The Bell Co-hosts NYC Podcasting Festival at Spotify
The Bell’s staff and students attended the day-long NYC Podcasting Festival on April 5.
By Ash’aa Khan and Bianca Martinez
A dozen Miseducation student reporters along with members of The Bell’s staff participated in the first-ever New York City Podcasting Festival at Spotify’s U.S. headquarters in Manhattan on Wednesday, April 5.
Close to 100 high school students from across the city spent the day learning from industry professionals and practicing their skills. The day was filled with panels and workshops such as “Hosting a Podcast: What Do I Want to Say?” and “Podcast Marketing 101.” The event was co-hosted by Soundtrap, Gimlet Media, Sound Up and The Bell.
(Left to right) Summer Youth Podcast Academy alumni Fredlove Deshommes, Zana Halili and Jayden Williams led a panel that encouraged students to give podcasting a try.
“The festival allowed our interns to connect with industry professionals and gain a deeper understanding of podcasting's challenges and opportunities,” said Sabrina DuQuesnay, The Bell’s student programs manager. “They left feeling so inspired and motivated to apply their newfound knowledge and skills to their own podcasting projects!”
The Bell’s student reporters gathered with high schoolers from around the city to learn from podcasting industry professionals.
The day began with an inspirational speech from keynote speaker Xavier “X” Jernigan, who you might recognize from Spotify’s The Get Up or as the voice behind its new AI DJ. He drove home one key message to attendees: Your voice matters.
Before splitting up into different workshops, leading industry professionals, including Neil Drumming, Mona Madgavkar and Raymond Rodriguez took the stage to share advice on getting into the podcasting field.
Three of The Bell’s Summer Youth Podcast Academy alumni — Fredlove Deshommes, Jayden Williams and Zana Halili — led a panel during one of the breakout sessions, encouraging their peers to give podcasting a try.
“I really enjoyed hosting the panel because the answers made me think about my experiences in a different way,” Zana said.
Prompted by Sound Up senior manager Jane Zumwalt, the three student panelists explained their individual processes for collecting audio, writing scripts and editing using Soundtrap. Afterward, they asked the audience to participate by sharing their own ideas for new podcast shows.
“I knew that I was going to be speaking with professionals in the podcasting industry, but even more valuable was speaking to fellow youth and learning about their ideas for podcasts,” Jayden said.
One panel attendee spoke at length about his idea for an A.I. podcast that creates covers of well-known songs using the voices of other artists.
This is not the first time The Bell has partnered with Spotify divisions or product teams. Since 2020, Gimlet Media, part of Spotify’s podcast division, has partnered with The Bell on the three-week Summer Youth Podcast Academy. Applications for the 2023 academy are open until May 29.
After the event, students left with podcast show stickers, Spotify sunglasses, karaoke mics and lingering ideas. Miseducation reporter Edward Mui kept coming back to one thought that he couldn’t shake. “Spotify for Podcasts should’ve been called Podify,” he said.