{"id":24454,"date":"2026-02-23T17:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T17:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=24454"},"modified":"2026-02-23T17:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T17:35:11","slug":"particles-ai-news-app-listens-to-podcasts-for-interesting-clips-so-you-you-dont-have-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=24454","title":{"rendered":"Particle’s AI news app listens to podcasts for interesting clips so you you don’t have to"},"content":{"rendered":"


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An AI news app called Particle<\/a>, from former Twitter engineers<\/a>, can now keep up with news breaking on podcasts as well as news published on the web. <\/p>\n

Just ahead of its recent Android release, Particle has introduced a feature called Podcast Clips, which finds the most interesting and relevant moments across many different types of podcasts, and then includes those clips alongside the related news stories in its feed.<\/p>\n

So instead of listening to a lengthy podcast just to catch the 45 seconds of interesting comments, you can play back the clip as you\u2019re reading the news on Particle. You also have the option of reading the transcript of the clip instead, as the words are highlighted as they\u2019re spoken.<\/p>\n

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Image Credits:<\/strong>Particle<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done that basically for any news story \u2014 if there is a podcast that is talking about it, or relevant at all, we\u2019ve got all those clips,\u201d Particle CEO Sara Beykpour<\/a>,\u00a0previously the Senior Director of Product Management at Twitter, told TechCrunch. \u201cIt\u2019s a really cool way, when you\u2019re reading a story or learning about a story, to get a breath of what are people saying about this? What\u2019s the commentary?\u201d<\/p>\n

The addition acknowledges a shift in the news ecosystem that\u2019s been underway for years. Not only are more people getting their news from podcasts<\/a> and trusting them as reliable sources, but the medium is also becoming a destination<\/a> for breaking news and major announcements from public figures.<\/p>\n

Tech CEOs, in particular, are now seeking out friendly podcast hosts to air their talking points instead of trying to work with traditional media, as Bloomberg reported<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n

That makes paying attention to podcasts even more critical if you want to keep up with news.<\/p>\n

Beykpour says Particle uses embedding models<\/a> to understand when podcasts relate to a given news story. These models are provided by the same companies that provide LLM models, but they\u2019re not generative AI technologies, she explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use vector embeddings to understand that these different parts of the podcasts are related to these different stories,\u201d Beykpour notes. \u201cA single podcast might cover 10 or 20 stories, so we use AI to understand that. We also use AI to do some of the logic around clipping, and understanding when to start a clip and end a clip.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Image Credits:<\/strong>Particle<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The company leverages technology from ElevenLabs for transcription. However, some of the technology that identifies where exactly to clip the audio is part of Particle\u2019s secret sauce.<\/p>\n

The idea to tap into podcasts to better understand the commentary around news is also something newsrooms are taking a closer look at these days. As Nieman Lab reported<\/a> this month, The New York Times has been using a custom AI tool that employs LLMs to transcribe and summarize new episodes of dozens of right-wing and more conservative podcasts to better understand what influencers on that side are saying about the news.<\/p>\n

Particle\u2019s Podcasts Clips feature isn\u2019t only tied to news stories. Because the app already understands different entities \u2014 like people, places or things \u2014 you can go to the page for a notable figure, such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, to see all of his appearances on podcasts arranged as a feed.<\/p>\n

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Image Credits:<\/strong>Particle<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Particle has been busy building other features, as well. The company has made its first attempt at monetization with Particle+, an optional $2.99\/month subscription (or $29.99\/year) that lets you access premium features. These include the ability to: use natural language to have the news summarized in a style you prefer; pick from different voices when using the personalized audio feed; \u201cListen to the News\u201d; unlimited crossword puzzles; support for private questions with its AI chatbot, and more.<\/p>\n

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Image Credits:<\/strong>Particle<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Android release also brings a couple of other notable changes. The browse tab now includes timely stories, like the 2026 Winter Olympics, in addition to typical sections like politics, tech, or entertainment. Plus, when you tap on an entity, you\u2019ll see a new page with the definition, stories, articles, related entities, and related topics.<\/p>\n

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Image Credits:<\/strong>Particle<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Particle isn\u2019t sharing data about user activity or conversion rates, but Beykpour did point to the app\u2019s international audience, pre-Android. On a weekly basis, 55% of Particle\u2019s users are outside the U.S., with India (15%) its biggest market after the U.S.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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