WNYC Studios Announces Fourth Annual WERK IT Women’s Podcast Festival

(September 27, 2018) – Following a successful edition last year in Los Angeles, WERK IT – the audio industry’s original women’s podcast festival -- is back in New York for its fourth annual gathering, from Monday, November 12-Saturday, November 17. 

Founded by WNYC Studios, home to beloved and influential podcasts such as Radiolab, On the Media, and Death, Sex & Money, WERK IT is devoted by day to convening conversations, sharing skills, and fostering a professional network and community among women in the growing podcasting field, and by night to bringing audiences together with their favorite female podcast hosts. 

The professional conference (November 13 and 14) features workshops led by women hosts, executives and producers from some of the most influential audio companies – including WNYC Studios, NPR, The New York Times, Gimlet, Night Vale Presents, PRI/PRX, WBUR, Crooked Media, HowStuffWorks, APM, CBC, Pineapple Street Media, and Vox. Workshops range from structuring compelling stories to sessions such as “Land A Sponsor,” “Market Your Show,” and “Starting from the Bottom Now We’re Here: Podcast Tech for Beginners.”

For the first time, WERK IT will offer a Podcast Accelerator, which gives daytime conference attendees the opportunity to pitch their big podcast ideas. The prize is the chance to produce a pilot with WNYC Studios. Judges include Emily Botein (Vice President of On-Demand Content, WNYC Studios), Paula Szuchman (Vice President of On-Demand Content, WNYC Studios), and Kathy Tu (Host, Nancy), the winner of WNYC Studios’ first Podcast Accelerator held at the Online News Association in 2015.

Other highlights include a presentation by Edison Research giving attendees up-to-the-minute audience insights and their latest findings on podcast listenership among women, and an exclusive invitation to the launch party for No Man’s Land, the debut podcast from the women’s co-working space, The Wing. Continuing the industry-changing mission of WERK IT, this year’s festival will also feature 1:1 mentorship and networking activities, an IRL job board, and the expansion of a year-round online community for alumnae.

In the evenings, WERK IT will present an expanded roster of live performances and podcast tapings at venues across the city in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, including:

• On Being with Krista Tippett and special guest Claudia Rankine at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College
• The Read with Crissle and Kid Fury at Knockdown Center in Queens
• WNYC Studios’ Nancy with Kathy Tu and Tobin Low at The Bell House in Brooklyn
• NPR’s Code Switch with Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene Demby at Harlem’s World Famous Apollo Theater
• Harvard Business Review Live: Women At Work at The Jerome L. Greene Space at WNYC
• Don’t Tell My Mother! and special guest Alysia Reiner (Orange Is The New Black) at The Bell House in Brooklyn
• Generation Women at Caveat in Manhattan
• Yeah, She Did at Caveat in Manhattan
• This Movie Changed Me at The Jerome L. Greene Space at WNYC
• WQXR’s Creative Director and host of the podcast Classical Fix Clemency Burton-Hill in conversation with celebrated opera singer Joyce DiDonato and the Brentano String Quartet at The Jerome L. Greene Space at WNYC and WQXR

Tickets for all of the podcast tapings for the public are on sale now at werkitevents.com. Full details regarding pricing, dates and times, and special guests for each live show are below. Tickets for the industry conference portion of the festival are also available now.

“WERK IT was inspired, in part, by the disparity among male and female hosts in the top podcasts, but equity is about so much more than numbers,” said Laura Walker, President and CEO, New York Public Radio, which includes WNYC Studios. “That women have a voice and have something to say is a given, but finding a mentor, having a platform, building a network and making a living – in short, being heard – takes a village. WERK IT creates a space for women to make connections and deepen their ability to navigate their careers. I’m thrilled to see this growing community of women creators and producers become a year-round source of inspiration and support.”

“By day WERK IT convenes the boldest thinkers in our business to provoke and inspire each other to make podcasting a more innovative and inclusive medium for creators and listeners alike,” said Jennifer Keeney Sendrow, Executive Producer of WERK IT. “And, by night we have an expanded slate of evening events open to the public at venues across NYC that put brilliant women on the mic, center stage.”

Leadership support for WERK IT is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support is provided by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.

Signature Sponsors for WERK IT include Capterra, Art19, Stitcher, and the Yale School of Management.

LIVE PODCAST EVENT SCHEDULE -- TICKETS ON SALE NOW HERE

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12

On Being with special guest Claudia Rankine

Host Krista Tippett will sit down with poet, essayist, and playwright Claudia Rankine (Citizen: An American Lyric) to discuss questions such as: What does it mean to be human? How do we want to live? A Peabody Award-winning radio show and podcast, On Being features conversations about the big questions of meaning in our 21st century lives and endeavors—spiritual inquiry, science, social healing, and the arts.

Time: 7pm

Venue: The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (695 Park Ave, NYC)

Tickets: $39 -$75 (on sale September 27 at noon)

Event Link

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13

The Read with Kid Fury and Crissle

Join Kid Fury and Crissle for a live taping of their weekly podcast covering hip-hop and pop culture's most trying stars. Throwing shade and spilling tea with a flippant and humorous attitude, no star is safe from Fury and Crissle unless their name is Beyoncé. (Or Blue Ivy.) As transplants to NYC, The Read also serves as an on-air therapy session for two friends trying to adjust to life and rats in the big city.

Time: 8pm

Venue: Knockdown Center (52-19 Flushing Ave, Queens)

Tickets: $45 -$65

Event Link

Nancy with a special guest TBA

Hailed as a top podcast by Entertainment Weekly and TIME, Nancy is WNYC Studios’ beloved show about the LGBTQ experience today. Co-hosts and best friends Tobin Low and Kathy Tu have frank conversations, share poignant stories, and undertake what VICE calls “a gentle investigation into the courage it takes to live outside social norms.”

Time: 7:30pm

Venue: The Bell House (149 7th Street, Brooklyn)  

Tickets: $25

Event Link

Harvard Business Review Live: Women At Work -- “Self-Disclosure at Work (and Behind the Mic) without Oversharing”

Research suggests that self-disclosure at work can build relationships with colleagues, make leaders more trusted, and create a sense of intimacy and camaraderie at work. Podcasting also relies heavily on self-disclosure to build a sense of authenticity and personal connection. With the Women At Work podcast, Harvard Business Review has dipped a toe into personal disclosure for the first time in HBR’s 90+ year history.

This taping will feature stories, research, and practical advice for strategic self-disclosure, and then take time for audience questions/reflections. The panel will feature all three Women at Work hosts (Amy Bernstein, Nicole Torres, Sarah Green Carmichael) and guest expert Columbia Business School professor Katherine Phillips. Women at Work producer Amanda Kersey will moderate.

Time: 8pm

Venue: The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC (44 Charlton Street, NYC)

Tickets: $20 for general admission; $15 for Harvard Business Review subscribers (Note: the price of admission includes a copy of HBR's 10 Must Reads on Women and Leadership.)

Event Link

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14

NewFest Presents: This Movie Changed Me with special guest TBA

One fan talking about the transformative power of one movie. This Movie Changed Me offers an unexpected take on pop culture, transporting listeners inside the world of movies by celebrating our intimate relationships with them. It’s not a movie review podcast; it’s a conversation. From On Being Studios, hosted by Lily Percy.

Time: 7pm

Venue: The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC (44 Charlton Street, NYC)

Tickets: $20

Event Link

Generation Women -- “Finding My Voice”

Generation Women is a cross-generational storytelling night in New York City. Each month, five  women of note read an original piece on a theme. Of those women, one is in her 20s, her 30s, her 40s, her 50s, and her 60s+. Generation Women celebrates and amplifies women’s voices and creativity. Our diverse line-ups will make you laugh, cry, and think. We’re a unique, intimate female literary salon that brings together women of all ages. Hosted by Georgia Clark. More at generationwomen.us. 

Time: 7pm

Venue: Caveat (21 A Clinton Street, NYC)

Tickets: $25

Event Link

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15

Hello Sunshine’s My Best Break Up with Maeve Higgins

Comedian, author, and podcast veteran Maeve Higgins gets the story behind the break ups that transformed her guests’ lives, whether it’s leaving a relationship or calling it quits with social media to coping with addiction or leaving a religion. Where did that break up take them? Because sometimes the best beginnings start with an ending.

Time: 7pm

Venue: The Jerome L. Greene Space at WNYC (44 Charlton Street, NYC)

Ticket Price: $20

Event Link

Don’t Tell My Mother! with special guest Alysia Reiner (Orange is The New Black)

Don’t Tell My Mother! is a critically-acclaimed comedy event hosted by film producer Nikki Levy, where fabulous performers share true stories they’d never want their moms to know. 

Time: 8pm

Venue: The Bell House (149 7th Street, Brooklyn)

Tickets: $20 in advance; $25 at the door (on sale on September 27 at noon)

Event Link

Yeah She Did with special guests TBA

Yeah She Did is a storytelling series that shines a light on the sheroes that should have been. A lineup of female comedians, writers, and storytellers join forces to share the stories of some of the greatest women the world has ever known (but history forgot). From early radio to the tv newsroom to podcasts, women have been kicking butt and taking names in the broadcasting world, but you might not have heard the stories of those trailblazers. This month Yeah She Did is partnering with WNYC Studio’s WERK IT Women’s Podcast Festival to celebrate the unsung sheroes of the Fourth Estate.

Time: 7pm

Venue: Caveat (21 A Clinton Street, NYC)

Tickets: $15 in advance; $20 at the door (on sale September 27 at noon)

Event Link

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16

NPR’s Code Switch live from New York City

Join Code Switch hosts Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene Demby, plus special guests, for a conversation on race, culture, and identity live from Harlem’s World Famous Apollo Theater.

Code Switch is a team of NPR journalists who are fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, culture and identity, and how they play out in our lives and communities. Their work appears in a weekly podcast, on-air, online, and across NPR's shows and digital outlets. Named after the many ways people shift their expressions of race and culture in daily life, Code Switch aims to deepen the coverage of these topics and capture the issues that define an increasingly diverse America.

Time: 8pm

Venue: Harlem’s World Famous Apollo Theater (253 West 125th Street, NYC)

Tickets: $28.50-$78.50 (On sale September 27 at noon)

Event Link

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17

Classical Up Close: Joyce DiDonato and the Brentano String Quartet

Multi Grammy Award winner Joyce DiDonato has been proclaimed “perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation” (The New Yorker) and as a voice “nothing less than 24-carat gold” (New York Times). In addition, the Brentano String Quartet has performed in some the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and the Sydney Opera House. 

In this exclusive New York engagement presented by WQXR, DiDonato and the Brentano Quartet perform selections from Into the Fire at The Greene Space. Clemency Burton-Hill, WQXR’s Creative Director and host of the podcast Classical Fix (BBC 3 Radio), emcees.  

Time: 7pm

Venue: The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC & WQXR (44 Charlton Street, NYC)

Tickets: $40-60

Event Link

ABOUT WNYC STUDIOS

WNYC Studios is the premier producer of on-demand and broadcast audio, home to some of the most critically acclaimed and popular podcasts of the last decade, including Radiolab, On The Media, Nancy, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Death, Sex & Money, Snap Judgment, Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin, and 2 Dope Queens. WNYC Studios is leading the new golden age in audio with podcasts and national radio programs that inform, inspire, and delight millions of intellectually curious and highly engaged listeners across digital, mobile, and broadcast platforms. Their programs include personal narratives, deep journalism, interviews that reveal, and smart entertainment as varied and intimate as the human voice itself. For more information, visit wnycstudios.org.