Dispatch

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Dispatch is the home for independent podcasters and newsletter writers — a site that feels like a real show, not a template. A sticky, branded audio player sits at the bottom of every page and keeps playing as visitors browse: start an episode on the home page and it follows the listener into the show notes and the archive, built on Astro view transitions. Warm Geist type on a film-grained canvas, a single vermillion accent, and hairline-rule kickers. It ships light and dark — a warm-paper light mode by default, with a one-click nav switch that’s remembered between visits. Best for indie podcasters, newsletter writers, interview and essay shows, and creators who publish audio and writing under one brand.

Property	Value
Tier	Pro ($39 launch / $49 reg.)
Category	Podcast / Newsletter
Body font	Geist Variable
Display font	Geist Variable (800 weight, tight tracking)
Mono / labels	DM Mono
Brand accent	Vermillion (`#ef5a30` dark · `#d9481c` light)
Variants	Light (default) + Dark

Included pages

/ — homepage: featured-episode hero, latest episodes, field-notes blog, subscribe-and-follow grid, newsletter, about, support band
/episodes/ and /episodes/[slug]/ — episode index (with “find your way in” Browse tabs) + episode detail with show notes
/letters/ and /letters/[slug]/ — the newsletter (“Letter”) index + letter detail
/archive/ — unified episodes-and-letters list, newest first
/about/ — the host, a four-year story timeline, support band and FAQ
/sections/ — live gallery of all 12 sections
/privacy/, /terms/, /404

What makes Dispatch different

A player that follows the listener — the sticky, branded audio player keeps playing across page navigations (Astro view transitions), so audio never stops as visitors read show notes or the archive. Scrub bar, speed control and episode title, all themed.
Warm light, espresso dark — light-first on a warm-paper canvas, with a one-click nav toggle to an espresso/vermillion dark variant that’s remembered via localStorage. A single vermillion accent, a subtle film grain and hairline-rule kickers keep it bespoke.
Audio and writing, one brand — episodes and letters are both Astro Content Collections you write in Markdown, surfaced through a numbered episode index, a field-notes blog, persona Browse tabs, a story timeline, an FAQ, and a unified archive.
No template clichés — no glowing-dot eyebrows or generic icon-card grids; numbered lists, a real timeline, and a circular icon system instead.

What’s next

Configure → site.ts — show identity, nav, hero, listen-on platforms, newsletter, sponsor, about, timeline, browse tabs, FAQ, writing and footer all flow from this one file.
Customize → Colors — the palette lives in src/styles/global.css. --color-air is the vermillion accent; the light and html[data-theme="dark"] token blocks control every surface. Swap them to rebrand.
Configure → Forms — set newsletter.provider (Kit / Buttondown / Formspree) and its action URL in site.ts.
Add your content — episodes go in src/content/episodes/, letters in src/content/letters/ (Markdown). Point each episode’s audio: field at your podcast host’s MP3 URL.
Swap the demo assets — the host portrait, About photo and episode artwork are Lorem Picsum placeholders (see CREDITS.md); replace them with your own images at any time.