your help, like advertise on Penn Jillette's podcast. You'll get cool AMP-only perks, so please join now - I really appreciate your support.

Another way you can support us is to follow the LRN.FM channel on Twitch . Then you can get notifications via email or the Twitch...

LRN.FM Programming Changes + New FTL Radio Affiliates

July 7th, 2018 - 2:13pm by FTL_Admin in

Big news! Tim Preuss has gone from an hour a day to two per day on his weekday podcast. Because of that dedication, we're featuring him in the 12p-2p Eastern slot on weekdays now on LRN.FM. That makes his show in the near ten years of LRN.FM the first podcast to actually have a scheduled time. Congrats to Tim on taking his show to the next level. It's rare to see a libertarian broadcasting daily, let alone for two hours per day.

Also in LRN.FM programming news, Johnny Rocket has announced he's launching a new show to replace "Johnny Rocket Launch Pad" called, " Blast Off! With Johnny Rocket ". You'll hear it during our weekly podcast loop. As always, our programming guide is here .

In Free Talk Live affiliate news we added WHAK-AM in Rogers City, MI and WYPV-FM in Mackinaw City, MI - at the tips of the glove. You can see our...

New Affiliates :: AMP Brings on Monster Radio Station

June 30th, 2018 - 1:28pm by FTL_Admin in

FTL welcomes three new affiliates including FM translators for our existing stations WIMS-AM in Michigan City, IN and KBJT-AM in Fordyce, AR. Also we welcome one of America's longest running, most successful, and top rated radio stations - WRKO-AM in Boston, MA! Affiliates don't get bigger than WRKO - 50,000 Watts! You can see our full affiliate list here .

How did we get one of the best stations in the U.S.? There were two critical parts that were both made possible by the Free Talk Live AMP program . First, the station lead came to us from Skip, the guy we've hired for years to represent the show via his "Talk Shows USA" company. Skip's an industry veteran and Program Directors look to him when they need quality shows. He was critical in helping WRKO come onboard. However, I closed the deal at the TALKERS conference we attended this month in NYC - also paid for by AMP.

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