Apple Has Reportedly Hired National Geographic’s Podcasts Director

According to a report by Inside, Apple has recently hired Emily Ochsenschlager, the Deputy Director of podcasts at National Geographic and former producer and editor at NPR, as it plans to enter the original podcast market.

According to a source, the move is “the first of many content hires for them in the coming weeks.” This development appears to support a story Bloomberg published last summer, which claimed that Apple “plans to bankroll original podcasts to fend off rivals.”

Ochsenschlager spent over 15 years at NPR, where she served as a producer and editor, before joining National Geographic. During her short stay of just over one year at NatGeo, she was responsible for NatGeo’s podcasting efforts and launching the company’s first podcast.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg claimed that Apple is looking to fund original podcasts for its Apple Podcasts platform and that the company had been reaching out to media companies and creators about “buying exclusive rights to podcasts.”

Apple has not yet confirmed or denied the report of Ochsenschlager’s hire.