Vancouver Podcast Festival 2019

Back in 2005, I fell in love with a man who had a podcast. He moved to Vancouver, he podcasted some more, and then we started podcasting together — we even brought in a group of friends to do one specifically about hockey in 2008. After a few years, everyone got a little too busy and we all pod-faded. That was the actual term, to pod-fade. Now, almost a decade later, the medium is picking up again and it’s easier than ever to find and listen to podcasts. So much so, that there’s an annual festival in Vancouver dedicated to podcasting panels, masterclasses, and presentations.

Vancouver Podcast Festival

When: November 7 to 10, 2019
Where: Various Locations across Vancouver (VPL, Charles Bar, Rio, SFU)
Tickets: Available Online for $100-$215

The four-day festival includes acclaimed storytellers including Martin Austwick (The Allusionist), Mike Browne (Dark Poutine), Christopher Goddard (Dirty John), Falen Johnson (Secret Life of Canada), Helen Zaltzman (The Allusionist) and many more.

“We’re excited to grow from a successful first year to present a broad array of celebrated audio storytellers from across the globe while offering local producers the opportunity to showcase their work,” said Selina Crammond, Director of Programming for DOXA in a press release. “Based on overwhelming interest at last year’s festival, we’ll be offering more masterclasses and creator events, and in the spirit of accessibility we’ll also continue to offer free programming at Vancouver Public Library.”

Event Highlights Include: 
Ten Things I Learned From My First Podcast, Dirty John 
Pultizer Prize-nominated Los Angeles Times journalist Christopher Goffard’s first true crime podcast, Dirty John, was a smash hit that turned into the popular Netflix series of the same name.

The Secret Life of Canada
Did you know you that if you lived in Vancouver you could be arrested for selling a stove or peeing in a cornfield? CBC’s The Secret Life of Canada is the hit irreverent history podcast that explores untold stories of Canada. Hosts Falen Johnson, Leah-Simone Bowen and special guests will dive into some of the more curious things in Canadian history (all courtesy of Vancouver)

The Allusionist 
Hosted by Helen Zaltzman, with live music by Martin Austwick, this award-winning podcast explores every facet of language and why we humans use it the way we do.

Red Man Laughing
This live comedy variety show features conversations, explorations and investigations into the collision between Indian Country and the mainstream.

Dark Poutine
A weekly podcast covering mostly Canadian true crimes, dark history and other creepy topics. Creator and host Mike Browne and co-host Scott Hemenway bring levity and empathy to this live-taping of a celebrated local podcast favourite. 

The Festival will also host seven masterclasses at SFU’s Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, sharing ideas from podcasters, documentarians and other media makers. They include Ryan McMahon, Chris Kelly, Christopher Goffard, Helen Zaltzman, Martin Austwick and Mike Brown.

Additional daytime panels and live recordings at Vancouver Public Library enable podcasters to hone their own production and marketing skills. And, for podcast creators or businesses looking to connect further with the community, the Vancouver Podcast Fest’s PodFair on Saturday, November 8 will provide an interactive marketplace for people to connect. 

For more information follow Vancouver Podcast Festival on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.