European Podcast Stars Take the Stage

LONDON — Along with radio, podcasting has kept the world at home entertained and informed in the last 18 months. So, too, have the “stars” of podcasting helped us all through this difficult time. 

Here, we take a look at some of the stars of European podcasting, plus some well-known but less thought of stars who are creating a new world in podcasting. One example is The Receipts, otherwise known as Tolani Shoneye, Andrey Indome and Milena Sanchez. 

Honest is the best way to describe The Receipts podcast, a without-a-filter dealing with, in their words, “Situationships.” This podcast, which launched in 2016, has continued to gain more followers and showcase what young women of today really think, feel and care about. 

All three of the hosts are stars in their own right, but together their honest conversations are a reflection of modern women, and their popularity is reflected in the number of listeners they attract and the awards they have won. 

Reaching the Audience

Also from the United Kingdom is Fearne Cotton, the creator and host of the “Happy Place” podcast. Cotton was a hugely successful mainstream broadcaster, but has changed and transformed her career to launch this podcast as part of a “multi-faceted well-being brand.”

Along with the podcast, the Happy Place includes festivals, music albums, books and meditation series on Amazon, a powerhouse in this new field of multi-platform wellness, which has audio and podcasting at its heart. 

Looking around Europe, some of the number one podcasts are stars in quality journalism and production. “Genstart,” Denmark’s top podcast with Knud Brix, is a commentary on some of the top stories of the day, with well-produced, good sound quality and topics of interest to the listener. 

The star of coronavirus podcasts in Germany, NDR’s “Das Coronavirus-Update von NDR Info,” streamed more than 60 million times in the first six months. Maybe not a new star, but “Paradise” podcast is a gruesome but gripping story of the murders of two travelers, which won a British Podcast Award — it’s bingeworthy, with quality investigative journalism and sound to match. In Norway, “Opptadert” is another star of European podcasting, reflected in the popularity of this podcast.

Awards and Events

Along with the podcast stars, there are now a number of awards events in Europe that recognize the rise of the podcasters. The British Podcast Awards is an annual event that continues to grow at a rapid pace. Entries to this year’s awards have increased. This edition’s winners show will take place in July, and promises to be even bigger and better than the previous year.   

Similarly, Germany’s podcast awards, Deutscher Podcast Preis 2021, is announcing winners in June and showcases the German-language podcast market, which is producing some mega hits. These include NDR, plus some smaller noteworthy shows, such as “Bear Radio Berlin” and “Mal angenommen” (“What if”), winner of the Prix Europa 2020 in the Digital Audio Project category.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the stars of podcasting, you can join the Podcast Day 24 event on June 7, a 24-hour event over three zones — Australia, Europe and North America. This is a sample of the stars in the European section of the event. Look out for the speakers being announced in North America and Australia.  

The author is communications manager for Podcast Day 24.