VCU news

By Tamurlaine Melby
Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU

The first-ever Student Podcast Day will take place Thursday, Oct. 24, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. A production of the VPM + ICA Community Media Center, a recording studio and workspace within the ICA, the free, half-day event is designed to educate graduate and undergraduate college students about what it takes to succeed in podcasting.

Student Podcast Day is a new offshoot of RESONATE, the CMC’s popular podcast festival held at the ICA each fall. The third annual RESONATE will take place Oct. 25-26 and will bring more than 350 professional and aspiring podcasters together for two days of career development programming and networking.

Festival founder Chioke I’Anson, Ph.D., director of community media at the ICA, said the idea for a student-oriented podcast event arose out of RESONATE’s success. As word of the festival spread internationally, tickets began to move more quickly. (Tickets to RESONATE 2024 sold out within just six hours of going on sale in July.) With so many prominent podcasters and production companies flocking to Richmond for the weekend, I’Anson saw the opportunity to add an afternoon of programming tailored specifically to students who are new to the field.

“The podcast industry is constantly changing,” I’Anson said. “And the only way to be ready to join it is to see the professionals who are currently working in it and learn from what they’re doing right now. Student Podcast Day is the best way to do that.”

Student Podcast Day will offer graduate and undergraduate students from across Virginia and beyond valuable insights into the podcasting world through a series of presentations from podcasting professionals. In addition to l’Anson, this year’s presenters include Mallory Noe-Payne, creator of VCU’s Common Book podcast “Memory Wars”; Lynn Casper, program manager at the Association of Independents in Radio and producer of the LGBTQIA+ music podcast “Homoground”; Max Wasserman, adjunct podcasting instructor at VCU and producer of VPM’s “RVA’s Got Issues”; and Ellen Horne, founder of production company Story Mechanics and producer of “Admissible: Shreds of Evidence.” In addition, production companies will be on site to talk with attendees, review portfolios and hire interns.

Students wishing to have their graphic design, journalism or audio editing portfolio reviewed by a professional, and to be considered for an internship with one of the participating production companies, must apply online with a link to their portfolio by Oct. 15. While Student Podcast Day is free to attend, online RSVP is required. For refreshments, students can enjoy the ICA Cafe, open until 4 p.m., and an on-site ice cream truck.

Student Podcast Day is made possible by support from its partners and sponsors: the Association of Independents in Radio, LWC Studios, Room Tone, VPM, NPR, Proxy Podcast, Virginia Commission for the Arts, Goat Rodeo, Good Tape, Blue Dot Sessions, Columbia Journalism School, editaudio, Lindsay Bowen Law, The Podcast Academy, The Podglomerate, Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, Slate, Tink Media, Audio Flux, Certified Crucial, Common House, Focusrite and Radio Workshop.

About the founder: Chioke I’Anson is a philosopher, podcaster and founding director of community media at the ICA at VCU. He is NPR’s national underwriting voice for digital downloads and newscasts and previously taught Africana philosophy as assistant professor of African American studies at VCU.

About the CMC: The VPM + ICA Community Media Center is a state-of-the-art recording and production studio and workspace located on the second floor of the ICA at 601 W. Broad St. in Richmond. It offers free media education and assistance to the public and serves as a downtown recording outpost for VPM reporters. In addition to Student Podcast Day and RESONATE, CMC programming includes Levels Up Academy, a free summer program that teaches podcasting skills to young people ages 17-22. Support for the CMC comes from Rudy and Esther Bunzl, the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, the Anne Carter Robins and Walter R. Robins Jr. Foundation and VPM.