By Jason Snell

June 19, 2020 2:56 PM PT

Introducing Upgrade+

Note: This story has not been updated since 2020.

Monday on the Upgrade podcast, Myke Hurley and I introduced a new membership feature for supporters of the podcast: Upgrade+.

Named tongue-in-cheekily after Apple’s tendency to brand its premium subscription services with the plus symbol, Upgrade+ is an alternate version of Upgrade, released at the same moment as the regular free version. It contains the entire show from the free feed—but with two exceptions.

First, the ad reads are completely removed. (Fans of podcast ads will still hear the sponsors thanked at the beginning and end, and find sponsorship links in the show notes.)

Second, we’re adding an additional segment just for members every week. Last week we did preparation for our WWDC Keynote Draft, and this week we did some analysis of our draft picks. We also dropped in a hilarious moment cut out of the regular show, where Myke was interrupted in the middle of a segment by fulfilling a years-long dream in the least impressive way possible.

With the changing dynamics in the podcast world, Relay is emphasizing listener support as a counterbalance to the uncertainty of podcast advertising. If you’re a Relay FM member who is specifically supporting Upgrade, you’ll gain access to the Upgrade+ feed as well a feed containing all of Relay’s “crossover content,” including two monthly members-only podcasts and a set of annual membership specials from across the network.

(And yes, if you’re already supporting Upgrade, you already have access to all of this, including Upgrade+! Just go to Relay FM and log in, and you’ll be able to get to a special page that contains special podcast feed links. Just replace the regular Upgrade feed with Upgrade+, and things should proceed from there.)

If you’d like to sign up and support Upgrade, you can support for $5 a month or $50 a year.¹

Upgrade is the highlight of my week and I think we’ve built a pretty great podcast over the past five-plus years and 300 episodes. The next couple of episodes should be among the biggest of the year. If you love the podcast and want to support us, we’re happy to give you a little more.

And if supporting Upgrade doesn’t make sense for you, that’s fine too—we’re committed to the free, ad-supported feed and it won’t be going anywhere.

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