Talking Podcasts 2

Session details coming soon.

The last word in podcasting news: live, at the last session at The Podcast Show. Join James Cridland, the Editor of Podnews, and Sam Sethi, the CEO of Truefans, for a look at the week’s podcast news, with a special guest - you, the audience. Expect the biggest news of the week, a bit of tech stuff, and a look inside the inbox. The room always fills up for this, so be early and get ready to take part and have your say.

Session details coming soon.

Session details coming soon.

Winning an award isn't about luck, vanity metrics, or chasing trends — it's about clarity of voice, audience connection, strategic positioning, and knowing how to tell your story powerfully. In this candid and practical panel discussion, award-winning podcast host Nicole Goodman — who is also a judge and advisor on the board at the Independent Podcast Awards — joins award-winning podcaster Lauren Mishcon and Emma Turner, Founder of the Independent Podcast Awards, to break down what actually makes an award-winning podcast stand out.
Drawing from their combined experience as creators, judges and industry leaders, the panel will unpack what judges are really listening for, common mistakes creators make when submitting, and how to build a show that is award-worthy long before you fill in an entry form. The session will include practical takeaways, real examples, and interactive moments where the audience can reflect on their own positioning and pitch. Ideal for independent creators, emerging podcasters, and established hosts looking to elevate their show.

Podcasting is no longer just a creative medium. It's an ecosystem with real career pathways across platform teams, community, marketing, production, strategy, and business development. Yet many professionals still don't have a clear playbook for how opportunity actually moves through the industry or how to build a network that compounds over time.
 

For 25 years podcasting was fairly simple. Podcasters uploaded their audio content to hosts who downloaded it via RSS to a variety of listening apps. Today podcasting is much more complex. Creators are using audio, video, blogs, events and merch to build community portals and monetise fandom. Many proprietary platforms now offer these portal and monetisation services which traditional hosts and apps need to adopt or die.

In this presentation, Sam will demonstrate the latest podcasting 3.0 features TrueFans are delivering.
 

Alexandra shifts the narrative through lived experiences of creating the Take A Chance On You podcast, TEDx Talk and Dream Big, helping you see the roadmap of how it came to be and put your thoughts into action.
Alexandra emphasises the importance of taking actionable steps towards your goals. Thinking about common challenges including self-doubt, burnout as a creative, confidence, self-esteem and more.
 

Session details coming soon.

Award-winning podcasters Tash Walker and Adam Zmith share how they transformed The Log Books into a published book while building their community. Learn how to identify podcast material with book potential, restructure audio for print, navigate publishing deals, and grow both audiences simultaneously. Real talk on what actually works for small indie producers.

Music can add an extra dimension to your podcast and can often seem like a quick and easy fix to elevate your sound design. However, using music without the appropriate licensing or knowledge can land you in serious legal hot water. In this session, DJ and Producer, Emily Dust, interviews Cliff Fluet, Partner at Lewis Silkin Chair of Music Minds Matter, about what creators at any level need to know about using music in podcasts - without getting sued!

Session details coming soon.

Some podcasts just feel different, more immersive, more professional, more alive. The secret is often sound design. Join a panel of award winning audio producers/sound designers - Phil Smith exec producer at Reduced Listening, Tess Davidson producer and sound designer for BBC Radio 4 Illuminated and WeTransfer’s Wild Memory Radio and Arlie Adlington - Producer and sound designer of the much acclaimed A Positive Life and many BBC Radio productions, hosted by Lucia Scazzocchio - director of Social Broadcasts and producer and sound designer of indie hit podcast Lowlines. 
 

Why go it alone when you can join forces for greater impact? But what are the pitfalls to avoid? In 2026, a great partnership can be the best way to find great IP and talent, share costs and grow audiences, but it can also be a major headache if you don’t get it right. Stories from the frontlines that will leave you with tips on how to partner smartly and avoid the common pitfalls.

Great podcasts don't grow on content alone. They grow through strategic visibility. In today's fragmented media landscape, PR has become one of the most powerful tools for expanding audience reach, shaping narrative, and turning podcasts into platforms for influence.

Moderated by Molly DeMellier (Head of Communications, Sounds Profitable), this session brings together Joni Deutsch, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Audience Development at The Podglomerate; Randi P'Pool, Founder of P'Pool Media; and Farzana Baduel, CEO of Curzon PR and President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, to explore how smart publicity fuels both podcast growth and brand impact.

The audio industry still operates as if radio, podcasts, and AI are separate categories. In reality, the technological infrastructure has already dissolved these boundaries. We are entering the Programmable Audio Era — a landscape where linear broadcasts become on-demand assets, where AI extends the lifecycle and format of content, and where monetization is dynamically layered across distribution channels. This session explores how the collapse of format boundaries is reshaping the global economics of audio — and what it means for those building the next generation of infrastructure, content, and brand engagement.

Session details coming soon.

Awards signal excellence but do they actually drive outcomes? This panel unpacks the economics of recognition in podcasting, exploring whether awards translate into audience growth, revenue, deal flow, and long-term brand equity. From creators to platforms to industry institutions, we’ll examine what winning really changes.

Who actually pays for kids' podcasts? Kids podcasts can deliver serious scale. But scale doesn't always equal sustainability. Unlike adult podcasts, children's shows can't rely on programmatic advertising — and even at millions of monthly listens and views, revenue models look very different. Monetisation in kids audio is shaped by regulation, trust, parent purchasing behaviour, and limited ad infrastructure. This session brings together creatives from across the family audio ecosystem to unpack the real economics behind children's podcasting.

Session details coming soon.

How do you create a successful podcast from prison?

This session will give delegates the opportunity to understand the complexities, challenges and rewards of running a podcast project from inside a prison: From navigating the mindblowing constraints of the prison regime, to the forensic attention to detail required to develop editorial guidelines that safeguard podcast participants as well as listeners.

Session details coming soon.