Dispatch is for independent podcasters and newsletter writers who want a home 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 make it read premium from the first scroll. It ships light and dark: a warm-paper light mode by default with a one-click nav switch that's remembered between visits.
Built on Astro 6 + Tailwind v4 with TypeScript. Episodes and letters are Astro Content Collections you write in Markdown, with a unified archive that interleaves both newest-first. Every visible string, link, episode field, and contact channel reads from a single config file, so branding the site is a one-file edit with no component changes.
Who it's for
- Independent and indie podcasters
- Newsletter writers and audio-first creators
- Interview, talk, and essay shows
- Creators who publish audio and writing under one brand
- Solo shows that want a premium, type-led look
What's distinctive
- Sticky branded audio player that follows the listener across the whole site, built on Astro view transitions so playback never stops between pages
- Light and dark theme: a warm-paper light default and an espresso/vermillion dark variant, switched from the nav and remembered via localStorage
- Interactive "find your way in" Browse tabs that route newcomers by persona
- A real vertical timeline, an FAQ accordion, a numbered field-notes blog, and a subscribe-and-follow platform grid
- Episodes and letters on Astro Content Collections - write in Markdown with show notes, durations, guests, and reading times
- A unified archive that interleaves episodes and letters, newest first
- Geist + DM Mono with a film-grain texture and hairline-rule kickers, no template clichés
What's included
- Full source: Astro 6 + Tailwind v4 + TypeScript
- 11 pages: Home, Episodes index + episode, Letters index + letter, Archive, About, All-Sections gallery, Privacy, Terms, 404
- 12 reusable sections you can rearrange
- Episodes + Letters on Astro Content Collections (write in Markdown)
- One-file config at src/config/site.ts (no code changes needed for branding)
- Contact form (Formspree / FormSubmit / Netlify) + Newsletter (Mailchimp / ConvertKit / Buttondown)
- Production-ready deploy configs for Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare Pages
- Lifetime updates for this theme
- Documentation at aerolaunch.app/docs
