How She Built It: Three Podcast Niches
- Oct 8
- 2 min read
By Suzy Chase
I was a former radio personality, cookbook publicist, and an early adopter of podcasting, back when most people were still asking, “What’s a podcast?…” and it was 99% male dominated!
In 2005, I launched The Groove Radio, the first-ever podcast mixtape. This wasn’t just a playlist, it was a movement for people who missed crate-digging and liner notes. I even started DJing in Brooklyn and recording my sets live for The Groove Radio, curating deep cuts and rare grooves you couldn’t find on mainstream radio.
Ten years later, I was still podcasting but realized something was missing in the audio landscape: food storytelling that centered around cookbooks. In 2015, I launched Cookery by the Book, the very first podcast devoted entirely to cookbooks and the authors behind them. At the time, there were a few food podcasts, but none dedicated to interviewing cookbook authors.
I started booking interviews with James Beard Award winners, debut authors, and legends like Nigella Lawson. I’d cook one recipe from each book in my tiny NYC/West Village kitchen before each interview and bring that experience into the conversation. Over time, I built strong relationships with every major cookbook publisher and created a trusted, independent platform for cookbook authors to share their work in a meaningful way.
The response was immediate and heartfelt. Listeners told me it became their go-to way of discovering new cookbooks, an intimate, thoughtful alternative to a quick Amazon review. For authors, it became a place to talk about personal inspiration, family history, and food as identity. A publicist once told me Cookery by the Book had become “a required stop on every cookbook tour.”
By 2021, something else became clear: my audience loved everything about home life, not just cooking. So I created a companion podcast, Decorating by the Book, the first podcast ever dedicated solely to design books. I started interviewing interior designers, stylists, and tastemakers about how their decorating books shape how we live.
This audio archive I’ve built across three podcasts, music, food, and design documents the culture of home. I’ve done it all independently: booking guests, prepping interviews, editing every episode, and handling all promotion.
I’ve created three distinct podcast niches from scratch, each filling a cultural gap before the industry even knew it existed. I’m a proud original female podcaster.
Connect With Suzy
IG: @TheGrooveRadio, @CookerybytheBook, @DecoratingbytheBook
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