The sixth annual London Podcast Festival is back at the UK’s home of live podcasting, Kings Place London, from 2 - 12 September.
Taking place in front of a live audience - with many events also streaming online - the festival brings together the community of podcast listeners and creators in a unique celebration of this flourishing artform. Whether your lockdown podcast favourites have been comedy, documentary, culture, society, audio drama, history, true crime, sex and relationships, or chat shows, this is a chance to be in the audience for special live editions of your favourites, discover your new must-listen and meet the voices behind some of the biggest podcasts in the country.
Special live episodes and events of some of the hottest podcasts of the year including The Battersea Poltergeist creator Danny Robins discussing the making of the hit show and the incredible true story that inspired it with Danny Wallace (11 Sep); Dr Julia Shaw and comedian Sofie Hagen’s smash hit crime podcast Bad People (5 Sep); Rubina Pabani and Poppy Jay’s Brown Girls Do It Too (12 Sep) and Kym Oliver & Jumoke Abdullahi’s The Triple Cripples (10 Sep).
Big celebrity special guests including Mark Gatiss in From Queer To Eternity (9 Sep); Himesh Patel in Nikesh Shukla’s Brown Baby Podcast (4 Sep); The Chase’s Jenny Ryan leading an interactive quiz with Lucy Porter in Fingers On Buzzers (11 Sep); Nina Conti offering very unqualified relationship advice as part of Richard and Greta (10 Sep); Sanjeev Bhaskar performing in David Reed’s hilarious improvised parody of serious podcasts on the comedian's art Inside the Comedian (11 Sep) and celebrated botanist James Wong on The MSG Podcast in honour of ESEA Heritage Month, with money from ticket sales going to Stop ESEA Hate UK 95 Sep).
Imriel Morgan - founder and CEO of the UK’s first diverse podcast network Content is Queen- curates a full day of essential new voices in British podcasting including the World Premiere of Epic Fun Land, the new comedy fiction podcast from the team behind the Imison Award (BBC Audio Drama Awards 2021) nominated Scoop McDoolie; a special live edition of Tea Towel, the most popular episode of Hajar J. Woodland’s Conversations With My Sister; Honey and the Hex live with special guest The Mage’s Well and The *Relate(able) Podcast (12 Sep).
Ella Watts and Felix Trench with a special Audio Drama Day including live shows from the likes of Wooden Overcoats to The Silt Verses, panels with the leading lights in audio fiction and listening posts to hear world premieres of brand new podcasts (5 Sep). New for 2021 - free, unticketed watch parties for special London Podcast Festival editions of huge US podcasts, streaming live from the States. Cosy up in the LPF Podcast Lounge (complete with comfy sofas and a bar) and watch live editions of Maximum Fun shows Stop Podcasting Yourself (2 Sep), FANTI (5 Sep), Tights and Fights (12 Sep), family-friendly Dr Gameshow (3 Sep), Judge John Hodgman (9 Sep) with special guest John Darnielle from The Mountain Goats, We Got This with special guest, Criminal Minds star Paget Brewster (11 Sep) on multiple big screens.
Those who can’t make it to Kings Place can also stream the shows live via Kings Place’s KPlayer. The world premiere of Highlife Romance, a new romantic comedy-drama by Jacob Roberts-Mensah (DEM TIMES) with a live performance directed by Jessica Kalissa (Queens of Sheba). It follows the budding relationship between Nana Akua, a British-Ghanaian Highlife music enthusiast, and Michael, a Native Ghanaian musician (11 Sep).
The return of festival favourites Helen Zaltzman’s award-winning podcast on the wonders of language The Allusionist (4 Sep); Cariad Lloyd having a light-hearted chat about death with comedians Catherine Bohart and Oli Labib and No Such Thing As A Fish’s Dan Schreiber in Griefcast (9 September); the number one podcast for those involved or just interested in the production of beef animals and dairy herds Beef and Dairy Network (11 Sep); Jon Holmes with his round-up of the ultimate in disposable TV The One One Show Show (2 Sep); Empire Magazine with another secret guest from the big screen (11 Sep); Harry Peacock and Dan Skinner as the recently-divorced Brian & Roger (5 Sep) and Alison Spittle and Fern Brady spinning the Wheel of Misfortune (12 September).
LondonPodFest first-timers taking the stage including Masala Podcast discussing everything South Asian womxn are not supposed to, from sexuality to shame (11 Sep); American comic and talk-show host Michelle Collins riffing on the week’s biggest stories with special guests James Cooper (My Dad Wrote A Porno) and relationship guru Paul Brunson in Midnight Snack (3 Sep); infamous 80s nightclub host Diane Chorley reclaiming the light entertainment throne in Chatting With Chorley (12 Sep); Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interrogating the past in The Rest Is History (10 Sep); London Black lesbians Rose Frimpong and Nana Duncan delivering their unapologetic truth in Two Twos Podcast (3 Sep) and comedians Lou Conran and Sally-Anne Hayward deciding whether the drinks choice of their very special guest is worth a Spit or Swallow (10 Sep).
For anyone inspired to give podcasting a go themselves, the Podcast Maker Weekend runs from 10 - 12 September and features a raft of industry talent offering invaluable insight into podcast creation, suitable for novices through to experienced broadcasters. Tickets to all events (both in-person and digital streaming) are available now at www.kingsplace.co.uk. The London Podcast Festival is produced by Kings Place London and supported by Acast, Spotify and BBC Sounds.
Zoe Jeyes, London Podcast Festival Producer and Programmer, said: “I am so excited that the 2021 London Podcast Festival brings together everything that we love about this unique event, and the best of what we learnt from our 2020 hybrid edition. As always Kings Place will have a line-up of the very best UK podcasts, alongside workshops, panels and special events. We’re continuing to stream much of the programme so audiences across the UK and around the world can be a part of the festival and are thrilled to be inviting audiences in London to come watch live US podcasts for free on the big screen in our cosy Podcast Lounge. Collaboration continues to be a cornerstone of the festival, thanks to our amazing partners and curators, including Acast, Spotify and our brand new partner for 2021, BBC Sounds. The London Podcast Festival has always been a celebration of our amazing podcast community and this year that feels more important than ever. We can’t wait to see you there.”
Full listings: kingsplace.co.uk/londonpodfest
