Introducing Logbook: asynchronous podcasting for Nostr Compass

• Why we are changing the recording process
• How Logbook works
• From recordings to an episode
• Try it with Compass #38

For 38 consecutive weeks, Nostr Compass has published a newsletter covering the latest development progress across Nostr. Each issue is joined by a podcast where the people who shipped something that week can talk about their work in their own words.

We are using Logbook to record Compass #38, and contributions are open now. Logbook is our new asynchronous podcast client, published as a Nostr-native nsite. Open Logbook and sign in with your Nostr key. Choose a newsletter section and record what you want to add, or respond to another contributor. Anyone can take part. We would also like your feedback on the app and recording flow.

§Why we are changing the recording process

The newsletter is produced asynchronously. Research, drafting, fact-checking, and review happen over several days, giving everyone time to work through the material at their own pace.

The podcast has worked differently. We have usually met on Thursdays for a live recording session of about one hour. Finding a single time that works for contributors across several time zones is already difficult. When the conversation gets interesting, the session can run for two hours.

That creates a difficult choice for potential guests. Someone may have an important update about a project but be unavailable at the exact time we record. Others can join the call but cannot stay for two hours while waiting for their section. The weekly podcast should make it easier for the people doing the work to explain it, yet the live format has often made participation harder.

§How Logbook works

Logbook is an asynchronous podcast-recording client built specifically for Nostr Compass. It is delivered as an nsite-hosted progressive web app and uses Nostr identities throughout the recording workflow.

Each week, the latest Compass newsletter is split into its individual sections. Those sections appear in Logbook in the same order as the newsletter. A contributor signs in with a Nostr key, chooses the section they want to discuss, records a voice note in the browser, previews it, and publishes it when ready.

Anyone can record. Logbook also supports a mention-based Web of Trust filter derived from the people and projects covered by Nostr Compass. That filter helps editors and listeners surface relevant contributions; it does not restrict who can leave a recording. Producer permissions remain separate and control the editorial process.

Each published voice note is signed by its contributor as a Nostr event. The audio is stored on Blossom with a declared content hash, allowing clients and production tools to verify that the retrieved recording matches the bytes the contributor published. Recordings then appear in a chronological feed organized around the newsletter sections.

This creates room for a conversation to develop over several days. Contributors can explain their own work with more focus, add details that would be difficult to fit into a live roundtable, and respond after hearing what someone else has said. Nobody has to remain on a long call while waiting for their turn.

§From recordings to an episode

Once the recording period closes, the podcast editors review the submitted voice notes. Useful and insightful contributions can be selected, ordered, and arranged into a coherent episode. The selected recordings are then stitched together and published through the regular podcast RSS feeds.

The distinction is important: recording is open, while inclusion in the finished episode remains an editorial decision. This lets more people participate without turning the final podcast into an unstructured stream of clips. The goal is to preserve the focus and continuity of a produced episode while giving contributors much more freedom over when and how they take part.

Logbook also gives the production process a clearer record. Contributors retain authorship of their signed recordings, and the episode selection is represented separately through the producer’s signed manifest. The published episode can therefore preserve both individual attribution and editorial structure.

§Try it with Compass #38

The recording period for Nostr Compass #38 is open now. Pick a section where you have experience, context, an opinion, or a useful detail. Record your contribution and leave it for the editors to review.

This is a new approach to podcast production, and we expect to improve it through use. Try the recording flow, listen to what others have contributed, and send us your feedback. Together we can make the Nostr Compass podcast easier to join and build a useful long-lived audio resource for people building on Nostr.