Back at the end of February I got a chance to attend what’s been dubbed the “Coachella of Podcasts”, On Air Fest. It was a chance to check out a festival that’s been a keen eye into the world of streaming and podcast media for almost a decade. 

 

I just had to get through a morning snowstorm, two days after a blizzard, to do it. 

 

Thankfully, the roads were clear enough for me to trudge through to get a bus to the subway (thanks Mamdani!!) The further into Brooklyn I got, I saw others who were making the most of the commute - including one or two women with their dogs, attired in Carhartt coats (Carhartt for dogs is not something I’d ever thought I’d type out seriously but, here we are.)

 

It was a short trek from the train and easy greetings at the Arlo Williamsburg, one of three spaces where the festival events were taking place. The staff were very informative and friendly, making it feel more like a party than a conference. 

 

I made it in time to catch the last chunk of hte conversation between NPR’s Rachel Martin and investigative journalist Brian Reed, the host of the Question Everything podcast. They spoke about the best methods of interviewing, and getting guests to open up, with Martin saying that hosts “don’t exoticize people’s positions” and should “go where people are, get in the physical spaces outside of your echo chamber and earn their trust.”In an answer to an audience member’s question on getting the best answer out of a guest, Reed advised them to “let them get it all out (preconceived answers), then go back again and repeat the question. Find the access point.” 

 

I took advantage of the break to knock out some work at the bar at Sungold, the Arlo’s fashionably rustic Mediterranean restaurant. One pain au chocolat and pot of mint tea later, I made my way back to the ballroom to catch the live tapng of The Don Lemon Show. The place was packed, as it was a little over a week since the former CNN host’s arrest by federal authorities spurred by the Trump administration for his reporting in Minneapolis. Lemon greeted everyone cordially, and held court with a panel of the sharpest minds in media today - investigative journalist Pablo Torre, host of Pablo Torre Finds Out, and comedians Jay Jurden and Gianmarco Soresi (who is also a host of The Downside podcast). It was a lively, entertaining conversation that covered the seriousness of legacy media being attacked by the federal government, and how independent media is shaping our current conversations.

 

 

It was a lively, entertaining conversation that covered the seriousness of legacy media being attacked by the federal government, and how independent media is shaping our current conversations.“News is having a credibility problem right now,” Lemon said during the outset of the conversation. “I don’t blame the journalists, I blame corporate media. Look at the consolidation that’s taking place.” He added later, “I do think that cable can meet the moment, but I don’t think they understand how to meet that moment.”

 

Torre’s observations about sports coverage’s impact on media were key in terms of how it offers a place of neutrality - to a point.  “Sports is a shared space. Sports is the last monoculture we have,” he said. “The magic and the premise of sports - it’s the thing that has boomed. It’s plausibly neutral. And that potential of being an apolitical space, because eventually in these times it’s fucking impossible.”Jurden and Moresi added a lot of laughter with a message to the conversation, especially when talking about FBI Director Kash Patel and his “ultimate bro” moment with the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team after they won gold at the Milan Winter Olympic Games. “It seems kind of desperate,” Jurden said of his behavior. “It’s that proximity to whiteness that fuels him, to strive to be part of something that’ll never accept him.”

 

That was a good segway for me to hurry over to the iHeart Creator Stage to catch the live episode taping of Our Ancestors Were Messy. This podcast, hosted by its creator Nichole Hill, examines Black History’s known and little-known moments and figures with detailed research and a heavy dose of comedy. It was a joy to listen in and participate along with other members of the audience as we got into the fascinating story of David George. Who’s David George? A formerly enslaved man who was a Baptist preacher who became a Black Loyalist in Savannah, Georgia during the Revolutionary War and would make his way to Nova Scotia, Canada. Definitely someone you’d want to read up on.

 

I think I laughed so much during that taping I almost got dehydrated. Seriously, go check out Our Ancestors Were Messy ASAP.

 

I also got to engage with some of the installations that were on hand, from B&H Video’s own podcast corner to sitting in for a few hands of blackjack thanks to Big Money Players. I even got to hang out with the folks at Wistla and take in a small bite from The Concrete Jungle, a plant store/coffee shop that calls Brooklyn home.I closed out the afternoon by catching the Design Matters conversation between host Debbie Millman and congrssional candidate Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy. (Get the full discussion here at Printmag.) 

 

That was followed up by catching a show I had my heart set on watching - Pablo Torre Finds Out, with comedian Roy Wood Jr. as the guest. When I tell you that I walked away with gems from that taping? Both men proved why they are masters of their craft, and why their insight is not only refreshing but needed. If you have the chance, go back and listen to that episode to hear how Wood breaks down how he can tell when podcast hosts don’t do their diligence, as well as how he reacts to fans bringing up his now-viral StreetFighter II joke.

 

The On Air Fest is an experience that anyone in media, be they podcast creators, writers, or producers, would benefit from attending at least once. Hopefully, I can make it back next year to learn and engage with more people in that realm.