Podcasting’s reputation as being a bro’s club has been sadly well-earned. But we can change that. Here’s a look at just some of the women in podcasting who are making podcasting better every day.
Happy International Women’s Day! Just because I’m a cis-gendered white Gen Xer dude, it doesn’t mean I don’t recognize the key role women play in podcasting. More to the point, I very likely would not be in the business of podcasting were it not for the support of some amazing women in my life.
So in this article, I’ve selected a few to thank and draw your attention to their fine work. I’m resisting my predilection for getting all cutesy with the section headings if only to keep the power where it should be: on them and their works.
Mur Lafferty — Mur was one of the first-if not the first-people I collaborated with in the podcasting space who I only knew from listening to her podcast. I reached out and asked if she’d be interested in collaborating with me and my partner at the time, and she immediately said yes. Her acceptance led to more collaborations, which in turn made me think that maybe this podcasting thing had some legs.
Mur is the editor of Escape Pod, the long-running science fiction podcast magazine, and the also long-running podcast, I Should Be Writing.
Susan is the host of the drinks-industry podcast, Lush Life, which my firm helps produce.
Allie Press — Once a 14-year-old kid reading not-age-appropriate materials I met at a sci-fi convention, Allie makes sure things run smoothly at Simpler Media and Podcast Pontifications. She’s responsible for publishing all of Simpler Media’s clients’ episodes and ensuring they’re distributed to all the platforms. She also produces and distributes all the video-aspects of Podcast Pontifications, including the subtitles and corrected transcripts.
Allie is an actor on screen and stage, and you should buy her a coffee today instead of me because she’s amazing and a big reason why this podcast exists.
Sam Walker — What started as a friendship has transformed into a working relationship that is-and I’m not exaggerating in the slightest-evolving Simpler Media into a world-class production company. It’s been fantastic working with someone at that skill level, and the business will be forever changed.
Sam produces a slate of award-winning podcasts, including her own Desert Diaries.
Steph Colbourn — Steph and I have been in what I call a bi-directional mentorship relationship (no, it’s not a very catchy term) for several months now. In theory, I’m supposed to be mentoring her. But honestly, I learn a ton from her when we meet for an hour every other week. She’s doing some truly inspiring work and providing loads of opportunities to the queer women and non-binary people in her organization.
Steph owns Edit Audio, a global, full-service podcast production company.
Mai Ling is a Speech-Language Pathologist and the host of the podcast, Xceptional Leaders.
Leslie is the brains behind FictionCasters, an in-progress effort to make listening to fiction podcasts better.
Finally, I need to thank Suzy Buttress and Betty Dannewitz. Both are regular watchers of the live taping of Podcast Pontifications on LinkedIn Live. Seeing them chime in each morning I do the show keeps me motivated to… well, keep doing the show. Thank you both!
Suzy is the host of The Casual Birder, which is rather self-explanatory. Betty is the host of If You Ask Betty, which covers development topics aimed at learning professionals.
And that’s just scratching the surface. There are many, many more amazing women in podcasting I’m truly grateful to have met over the years. Thank you all for your friendship, here’s to the next chapter in podcasting, and happy International Women’s Day!
I shall be back tomorrow with yet another Podcast Pontifications.
Cheers!
Originally published at https://podcastpontifications.com, where it started life as an episode of my four-times-a-week short-form podcast called, oddly enough, Podcast Pontifications. It’s a podcast for working podcasters that’s focused on trends in our growing industry and ideas on ways to make podcasting not just easier, but better. Yes, you should listen. Here’s an easy way: 👇
Evo Terra (hey, that’s me!) has been podcasting since 2004, is the author of Podcasting For Dummies and Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies, and is the CEO and founder of Simpler.Media, a strategic podcast consultancy working with businesses, brands, and professional service providers all around the world.
