Kelly Jones and her daughter, June, hosts of the VPM podcast “Social Distance Assistance” (Photo by Ézé Amos courtesy VPM)
In 2004, former MTV veejay Adam Curry and software developer Dave Winer created software allowing users to download internet content directly to Apple iPods. By 2005, “podcasting” was named the word of the year by the Oxford American Dictionary. According to one market research firm, the number of people listening to podcasts monthly — whether via a web browser or on a mobile device — surpassed 100 million in 2020. It’s estimated advertising revenue generated by podcasts will reach $1 billion by 2021.
Once the purview of a single person recording from home in a basement or closet, podcasts are now generated by celebrities and media stalwarts such as The New York Times and ESPN.
“It was very slow going at first, but the listenership of podcasts has grown exponentially,” says Dr. Chioke I’Anson, VCU assistant professor of African American Studies. “There were always people who were making radio outside of the parameters — the iPod gave them a way to share it without their own platform.”
A self-professed “radio person” from a young age, I’Anson, who is also an underwriting announcer for National Public Radio, appreciates that podcasting is simply on-demand audio that allows the listener to seek out exactly what is desired — or to create what they want to hear.
“If you have a smartphone, you can probably make a podcast and probably make a good one,” he says. “As with everything, there’s a set of skills you have to master that are specific to the domain. The better you are at those skills, the better your podcast will be.”
In the class he teaches at VCU, I’Anson guides students as they develop podcasts and learn the technical side of production.
Dr. Chioke l’Anson, VCU assistant professor of African American studies and director of community media for the ICA + VPM Community Media Center (Photo by Jay Paul)
In fall 2020, he saw his “crackpot idea” come to fruition with the opening of the VPM + ICA Community Media Center, a workspace within VCU’s Institute for Contemporary Art where students and the public and create podcasts. “From my perspective, podcasting should be a vital part of education,” I’Anson says, noting that the center will offer both hands-on education and presentations from professional producers. I’Anson is the center’s first director.
VPM Chief Content Officer Steve Humble (Photo courtesy VPM)
Steve Humble, chief content officer for local public broadcaster VPM, sees podcasting as “another way to tell authentic stories in our community” and says the media center will help VPM identify new voices as well as support its own reporters. “[The center] is about finding great talent in our community and finding great stories,” he says. “And with two different sound booths, it’s really convenient for reporters to pop in and lay tracks.”
Podcasts are relatively new in the VPM programming lineup. The first to debut, in spring 2020, was “Social Distance Assistance,” which focuses on people helping others through the pandemic. Additional podcasts explore the lives of refugees settling in Virginia and the path of talented young violinists to the Menuhin Competition, set for Richmond in May 2021. “Podcasting is a platform that totally made sense for us,” Humble says. “Telling stories through audio is part of our strength.”
Passion Projects
Carlos Chafin, president of In Your Ear, a multistudio recording and production facility, says podcasts fulfill a basic need. “A podcast is a very personal way of getting information,” he says. “We’re all information junkies to one degree or another.”
Most podcasters who work with In Your Ear are well established, Chafin says, but the veterans and novices usually have a common motivation. “Most people are doing this as a vehicle of passion or as a support mechanism for some other passion-based interest,” he says.
Chafin says he’s seen a definite uptick in inquiries about recording podcasts. For many, a consultation is enough; studio time requires commitment. “Producing a podcast is time-intensive,” he notes. “You can’t come in and pay a flat studio rate; you have to think [about] long-term economy and efficiency.”
For Todd Widdows, media specialist with the McShin Foundation, a recovery community organization for people with substance abuse disorders, the spring 2020 pandemic shutdown led to the launching of an idea that had been lurking for a few years. “Our meetings were deemed ‘nonessential,’ [so] I pivoted real quick because I’d been toying around with the idea of a podcast,” he says. “We’re always trying to be innovative.”
“Get in the Herd” debuted in March 2020 on Facebook Live during the day; later in the year, “Herd After Hours” was added with host Alex Bond, a certified peer recovery specialist at McShin. Most episodes — there are more than 100 — feature guest speakers and check-ins with program participants. “The real backbone of the show is having someone in recovery themselves,” Bond says.
Bond says the show provides a critical service. “Addiction can set in at any time,” he notes. “[The podcast] is something to listen to at any time. [You] can’t always hop in the car and go to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting.”
Matt Pochily (center) and Kelli Lemon (right) of “Coffee With Strangers RVA” interview NBC 12’s Rachel DePompa. (Photo courtesy Coffee With Strangers RVA)
Relevant Topics
The urge to provide support through programming also drives the hosts of “Race Capitol,” a podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and Spotify. It also airs Wednesday mornings on WRIR-97.3 FM.
Chelsea Higgs Wise, who had been a co-host of “Women in Politics” on WRIR, knew she needed to do more after Marcus-David Peters was shot and killed by a Richmond police officer during a mental health crisis in 2018.
“I noticed there was not a full narrative being told, a community narrative putting people first,” Wise says. “The show is based on the histories and political dynamics that most of us are living through.”
After the show’s producer left for another job in radio, Wise worked on her own for a time, then in early 2020, she invited Kalia Harris and Naomi Isaac, whom she knew from their community organizing work, to the mic. “I haven’t regretted it,” she says. “I don’t know how people do it [by themselves] — having three gives a balance.”
Wise, Harris and Isaac start each show with the “Reframe,” which includes local, national and international news stories, followed by a guest. Planning occurs throughout the week with a shared online document and an active group chat. The hosts see their work as critical.
“This serves as the people’s news,” Isaac says. “The police, the corporations, they all have such heavy ties to the mainstream media. … We talk about what’s really happening and how these situations impact Black people, Black women, LGBTQIA people.”
Wise says the podcast’s listenership has tripled since the summer uprisings. “We were a resource for people to gain their news,” she says, adding that the trio has been appreciative of financial support through Patreon subscriptions and equipment donations.
Another podcast all about Richmonders is “Coffee With Strangers RVA.” Conceived by Matt Pochily, who at the time was producing videos for the Salvation Army, the podcast features conversations between locals “doing interesting things” and host Kelli Lemon, a self-described social entrepreneur.
The first episode dropped in March 2015 as a way to help local entrepreneurs gain media coverage. “I know how hard it is to pitch media from the nonprofit side,” Pochily says. “We wanted it to be authentic, and our No. 1 thing has been about keeping it diverse — across industry, appearance, race, gender, interests.”
Pochily says content is shifting. “The question is no longer ‘What is your favorite restaurant?’ That’s not relevant right now,” he says. “We feel like we have a responsibility to our audience to talk about the COVID experience, the racial injustice experience. ... It’s about covering people who are doing inspiring or innovative things in Richmond.”
The flexibility of podcasts is perhaps their most compelling feature, says In Your Ear’s Chafin.
“You’re not constrained to programming or length restrictions — you can design the experience you want,” he says. “You can design your own universe.”
