International Podcast Day – September 30 – is an international celebration of the power of podcasts!
There is National IPA Day, National Waffle Fries Day, National Pancake Day, and National pretty-much-anything-you-want Day. In the summer of 2013, Steve Lee heard a radio announcement for National Senior Citizens’ Day. Thinking that was pretty cool, it begged the question of why wasn’t there a day of celebration for podcasting. That’s when Steve said to himself , “Let’s create a Podcast Day!” So the adventure began and a collective team of podcasters put their heads together to bring the day to life.
In 2014, we held the inaugural National Podcast Day event and celebration here in the United States. We provided 6 hours of live streaming, which included call-ins from podcasters from around the country. Daniel J. Lewis held a Q&A session on Google Hangouts. We endorsed podcast meetups across the states by fellow world-renowned podcasters, including Dave Jackson’s Ohio Podcasters Meetup. Ray Ortega invited several podcasters to Podcasters Roundtable.
In 2015, we listened to the podcast community and re-branded to International Podcast Day. Between 2015-2020, we successfully live streamed hundreds of hours, bringing in 350 podcasters from nearly 100 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Poland, Germany, South Africa, Jamaica, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Philippines, India, France, Switzerland, Scotland, UK, Finland, Canada, the United States, and so many more. International Podcast Day has been mentioned by New York Times, Apple Podcasts, Yahoo, CBS, and ESPN (to name a few). Special social events, festivals, and meet-ups are organized around the world on or around September 30 just to celebrate!
In 2021, the International Podcast Day team made a difficult decision. Since 2014, the International Podcast Day team has focused on showcasing independent podcasting talent from around the world and raising the awareness of a growing industry. From day one, we were dedicated to creating a lively celebration that the podcasting industry could rally around. Without question, our community has organically grown International Podcast Day into something much bigger than we could have ever imagined. The community’s creativity has been nothing less than spectacular and inspiring.
Moving forward, the International Podcast Day team will no longer be creating a live streaming event. We have decided to step to the side and enjoy the day of celebration just like everyone else. But do not worry, the team is not going away. We will be celebrating alongside the community as we have every year and will still be managing our social media channels. Thanks to each and every individual, podcast listener, podcaster, and audio enthusiast that helped make the last seven years possible. P lease continue to find unique and creative ways to celebrate the day. As we get back to our roots of celebration and sharing, we are looking forward to this upcoming International Podcast Day, September 30 – an international celebration of the power of podcasts.
Be sure to join the conversation by using #InternationalPodcastDay!