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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