Radiotopia on YouTube | CAC August Newsletter
As the school year approaches, summer is beginning to wind down. We've had quite an exciting month and a lot to share in this months newsletter:
- Notes and a link to the recording of our August Zoom meeting with special guest Audrey Mardavich of Radiotopia about working with YouTube
- A call for input on CAC's future
- Some highlights from our Brisket Cookout on August 2nd
- A rundown on our first training session with Jeffrey Nils Gardner
- A couple of new job postings
Let's get to it!
Radiotopia on Youtube
If you work in narrative-style podcasting you might be wondering if your projects should have a presence on YouTube? And, if so, what would that even look like? These are questions that have been on Audrey Mardavich’s mind for a while now.
Audrey is the executive director of the Radiotopia podcast network from PRX, which recently decided to take the plunge and build a presence on YouTube. Radiotopia, is a curated network of independent podcasts focused primarily on arts and culture. You’re likely familiar with many of these shows including Ear Hustle, Song Exploder, Normal Gossip, Proxy and so many more.
In the end, Audrey says the decision wasn’t very complicated for Radiotopia. That’s because big narrative shows - even ones with long legacies like This American Life - are facing a decline in listenership. Not only is YouTube full of potential new audiences, Audrey said that its algorithm does a great job of serving content to the right people. This is in stark contrast to podcast apps where discoverability is a real challenge.
So, with two-thirds of podcast listening on YouTube already, how are people watching, or not watching them? Keeping in mind that these are mostly chat shows, Audrey said that reports show that for 30% of audiences the screen is in the background or minimized. But for 54% the screen has their full attention. Presumably for the rest, it’s somewhere in between.
A recording of our August 2026 conversation with Audrey Mardavich
Watch the rest of the conversation here to see the three YouTube excerpts that Audrey shared, examples of well-made podcasts that meet audiences needs on three levels: in the background, front and center, and in the in-between spot where you check in and out.
Learn about the partnership that Radiotopia is building with YouTube, the YouTubers that are lending their expertise, and why in the end Audrey is excited about what lies ahead.
Links from the conversation:
CAC's Future
CAC is working on clearly defining our mission, goals and programming plans as we establish CAC as a long-term organization that meets the needs of the local audiomaking community.
To support our planning efforts, we've gathered a group of talented, skilled, and knowledgeable people to help us as members of the newly created CAC Advisory Board. For the next year, this group will help guide us towards what the Chicago audio scene needs.
Our Advisory Board members are:
- Bill Healy: Pulitzer and Peabody Award winning audio journalist
- James Boo: Independent producer dedicated to helping people with few resources to speak on their own terms
- Anna DeShawn: Social entrepreneur, storyteller & community organizer who founded The Qube and E3 Radio
- Eliza Lambert-Arnold: Co-founder of Chicago Audiomakers Collective and podcast pioneer for clients like: Twitter, Netflix, InStyle, Travel + Leisure
- Natalie Moore: Senior lecturer and director of audio programming at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism
- Shaina Bauman: Strategic communications professional and world-wandering Chicagoland native, co-creator of Still Listening
- Jesse Betend: Chicago-based Podcaster, Audio Producer, and Executive Producer at Rivet360
- Alexandra Solomon: Senior editor at WBEZ and adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism
And we also want to hear from you!
Next week you’ll receive a survey so that we can gather the membership's input on a wide range of ideas. Thank you very much in advance for taking the time to complete it.
Brisket Cookout
We had a wonderful time on Montrose Beach earlier this month for our Brisket Cookout! Thank you to everyone who came out and brought food!
The Brisket is finally used! Thank you to all who joined us!
We lucked out with great weather and good conversation. If you couldn't make it, don't worry, we're working on a Happy Hour for this fall! Keep your eyes out for more from us soon!
Our First Training Session — Sound Design
Last month we also hosted our CAC's first training session, a sound design course taught by Jeffrey Nils Gardner. We were joined by ~20 people from all across the country. We'll let you know the next time we have a training opportunity available!
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