Interview With Paula Szuchman

WERK IT, the podcast festival for women, comes to Los Angeles October 3rd through the 5th. We wanted to know more about the event, so we asked Paula Szuchman, Vice President of On-Demand Content at WNYC Studios, some questions...

1. What is the WERK IT Festival?

WERK ITis an all-women's podcast festival. It's for mentoring, learning, creating, sharing. WERK IT is a place for women to learn to harness their creativity in storytelling, learn the ins and outs of podcasting, and network. Our aim is to both elevate and celebrate women's voices.

This is also WNYC Studios' contribution to the industry - we feel strongly about this issue. Many of our podcasts are hosted by women:Note to Selfwith Manoush Zomorodi,Death, Sex & Moneywith Anna Sale,A Piece of Workwith Abbi Jacobson,2 Dope Queenswith Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson,Nancywith Kathy Tu... we are proud of that and want the industry to continue in this direction. In 2013,only 20%of the top podcasts featured women's voices. We decided we needed to convene forces and we created the WERK IT festival. Now in its third year, our analysis shows that 33% of shows on the top Apple Podcast charts feature women's voices. We're making progress and there's more progress to be made. Our goal for the industry is to reach gender parity on both sides of the mic.

2. Who attends this event?

WERK IT is for women in any industry, at any stage of their careers, who want to improve their audio skills and be inspired, or who are new to the field and want to get into podcasting. WERK IT is not just for aspiring hosts-we welcome women who are interested in all aspects of creating, distributing and marketing podcasts, across podcasting and in digital media. We provide training and mentorship and camaraderie.

This year, we're expecting attendees from a number of countries-Spain, Finland, Argentina, South Africa, Australia-and from coast to coast across the U.S. So far among registrants, we're seeing that about a third have worked in podcasting for a few years and nearly another third seven years or more, while 40% have zero to two years of experience. We love that. Both experienced podcasters and producers and newcomers to the medium will get so much out of this festival.

3. Give us some of the highlights at this year's event.

First off, it's bigger and potentially sunnier. The past two years, we held the festival in NYC. This year, we're headed to L.A. We have almost 70 presenters this year, including Jessica Williams of2 Dope Queens(WNYC Studios), Kara Swisher ofRecode, Lena Waithe (Master of None), Nina Jacobson (producer,The Hunger Games), and hosts, producers and executives from the makers of hit podcasts at WNYC Studios,The New York Times,This American Life,BuzzFeed, PRX, Pineapple Street Media, and NPR.

Also new: As part of the festival, we are hosting a Podcast Bootcamp:a one-day course designed for entry-level or early-career audio producers, as well as women who work in media or other related fields and are now moving into podcasting. The Bootcamp will go over the nuts and bolts for everything about podcasting: sound design and collecting tape, interview techniques, and how to hook an audience. Related: we're also building a pop-up studio inside the Ace Hotel for this conference. WERK IT attendees can record an interview, a segment, a show, or just hang out there with friends. We're partnering with AIR on an "Ask an Engineer" booth, where women engineers will be on hand to give one-on-one tips and feedback to attendees. And, we are bringing back our mentor match program, which is always popular.

While the Bootcamp and the conference sessions are open only to attendees, we also have live performances at night that open to the general public.

4. Tell us about some of the live tapings that will be happening there.

Our star-studded live taping includes three awesome lady-hosted shows:2 Dope Queensfrom WNYC Studios with Jessica Williams and a fan-favorite guest as co-host, comedian Naomi Ekperigin, with an appearance from comedian Michelle Buteau; BuzzFeed'sAnother Roundwith special guest Amber Rose; and WNYC Studios'Death, Sex & Moneywith special guest Niecy Nash ofClawsand Alia Shawkat ofSearch Party. All of these performances are open to the public.

5. Tell us about the team behind the Werk It festival.

WERK ITwas conceived by Laura Walker, President and CEO of New York Public Radio, who was inspired into action after reading aTransomreport in 2013 stating that only 20% of the top 100 podcasts on iTunes were hosted or co-hosted by women. The festival is produced by a team acrossWNYC Studios, including me and the executive producer for our event space, The Greene Space, Jennifer Keeney Sendrow.

6. Werk It has a scholarship program. Tell us about that.

This year, we were able to offer a limited number of scholarships to ensure a robust mix of participants such as students, freelancers, and nonprofit employees who would otherwise be unable to attend. Scholarships cover the cost of the sessions. Recipients will be responsible for travel expenses and tickets to the live tapings.