Podcasts have grown enormously in popularity in recent years. What seemingly started off as just BBC’s Desert Island Discs has now transformed into a global industry, with podcasts on absolutely every topic you can think of. It’s like the best bits of TV, literature, and radio all rolled into one sweet audible package. And with their growing popularity comes IRL events and live shows built around the podcast industry. One being London Podcast Festival 2019.
Now in its third year, the London Podcast Festival will be held in Kings Place London over the weekends of 6-8 and 12-15 Sept. And there will be over 40 incredible live podcast shows over the weekends from some of the world's best podcast creators, hosts, and producers both in the the UK and the U.S. Expect appearances from people such as Adam Buxton, Paul F. Tompkins, Cameron Esposito, and Cariad Lloyd. So if podcasts are right up your street, and you want to unplug meet some people IRL, this is the perfect opportunity to see all your faves at one time. And luckily, the people behind the London Podcast Festival 2019 are offering Bustle readers 20% off tickets to absolutely any show with the code LPF20OFF.
According to communication services regulator, Ofcom, nearly six million people in the UK are now tuning into podcasts each week. And weekly podcast listens have gone up from 3.2 million in 2013 to 5.9m in 2018. And it’s Generation Z, young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who are pushing the steepest growth in listeners, with one in five people from that age range now tuning into podcasts every week in the UK.
This year there will be an even bigger mix of podcasts at the London Podcast Festival. Five times British Podcast Award winner, spoken word artist, and poet, aptly named George The Poet, will be in attendance with his podcast Have You Heard George’s Podcast? In this show, George provides a mashup of news, music, poetry, and much more. Cut the Chat Podcast, hosted by BBC Radio 1xtra DJ Ace, actor/filmmaker Femi Oyeniran, actor/comedian Lee Littleman, and barber to the stars Damon Elleston, in which they discuss current affairs, will also be at the London Podcast Festival. And No Country for Young Women with Sadia Azmat and Monty Onanuga, where they discuss “life, love and work in a white man’s world,” will also be there.
And from the states, Jonathan Braylock, Jerah Milligan, and James III will be coming along with their podcast Black Men Can't Jump in Hollywood, a deep dive into some film criticism from the perspective of black men with a comedic twist. And Homophilia podcast with Dave Holmes and Matt McConkey where they chat to LGBTQ celebrities about their sex, love, and dating lives.
This is the perfect time to take off your headphones and discover some new podcasts, as well as put a face to the name of your favourite audio hosts and listen to your on-repeat shows IRL.
Bustle readers can get 20% off tickets to any show at the London Podcast Festival 2019 by using the code LPF20OFF.
