Gimlet's new podcast slate promises crime, psychological thrills, and controversy

The podcasting industry is on the cusp of breaking mainstream in a major way, according to Gimlet Media cofounder Matt Lieber.

And Lieber wants Gimlet to be one of the few big podcasting giants that rules the industry.

Gimlet's new slate of podcasts, announced Tuesday, seems to reach for that mainstream buzz with controversy, crime, and psychological thrills.

Growth story

Gimlet, a podcast-making company founded in 2014, has seen 25% year-over-year growth this year, Lieber tells Business Insider. "We've had our fastest year-over-year growth this year," he continues.

Gimlet's fall season adds three new shows to its (formerly) five-show roster, and features a fourth season of hit "StartUp," which will follow American Apparel founder Dov Charney as he tries to start a new company after being ousted under dramatic circumstances in 2014.

The three new podcasts mark Gimlet's entry into hot formats: a fictional psychological thriller, a true crime series from the creators of HBO's hit "The Jinx," and a show that re-examines historical moments. Compared to the quirky "Mystery Show," which Gimlet declared "unsustainable" and recently canceled, these podcasts show an ear toward mass appeal.

The transition

We're in the midst of a big transition in audio, Lieber says. Radio will slowly lose dominance to digital. Smartphones have pushed us toward the transition, but cars are helping radio hang on pretty tight, Lieber says. Eventually, however, on-demand audio will have a huge market - think of it like the on-demand video market that Netflix kick-started. In that world, there will be a big demand for podcasts.

That demand will lead to a handful of prominent podcast studios springing up, Liber says (as well as a bunch of independents). He thinks Gimlet is well-placed to be one. The company has used the $7.5 million in venture capital money it's raised to build up a stable of well-respected shows, like "Reply All" and "StartUp," as well as its own ad agency that creates custom audio ads and branded podcasts. The pieces are in place if podcasts continue to grow in popularity.

Lieber thinks now is the time. "[Podcasts are] becoming a mainstream phenomenon," he says. Even Malcolm Gladwell is getting into the game.

And Gimlet's new shows, which can go through an incubator process of up to a year, seem designed to get people's attention.

Take the fourth season of "StartUp," for example, which Lieber says he's most excited for of the new slate. The show tracks Dov Charney from the inception moment of his new company, as he tries to "recapture the magic of American Apparel" (as Lieber describes it). Charney was ousted from American Apparel in 2014, by the board, which said the firing "grew out of an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct." At American Apparel, Charney faced multiple accusations of sexual harassment, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Charney was described by Business Insider's Jim Edwards as "infuriating, charming, arrogant." Lieber calls Charney "controversial but compelling," and says the show does not shy away from the accusations. "It's not a celebration," Lieber says.

But you can bet Charney will get people chattering around the internet.

Here are Gimlet's full descriptions of the new fall season: