Podcast production company Airship recently secured a new deal with Wondery, positioning the former’s founder, Lindsay Graham, as the Amazon-owned network’s official voice of history. The multi-year agreement, finalized in April, extends Lindsay’s contracts on his existing shows while establishing him as Wondery’s history ambassador.

For Airship, a company that began as a single-member LLC and has grown to eight employees with multiple contractors worldwide, the partnership represents the culmination of years of collaboration with Wondery.

“It just formalizes an already very warm cooperative relationship,” explains Lindsay, who hosts several shows including “American History Tellers,” “American Scandal,” “Business Movers,” and “History Daily.” “It also telegraphs to the rest of the industry that Wondery is taking this seriously and wants to be the first in line whenever something new comes up.”

The agreement has two key components. First, it’s a first-look deal for new history podcast concepts. “If I have an idea for a new history podcast, it makes sense to bring it to Wondery first and see if there’s a place for it in the Wondery universe,” Lindsay says. This streamlines the development process, allowing Lindsay to bypass “all the shopping periods, all the haggling, the negotiation” that typically accompany new show launches. If Wondery decides a concept isn’t a fit, Lindsay is free to take it elsewhere, though he acknowledges he “probably won’t ever get terms as friendly as what Wondery would have offered.”

Second, the deal establishes Lindsay as Wondery’s history ambassador across various media formats, including those beyond podcasting. “One of Wondery’s ambitions is to build out their franchises, their IP franchises away from just podcasts,” Lindsay explains. “They’ve already done exceptional work in moving podcasts to TV, but I think they have their eye on a whole universe of different extensions.”

The relationship between Lindsay and Wondery dates back to 2016 when Hernan Lopez, then CEO of Wondery, discovered Lindsay through an audio drama podcast. “One of the miraculous accidental decisions I’ve made was that I would write and read all the ads because I was the executive producer,” Lindsay recalls. “That was a great decision because it turns out that Hernan really likes the way I write and read ads.”

This initial connection led to Lindsay writing ads for Wondery’s show “Dirty John,” followed by the opportunity to host, produce, and design the sound for “American History Tellers”—a show that debuted just a year and a half after Wondery’s founding. Over the next seven years, Lindsay continued creating shows for the network while also experimenting with other partners.

“A few years ago, I grew a bit nervous that I had all my eggs in Wondery’s basket,” Lindsay admits. “It’s a wonderful basket to be in. But I was doing all Wondery shows, so I thought perhaps to help diversify my portfolio, give me a bit of additional risk tolerance, I should try to do some other programs.”

This led to “History Daily,” a co-production with UK-based Noiser, and “American Criminal,” an independent production. While “History Daily” quickly found success, Lindsay discovered a surprising truth when seeking monetization partners: “When [we] went to find monetization partners, Wondery was the best on offer. So even though I really designed that show to be something that was away from Wondery, it came back to Wondery.”

Building a History Destination

Lindsay notes his expanded role aligns with Wondery’s strategic goal of becoming a recognized destination for quality history content. 

“My biggest goal for this deal two years from now is probably also Wondery’s number one goal, and that would be for Wondery to increasingly be known as a home for history,” Lindsay says. He compares this aspiration to established history media brands like History Channel in the United States and Dan Snow’s History Hit in the UK.

“Wondery came along with a much more kind of Los Angeles entertainment industry viewpoint,” Lindsay recalls of their early collaboration. While many podcasts at the time were influenced by public radio, Wondery brought a fresh perspective that incorporated techniques such as dramatic reenactments.

“‘American History Tellers,’ our first history show, includes these dramatic reenactments. And that was not a part of the vocabulary of podcasting at the time, really,” Lindsay notes. This approach was grounded in industry experience. “I’ve always been impressed by Wondery’s fresh approach, but that fresh approach was really backed by decades of experience in the entertainment industry,” Lindsay says.

Extensions of this creative partnership have already begun. Lindsay’s “American History Tellers” released “The Hidden History of the White House” book last year, with more media adaptations likely to follow. While specific details about upcoming projects remain under wraps, Lindsay hints at the possibility of live events in the future. 

“Wondery has done great work with Laura Beil from many other shows, ‘Dr. Death’ in particular. So in the true crime arena, they’ve already started this. They’ve got a true crime cruise coming up,” he explains.

Growth Opportunities Within the Industry

For Airship, the Wondery deal provides a stable foundation for future growth in the podcast market. “Hopefully, we get some new shows to work on. That’s the number one thing,” Lindsay says. “The idea that we will have an almost instant home for our pitches means that we are more creative and more prolific in coming up with new ideas.”

Lindsay is already in discussions with Wondery about new concepts, with a meeting scheduled to refine them. While he can’t reveal specific details, he hints at exploring “new formats, more conversational formats, co-hosted formats,” and potentially expanding into areas like “science and technology.” These discussions should yield results soon, as Lindsay notes, “I’m hoping that this summer will be fruitful for that conversation.”

Lindsay highlights the timing of this partnership, given the current state of the podcasting industry. “The industry also goes through a bit of an inflationary moment, a frothy exuberance with a lot of external money coming in that has shaken out in the last two years,” Lindsay observes. According to him, this has led to “a return to fundamentals in terms of putting out good content and probably also retreating to successful content and trying to fortify that rather than build new shows.”

In this challenging environment, launching new shows has become “extraordinarily difficult” due to a busy market, limited discovery options, and high production costs. Lindsay experienced these challenges firsthand with “American Criminal,” which taught him “how expensive and difficult it is to launch a new show.”

Airship’s operational strategy positions the company well to capitalize on the partnership’s opportunities. “Right now we’re working on six 45-minute shows a week plus a daily show,” Lindsay explains, “all of that with just about eight full-time employees.” This output is possible because the company has “devised a system” and become “ruthlessly efficient.”

Broader Implications and Future Vision

The Airship-Wondery partnership exemplifies a rising trend in the creator economy: the growing value of strategic alliances between independent content creators and established networks. For creators like Lindsay, these partnerships provide stability, resources, and distribution. For networks like Wondery, securing exclusive content and distinctive talent is key.

When it comes to effective growth strategies in today’s podcasting field, Lindsay is candid: “I don’t know. I think we’re at a place where all the low-hanging fruit, all the moves you can make, the strategic decisions available to you are all pretty much done by everyone.” 

However, he emphasizes that “connection with audiences wins. And that has been probably the only surefire way of success.”

Looking ahead, Lindsay envisions projects that could further elevate Wondery’s position as a destination for history enthusiasts. “We are facing the 250th birthday of our nation here in the United States next year,” he notes, expressing his dream to “do a 26-episode history of the United States narrated by Tom Hanks and produced by Steven Spielberg.”

Beyond the business considerations, Lindsay finds deep satisfaction in making history accessible and engaging. “I hope they trust me,” he says of his listeners. “I hope that I show up in a warm and generous manner. They’ve given me their time. I want to give them a short little vacation into the past.”