Podcast Salon - Pride Edition | CAC June Newsletter

This may be our most jam-packed newsletter yet! Here's what we've got for you this month:

• Notes from our conversation about video podcasting
• Details about the upcoming Podcast Salon June Edition on June 12th
• More info on our workshop and interactive talk on Sound Design with Jeffrey Nils Gardner on July 12th
  • Plus, Jeffrey is hosting a season finale event for their show The Harbingers on June 16th, come on out!
• The Institute for Independent Journalists is looking for beta testers for a new platform designed to connect freelancers with clients
• Some creative opportunities at: Experimental Sound Studio, Short Cuts and Points North
• A quick recap of Exhibitionism (Vol. 1) from last week
• A homily by Eric Nuzum about the state of the podcasting industry that we recommend
• Plus, some job postings in the Chicago area

Let's get to it!

Video Podcasting

This month we discussed the ever present question of video podcasting — is it worth it? How do you tackle adding video or adapting a show for video? And ultimately, is it worth the time?

The group agreed, that since video and audio are two fundamentally different things, combining the two necessitates compromises in one or both. But, in some cases, that may not be a bad thing.

Kasia pointed out that in her experience editing a combo audio/video show, portions of audio that felt odd on their own (long pauses, etc...) felt totally natural on video. Conversely, cuts and edits that help make the audio more engaging and concise, sometimes make for a jarring video edit.

Ultimately, if your show is being consumed on YouTube, viewers are more comfortable with a less polished final product. That grace isn't always there for audio.

So what do you do? Well, James raised the point that deciding late in the production process to do video is far too down stream. If you can, you should decide at the very beginning what the podcast is, and plan accordingly.

But maybe you’re in a position like me, where you work on a narrative or documentary show and now there’s discussion of turning it into a video podcast. Your existing audience expects a certain level of polish to the audio product. Matching that polish in a video product is tricky, as is the decision to sacrifice audio for the sake of a video audience that doesn't yet exist. The jury is very much still out on how to handle that shift (or if it's worth making at all — my vote is no).

But if you have no choice, Will Coley has shared a set of examples of video narrative shows. One example I’ve considered emulating is the music analysis show, Dissect. Dissect started as an audio only show and has adapted to video in a clean and cohesive way without sacrificing the audio product. Here's an example.

If you've got thoughts or expertise here, let us know! Or if you're dealing with these challenges yourself, feel free to reach out.

June and July Events

This is shaping up to be jam packed summer!

6/12 - Podcast Salon June Edition

Hosted by Anna DeShawn with special guest Jana Naomi Smith. In partnership with Chicago Audiomakers Collective and Sisters in Cinema

• Date: Friday June 12th, 6:30 PM
• Address: Sisters in Cinema | 2310 E. 75th St.
• Tickets: Buy Here

Welcome to The Podcast Salon - an immersive, curated listening experience where podcast discovery meets the culture. 

Whether you are a podcast super listener, a creator looking to network, or just someone ready to find out what the podcast hype is all about—pull up!

In this edition, we are honored to feature Jana Naomi Smith, creator/writer/director of the two-time Ambie award-winning podcast Red for Revolution. Jana will sit down with Chicago’s own award-winning host and producer, Anna DeShawn. Red for Revolution is a six-part Black lesbian coming of age story exploring love and liberation.

Silence the noise from the outside, grab a pair of our silent headphones, and step into a unique podcast listening experience. We play short and impactful audio clips, whether they are hilarious or really emotional, we listen and talk about it together.   

Tickets are limited to keep the vibe intimate. Grab yours today!

7/12 - Sound Design Training

On July 12 we’re offering both a 3 hour hands on workshop, and a 1.5 hr interactive talk. Spots are on sale now!

Sound Design Workshop

During this 3 hr workshop, audio fiction sound designer Jeffrey Nils Gardner will walk you through their process for building immersive, engaging audio worlds.

You'll then have the chance to try your hand at design with provided audio elements. This workshop will focus on skills applicable across fiction and nonfiction podcast work, and is appropriate for anyone with a basic understanding of audio editing in a DAW (if you can cut tape and are comfortable moving clips on a timeline, you should be fine).

Participants will need to bring their own laptops, headphones, and DAW (Reaper, Pro Tools, Audition, Logic or any other non-destructive DAW is good).

Sound Design: Interactive Talk

Audio fiction sound designer Jeffrey Nils Gardner will walk you through their process for building immersive, engaging audio worlds, with looks into their DAW sessions and lots of listening to new and old audio fiction.

This talk will have something for fiction designers, nonfiction producers, voice over directors, and anyone in-between. 

No prior experience with sound design or fiction podcasting is required. Just bring your curiosity.

The Harbingers Season Listening Event

• Date: June 16th, 7:30pm
• Where: Elastic Arts, 3429 West Diversey Avenue
• Tickets: Buy Here

After a hurricane nine months of magic, intrigue, romance, triumph, and tragedy, the first chapter of Adam Blackwell and Amy Stirling's story comes to a close. Come by to hear the season finale ahead of its official release, and to share all the laughs, twists, and tears it might cause with other fans of the show.

After the episode is over, hang out for a short talkback with some members of the team behind the show.

Revolutionary Yearning Mixtape Night

Plus, we just got word about a special event happening tonight hosted by Ari Mejia and Mara Lazer:

• Location: email arielmejia1021@gmail.com to RSVP and receive address
• Date/Time: Friday, June 5, 7-9 pm

Here's the description from Ari and Mara:
Chicago revolutionary yearners, let’s make a mixtape together!

This Friday night we are transforming Ari’s living room into a diy reading salon / recording studio. we have poems to share & audio stories to listen to and we want to hear yours.

Bring your brimming burning thoughts, desires & scribbled journal entries. Bring a poem that keeps you up at night. bring a sound that gets u out of bed. think general song length for time.

We will hang, have some bevs, snacks and then blast off into the experiment recording everyone sharing onto a cassette. This is obvs low budg diy & for the thrill of it all, leave your perfectionism at home!!

Feel free to bring a friend. We will be at the home of local audio producer and artist Ari Mejia (me!) in collaboration with producer/artist/yearner Mara Lazer

2026 Summer Soundwalk Series

Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology (MSAE) is excited to announce our 2026 Summer Soundwalks In the Parks program, marking the 10th annual partnership with Night Out In The Parks and Chicago Parks District.

Between June and September, everyone is invited to explore the art of soundwalking in 6 different public parks. Led by artists and special guests, these soundwalks guide our listening awareness across the natural and cultural dimensions of Chicago. Join us for community and contemplation as we consider and share our auditory perspectives.

IIJ Freelance Platform - Feedback Requested

The Institute for Independent Journalists (IIJ) is building an easy-to-use marketplace for freelance journalists to connect with clients like news organizations, non-profits, or content agencies. This platform will level the playing field for journalists and publishers alike.

In partnership with the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, IIJ is designing and testing this platform in the Chicago area. They are looking for freelance journalists who are willing to participate in surveys, interviews, or user testing to help us design and prototype the app and desktop experience. The data collected during testing in Chicago will help them to scale this platform to other cities, and eventually offer it to journalists and employers nationwide.

If you're interested in sharing your experience with IIJ, please fill out this form and they'll be in touch: https://forms.gle/4rztkAamXTFEmcaE6

Creative Opportunities

We've got three exciting creative opportunities for you this month, all three offer paid work if selected!

Experimental Sound Studio

Experimental Sound Studio (ESS) seeks proposals for multichannel sound compositions for the overhead trellis loudspeaker array at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in the heart of downtown Chicago, to be presented as part of its annual Sonic Pavilion Festival.

Sonic Pavilion is included in this year’s America250 programs, a national series of arts programs on the occasion of the 250th birthday of the United States, and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Proposed projects should: 

• Showcase the unique potential of multichannel sound in this highly public context, utilizing all 24 available channels
• Demonstrate consideration for the location and architecture of the system
• Content should be on the theme of community sound portraits, broadly reflecting or interpreting life in a U.S. community today or over the past 250 years. This could be everything from musical compositions to field recordings. Narrative/voice works are tricky in this multichannel space, so we are looking for more experimental, abstract interpretations of this prompt with minimal spoken word.

The 2026 Festival features 4-6 artists, with each work played multiple times throughout the installation run. Each artist/artist team receives a $2,000 artist fee.

Proposals are Due June 14th at Midnight. See the ESS website for more info.

Short Cuts

If you're not familiar, Short Cuts is a beloved short form audio series. From its inception in 2012 and up until its final episode in 2025, the original long-running program was known as a home for award-winning personal documentaries and experimental storytelling, and developed a devoted international following.

In early 2027, Short Cuts will return for a new 12 episode series. An international collaboration between three public service broadcasters – CBC in Canada, ABC in Australia and the BBC in the U.K. Broadcast on the radio in all three countries and released on the Short Cuts podcast.

The call for pitches is now open until midnight (BST) on 1st July 2026. You can find the form for submitting your idea here.

Points North

Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes. According to Point North, the show connects listeners to life in the region through carefully crafted journalism and sound-rich storytelling. They want people to be entertained, informed, and surprised by this place they love.

They are looking for story pitches and offer payment ranging from $1,000 - $2,500. Please see the pitch packet below.

Exhibitionism (Vol. 1)

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Exhbitionism (Vol. 1) last week! As CAC Co-Founder, Eliza, mentioned in opening remarks:

Queer people are more visible than ever today. We're highly sexualized, but rarely listened to. Audio, like Clover Tipton's Exhibitionism, asks the listener to slow down and spend time with the speaker, without visual preconceptions of gender. Maybe this is one reason why the audio world is so full of trans people. Add sex into the sound mix, and psychology shows, the mind is more attentive, flexible, open.

Eric Nuzum's homily on today’s audio industry

If you're in the Chicago Radio Club google group (respond to this email if you'd like to be added), you may have seen CAC co-founder Johanna Zorn share the link to this piece recently. It's worth a read if you haven't yet.

Chicago Audio Jobs

This is a non-exhaustive list of audio related job postings in the Chicago area. If you've got a job to share, shoot me an email at ian@chiaudiocollective.com

• NEW: Digital Content Producer at WBBM-Audacy (link)
• Associate Editor, Black Information Network remote at iHeart (link)
• Manager, Digital Media Strategy & Planning at iHeart Media (link)
• WBBM News Radio Full-Time News Anchor/Reporter at WBBM-Audacy (link)
• Lead Producer (Pioneers of AI) at WaitWhat (link)
• Part-Time News Anchor/Reporter at WBBM-Audacy (link)
• Part-Time News Writer/Editor at WBBM-Audacy (link)
• Managing Editor, News at Chicago Public Media (link)
• Assistant News Editor at Chicago Public Media (link)