podcast

name	podcast
description	Generate a podcast episode from a published edition — two-host dialogue transcript, optional audio render via Voicebox.
version	1.0
updated	"2026-04-17T00:00:00.000Z"
tags	["media","active"]
effort	medium
disable-model-invocation	true
argument-hint	[cycle-number] [format]

/podcast — Generate a Podcast Episode

Usage

/podcast [cycle] [format]

• cycle: cycle number (e.g., 91)
• format: morning_edition (default), postgame, debrief

The Principle

The podcast is the edition heard, not read. Two hosts react to what happened in the world this cycle — the stories, the people, the texture. They're not reading articles aloud. They're having a conversation about the city.

Mags decides when to produce a podcast. Not every edition gets one.

Prerequisites

• Edition published at editions/cycle_pulse_edition_{XX}.txt
• World summary exists: output/world_summary_c{XX}.md
• Unified production log exists: output/production_log_c{XX}.md (the one-true-cycle source; legacy fallback production_log_edition_c{XX}.md). Civic content lives in its ## /city-hall section (legacy production_log_city_hall_c{XX}.md).
• Newsroom memory: docs/mags-corliss/NEWSROOM_MEMORY.md — read §Standing Editorial Conventions for character continuity + name corrections (host dialogue must not re-introduce a corrected name or mispronounce a citizen the edition already fixed).

Step 0: Production Log

Read the existing unified production log: output/production_log_c{XX}.md (legacy fallback production_log_edition_c{XX}.md). Append a new section:

## /podcast — {format}
**Started:** {timestamp}
**Format:** {Morning Edition / Postgame / Debrief}
**Hosts:** {Host 1} + {Host 2}
**Status:** IN PROGRESS

### Transcript
[filled in at Step 3]

### Audio
[filled in at Step 5 — Phase 30 pending]

Step 1: Select Format and Hosts

Read docs/media/podcast/SHOW_FORMATS.md for format details.

Format	Hosts	When to use
Morning Edition	Two citizen hosts	Default — full edition review from citizen perspectives
Postgame	P Slayer + Anthony	After a big sports cycle — game results, roster moves
Debrief	Mags + Hal	When the edition needs editorial reflection

Morning Edition host selection:

• Check the edition's CITIZEN USAGE LOG for candidates
• Look up citizen details via MCP: lookup_citizen(name) (combines world-data card + bay-tribune appearances). See [[../../../docs/SUPERMEMORY|SUPERMEMORY]] §Search/save matrix.
• Select hosts with contrasting perspectives relevant to the lead story
• Present host picks to Mike for approval

Step 2: Assemble Inputs

The podcast agent gets:

1. Edition content — first 3000-5000 words of the published edition (headlines, ledes, key details)
2. World summary — output/world_summary_c{XX}.md — the texture the hosts would notice: famous sightings, food, nightlife, weather, streaming, events
3. Civic voice statements — relevant quotes from output/civic-voice/*_c{XX}.json (if civic content matters)
4. Show format — from SHOW_FORMATS.md
5. Host assignments — Name, Age, Neighborhood, Occupation, Perspective for each host

Do NOT embed the full edition. 3000-5000 words is enough. The agent can Read the full file if it needs deeper quotes.

No calendar dates. Cycle references only.

Step 3: Launch Podcast Agent

Launch using the podcast-desk subagent:

subagent_type: podcast-desk

prompt: |
  Write a podcast transcript for Edition {XX}.

  **SHOW FORMAT**
  {format section from SHOW_FORMATS.md}

  **HOST ASSIGNMENTS**
  Host 1 (Person1): {Name}, {Age}, {Neighborhood}, {Occupation}. {Perspective}.
  Host 2 (Person2): {Name}, {Age}, {Neighborhood}, {Occupation}. {Perspective}.

  **EDITION HIGHLIGHTS**
  {first 3000-5000 words — headlines, ledes, key details}

  **WORLD TEXTURE** (from world summary — the stuff hosts notice)
  {Famous people spotted, evening food, nightlife, city events, weather, streaming}

  **CIVIC DECISIONS** (if relevant)
  {key quotes from voice agent output}

  Cycle: {XX}

  Write the transcript to output/podcasts/c{XX}_transcript.txt
  Use <Person1> and <Person2> tags for dialogue.

Step 4: Review Transcript

Show Mike a preview — first 10-15 exchanges. Check:

• Do hosts sound like real people, not article summaries?
• Do they reference the world texture (food, weather, sightings)?
• Any calendar dates? (should be cycle references)
• Any engine language?
• Does the conversation flow naturally — disagreements, humor, personal reactions?

Mike approves or adjusts.

Step 5: Render Audio (when Phase 30 is built)

Current state: Audio rendering not available. Phase 30 (Voicebox) will provide:

• Different voice profiles per host
• Multi-track composition
• Expressive tags ([sigh], [laugh], [gasp])
• REST API on localhost:17493
• Export to MP3/WAV

When Phase 30 is ready:

node scripts/renderPodcast.js {cycle} {format}

For now: The transcript IS the deliverable. Save to output/podcasts/c{XX}_transcript.txt.

Step 5.5: Ingest to bay-tribune

The podcast is canon — citizen voices reacting to the edition. Post-publish has already run by this point, so podcast handles its own ingest.

cp output/podcasts/c{XX}_transcript.txt /tmp/podcast_edition_{XX}.txt
node scripts/ingestEdition.js /tmp/podcast_edition_{XX}.txt

Known issue: ingestEdition.js filename pattern expects edition format. Copy with detectable name as workaround. Future: podcast-aware ingest path so searches distinguish edition text from podcast transcript.

Step 6: Report

PODCAST — Edition {XX}
  Format: {format name}
  Hosts: {Host 1} + {Host 2}
  Transcript: output/podcasts/c{XX}_transcript.txt ({X} exchanges)
  Ingested: bay-tribune [doc ID]
  Audio: [not available — Phase 30 pending]

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Write journalism — the podcast reacts to published content, it doesn't create news
• Run automatically — Mags decides when an edition warrants a podcast
• Generate audio yet — waiting for Phase 30 (Voicebox). Transcript only for now.