In the case of the live show I saw at the London Podcast Festival, the panel consisted of Sarah Bennetto and Njambi McGrath (Empire Strikes Back) vs Abigoliah Schamaun and Sharlin Jahan (The Right Side). The third team playing was the Hive Mind of the Audience.

I wasn’t expecting a show that has a theme tune with the words “we’re short, we’re round, we’re brown or we’re queer…” to keep very much off the table when it comes to comedy fodder, and host Deborah Francis-White came hot out of the gate to acknowledge the “change of staff at Buckingham Palace.” Luckily, the audience were receptive to the quip, because there were several of the same theme that followed, culminating in the recognition of the show taking place in King’s Place.

Seeing the recording of this panel show was a peak behind the curtain and, as someone who has attempted to control a panel conversation, it was reassuringly chaotic. It’s also great to see the amount of teamwork that goes into the episode you can hear – Deborah is the host, but questions are set by Ned Sedgwick. The panel brought their stories and jokes (some more loudly than others) and the little musical ditty was played live by Mark Hodge. Even the Producer (a job that often needs coaxing out into public) Tom Salinsky was present to rile up the audience at the start and wind down the comedians towards the end of time.

There were points that highlight we are all somewhat out of practice with live shows: several segues had to be read more than once, a few jokes didn’t quite land a laugh (although listening back to the episode, they seem funnier because of that). And as an audience we needed a lot of encouragement to get involved. The Global Pillage team were perhaps sorry they encouraged us because the first answer that was given appears to have been too rude for the podcast version!

But it was fun to feel the energy in the room, and be involved in the show.

Oh, and I completely forgot that I gave an answer for the Hive Mind at around 16mins. I do like a good pun…

Listen to Global Pillage Live at the London Podcast Festival 2022 now on Apple Podcast, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

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It’s nearly festival time! Which shows are you most excited about seeing this year?

I can’t believe it’s finally here! We’ve got such an amazing line-up of big names, old friends of the festival and excited new shows. Beef & Dairy Network is always a highlight, and this year we’re streaming it too, so you can watch anywhere in the world. I am super pumped for the brilliant line-up of show from our new partner BBC Sounds, Bad People, The Battersea Poltergeist, Brown Girls Do it Too and Wheel of Misfortune. I’m also thrilled that we’re hosting Nana and Rose for their live debut of Two Twos Podcast. Jenny Ryan (The Vixen from the Chase) and Lucy Porter have something special planned for their live ep of Fingers on Buzzers – I can’t wait to get quizzing!

There are some amazing guests too; Mark Gatiss on from Queer to Eternity, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Ingrid Oliver are being interrogated on Inside the Comedian and Himesh Patel joins Nikesh Shukla for Brown Baby Podcast. 

As well as the fantastic line-up of podcasts performing live this year, there are also a number of other events and workshops running alongside them. Could you tell us a little about what else you have going on?

There is so much going on! We have a dedicated day of Audio Drama (5^th Sept), featuring live shows like The Silt Verses and Wooden Overcoats and a whole day of free panels that will teach you how to make everything from Comedy to Horror.

The Podcast Maker Weekend (11^th and 12^th Sept) returns, this year supported by Spotify, with a range of free and affordable workshops covering directing, sound and music, marketing and monetisation and lots lots more. 

Our festival partner Acast is running what’s sure to be a fascinating free panel ‘My First Year in Podcasting’ (4^th Sept), hosted by Deborah Frances-White with guests Juno Dawson, Marcus Bronzy, and Nikesh Shukla.

For those unable to attend in person, are there ways for people to tune in from home?

Lots of shows are streaming live from Kings Place via our online platform KPlayer, including festival debuts from Three Bean Salad and Two Mr Ps in a Podcast. We’re also delivering on our reputation for international shows, by presenting a selection of live streams from the US and Canada, including festival favourite Judge John Hodgman with guest John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats and We Got this! with guest Paget Brewster. You can buy tickets to enjoy the live streams from home or join us for free watch parties at Kings Place in our Podcast Lounge. As always we’re pushing the boundaries of live podcasting!

How have you found putting together the festival this year, after such a tough 18 months or so for the live event industry?

The UK Podcasting Community is wonderful and I like to think the London Podcast Festival is a big part of that. We’ve had amazing support from podcasters, our partners and collaborators, and of course our dedicated Kings Place team. It’s been challenging, but everyone has been so enthusiastic and committed to making the festival work. It’s a real labour of love!

We can’t wait to see the likes of The Guilty Feminist, The Allusionist and The Empire Film Podcast take to the stage this year, but we’re also excited about the diverse range of lesser known shows you have in the lineup. Are there any hidden gems you think our readers might enjoy seeing?

Imriel Morgan has curated a day of podcasts under the Content is Queen banner that are so worth checking out. I am especially looking forward to Tea Towels and Tantrums, with Sadia Azmat and Ola Labib joining Hajar J. Woodland to talk about growing up in (and out of) hijab.

I promise there’s something for everyone! Comedy, documentary, culture, society, audio drama, history, true crime, sex and relationships, chat shows… you’ll be spoilt for choice!

You can read more about the event in our preview article or check out the Kings Place website for more information and tickets!

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