‘For those hungry to connect’: Podcast festival gives students, podcasters chance to learn more

Ghailah Nyeanchi, Contributing Writer

Be kind. Stay open. Set clear boundaries and expectations. Have grace. Stay curious. 

These were the five tips that Christabel-Nsiah Buadi, audio developer and strategist, outlined in her presentation about the importance of mentorship. Buadi’s workshops were one of many presented at the RESONATE Podcast Festival, hosted by the Institute of Contemporary Art and Virginia Public Media on Nov. 3 and 4. 

The event was a chance for both old and new podcasters to share their work and connect, according to their website. RESONATE featured a keynote speaker, presentations from other podcasters, special performances and a pitch party.

Most journalism schools don’t have a robust podcasting curriculum, said Chioke I’Anson, founder and director of Virginia Public Media & Institute of Contemporary Art Community Media Center. Many students, hungry for ways to connect, graduate without knowing how to break into the industry, he said. 

RESONATE gives students the opportunity to meet industry professionals and refine their skills before leaving campus, according to I’Anson 

“It’s the educational resource they need to supplement their learning,” I’Anson said. “But it only works if they know about it, which is why advertising for RESONATE is so important.” 

RESONATE also premiered “Audio Trips,” an art exhibition featuring work from sound artists and final projects from students of Level Up Academy, a summer program focused on teaching students how to produce podcasts. 

Lamp-like structures with bell-shaped glass domes were scattered across the museum. Instead of bulbs, the domes housed speakers that told stories from different creators. 

“If we do it right, RESONATE Podcast Festival will be the place where producers meet their peers, newcomers meet their heroes, and everyone gets better together,” I’Anson said. 

Three producers pitched their podcast show to a panel of judges in a room full of attendees on the event’s second day, according to the website. The winner of The Pitch Party!, Ivy Le,  received $10,000 to produce their podcast pilot.

“I started out writing for a newspaper before I got interested in audio,” said Maya Kroth, a Pitch Party! finalist for RESONATE.

Kroth loves the immediacy and intimacy of the medium, she said. 

“You can hear a person’s voice telling you a story,” Kroth said. “The human voice carries emotion and other subtleties that I just couldn’t capture in print.”

Podcasts are an important medium because they deliver to an audience hungry for information and entertainment, Kroth said. It’s one of the mediums that people are gravitating toward in growing numbers. 

Laughter rippled through the air as Ivy Le, one of the RESONATE finalists, delivered her pitch to the panel of judges. After deliberation behind closed doors, Le was announced as the winner. 

It feels awesome and validating winning the award, Le said. There were not a lot of stand up comics at the festival, according to Le.

Le said she cares about important, dense subjects. 

“I went through a phase, like every artist does, where I was making art to prove that I was a human being,” Le said. “Now, I’m over that. I make art because I am a human being and that’s just what humans do.”

Travis Fellows, an attendee at RESONATE, started making podcasts with his friend during the pandemic. 

“We would get together and talk for hours and we thought we were pretty interesting,” Fellows said. “So we said ‘I wonder if other people think the same thing?’”

Fellows hopes to use his experience at RESONATE to find motivation to figure out where he is going with podcasting in the future, Fellows said.