Werk It
A Women's Podcast Festival
October 3-5 | Los Angeles, CA
Werk It
A Women's Podcast Festival
October 3-5 | Los Angeles, CA
Thank you for an incredible Werk It! 2017!
You came from all over the country and across the globe to listen, learn and celebrate the power of women's voices in podcasting. 70,000 more of you streamed it from afar. Some of you got to hug Lena Waithe. Some of you recorded your own episodes in our pop-up studio. Lots of you crushed on Kara Swisher.
Werk It! The Podcast
If you missed us this year, or if you want to experience the magic again, subscribe to the Werk It podcast feed. Most of the sessions will be there soon--and last year's are already there.
2017 Photos
2017 Photos
Thanks for the memories LA!
You can still share your favorite moments from the festival by using #womenpodcasters and tagging @WNYCStudios.
Thank you to Gina Clyne for our photos!
Werk it 2017 Schedule
Werk it 2017 Schedule
October 3: Podcast Bootcamp
8:00 AM: Doors Open for check-in
+ 9:30 AM: Keynote: My Podcast Gives Me Joy (and Health Insurance!)
Anna Sale, host of Death, Sex & Money, kicks off our Bootcamp with the 11 things she’s learned on her journey to podcast glory.
+ 10:00 AM: Set It Up
You can make a podcast alone in your closet, but it’s way more fun to do it with a team. Consider the many roles that exist on a pro podcast production, from a bootstrap indie operation to a national radio show extravaganza. We’ll reveal the salaries and budgets you should be prepared to pay (or demand) to produce your show.
Presenters: N’Jeri Eaton (Senior Manager for Program Acquisition, NPR) + Gina Delvac (Producer, Call Your Girlfriend) / Moderator: Taz Ahmed (Co-host, #GoodMuslimBadMuslim)
+ 10:45 AM: Myth: All the Great Podcast Ideas Are Taken
There are podcasts about politics, food, love, death, celebrity, hiking, crime, health, science, and even…the California DMV handbook. So has every podcast idea been taken? There are plenty of niches waiting to be exploited by new podcasters—you just have to know where to look. Special bonus: Lauren gives away 50 free podcast ideas. (Producer not included.)
Presenter: Lauren Ober (Host, The Big Listen)
+ 11:05 AM: Talk with Your Voice
In this interactive session, we’ll talk about talking on the microphone with your authentic voice. And we’ll work on ways to get the most out of your host’s voice. Vocal fry welcome. Phoniness not accepted.
Presenters: Nancy Farghalli (Senior Editor, The Uncertain Hour, Marketplace’s Wealth & Poverty Desk) + Krissy Clark (Host, The Uncertain Hour; Senior Correspondent, Marketplace)
11:45 AM: Lunch Break
+ 1:00 PM: Put Yourself In My Ears
Emily: Marianne knows something about music. I don't what know it means when someone says -- wait for the high C chord. Marianne: Emily is crazy. No one ever says -- wait for the high C chord. The most important thing is to know what you're trying to convey. In this session, we'll talk about how to use music and sounds that help, not hinder, your story.
Presenters: Emily Botein (VP of On-Demand Content, WNYC Studios) + Marianne McCune (Editor, Rough Translation)
+ 1:45 PM: Hot Tape
A quality microphone is a great start. After that, things can get tricky. How do you know what you need your sources to say? Where does your voice fit in, and how? Master these ten simple tips about the art and craft of interviewing and you’ll be ready to get good tape out of civilians and CEOs alike.
Presenter: Lisa Chow (Co-host, StartUp)
+ 2:45 PM: I Have 100 Hours of Tape. Some of It's Hot. Now What?
Congratulations! Now let’s figure out where the story is hiding in that mountain of material, and how to shape it so your listeners listen like their lives depend on it.
Presenter: Molly Webster (Features Producer & Guest Host, Radiolab)
+ 3:30 PM: They Won't Come to You: How to Find, Hook and Bedazzle Your Audience
All your hard work will just be an mp3 on a server unless people download it. Get tips on how to reach your people, make your show essential listening, and create points of interaction that can turn an audience into a community.
Presenters: Rebecca Lehrer (Co-host and Co-creator, The Mash Up Americans) + Ashley Alvarado (Manager, Public Engagement, KPCC) + Christina Rentz (Label Manager & Director of Publicity, Merge Records) / Moderator: Sarah Gonzalez (Reporter, WNYC)
+ 4:00 PM: Start Your Clocks: 7 Things You Have to Do Before Your Launch
Bringing your podcast into the world will be both beautiful and painful. Take this advice and you’ll make it more of the former and less of the latter.
Presenters: Gretta Cohn (Founder, Transmitter Media) + Mukta Mohan (Producer, MTV News)
+ 4:30 PM: Pitching Like A Boss
You've created a compelling series and have a growing audience - but how do you actually monetize your media? In this rousing closer to the day, Bossed Up CEO and podcast breakout star Emilie Aries will tell you how you can, and should, be pitching, selling, negotiating, and closing.
Presenter: Emilie Aries (Co-host, Stuff Mom Never Told You and Founder, Bossed Up)
7:30 PM: WNYC Studios and KCRW Present: BuzzFeed's Another Round with guests Amber Rose, Quinta Brunson and Victor Pope Jr. (Podcast Taping Tickets sold seperately)
October 4: Werk It Main Stage
8:00 AM: Doors Open for check-in
9:00 AM: Opening Remarks, Laura Walker, President and CEO, New York Public Radio
9:15 AM: Keynote: Patricia de Stacy Harrison, President and CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting
+ 9:30 AM: What They Didn't Tell Me About Podcasting
New to podcasting? You’re not alone. Hear from women who crossed over into the light, and what they learned along the way.
Presenters: Negin Farsad (Host, Fake the Nation) + Erica Williams Simon (Host, The Call) + Gaby Dunn (Host, Bad With Money with Gaby Dunn) / Moderator: Ann Friedman (Co-host, Call Your Girlfriend)
+ 10:15 AM: Scoring: How to Do It well, and Legally
No, you can’t stick a Prince song in your credits. Yes, you can find free music or hire a composer. We’ll teach you everything you need to know about how to incorporate music, talk to musicians and source affordable music that won’t get you thrown in jail.
Presenter: Jane Marie (Music Supervisor, This American Life)
+ 11:00 AM: Creativity Doesn't Just Happen
Whether you’re getting a handle on your own creative practice, collaborating with a creative team, or steering your show in the context of a larger organization, effectively managing creativity is one of the most important elements of making a good show. A candid conversation about getting creative while getting things done — alone or as part of a group — kicked off with a creativity-kindling game.
Presenters: Christy Gressman (Partner and Director of New Show Development and Production, Night Vale Presents) + Bettina Warshaw (Partner Management Coordinator at Panoply) + Nishat Kurwa (Executive Producer of Audio, Vox Media) / Moderator: Marea Chaveco (Senior Associate, Nonprofits Are Messy)
11:45 AM: Lunch Break
1:00 PM: Live taping of Recode/Decode with Kara Swisher + guest Ilene Chaiken
+ 2:00 PM: The $1 Million Podcast
Kidding. You’re probably not going to make a million dollars. Or maybe you will. Hear from the women who are making it their business to turn a profit doing the thing they love. Expect juicy nuggets about CPMs and ROIs, and juicier nuggets about taking risks and finding hidden talent.
Presenters: Danielle Dana (Executive Director, Science Friday) + Jenna Weiss-Berman (Co-founder, Pineapple Street Media) / Moderator: Mandana Mofidi (Executive Director of Audio, Fusion Media Group)
+ 3:00 PM: Make Your Ads as Good as Your Shows
The people who listen to your show also have to listen to your ads. Make ‘em fun.
Presenter: Nazanin Rafsanjani (Creative Director, Gimlet Media) / Moderator: Josie Huang (Reporter, KPCC)
+ 3:45 PM: Pitch Time!
Several leading ladies in podcasting field your show ideas and tell you what they really think.
Presenters: N’Jeri Eaton (Senior Manager for Program Acquisition, NPR) + Kerri Hoffman (CEO, PRX) + Paula Szuchman (VP of On-Demand Content, WNYC Studios) + Jenna Weiss-Berman (Co-founder, Pineapple Street Media) / Moderator: Anayansi Diaz-Cortes (Independent Producer, Creator of KCRW's Sonic Trace)
7:30 PM: WNYC Studios and KCRW Present: Death, Sex & Money with guests Niecy Nash and Alia Shawkat (Podcast taping tickets sold seperately)
October 4: Werk It Second Stage
+ Werk It Presents: How I Make It
How I Make It brings together hosts and producers of your favorite podcasts in an intimate setting to reveal how they get their shows out the door. Expect candor and lots and lots of tape.
11:00 AM: Start-Up, with Lisa Chow
12:00 PM: The Daily, with Theo Balcomb
1:00 PM: Stuff Mom Never Told You, with Emilie Aries and Bridget Todd
2:00 PM: Another Round, with Tracy Clayton, Heben Nigatu, and Eleanor Kagan
3:00 PM: Making Oprah, with Jenn White and Tricia Bobeda
4:00 PM: Accused, with Amber Hunt
October 5: Werk It Main Stage
8:00 AM: Doors Open
9:00 AM: Keynote: Nina Jacobson in conversation with Erica WilLiams Simon
+ 9:30 AM: Creating Universes
A conversation with women who make fiction podcasts and non-fiction podcasts, about how to create strong characters and story lines that move your narrative forward.
Presenters: Lauren Shippen (Creator and producer, The Bright Sessions) + Cristal Duhaime (Producer, Love Me and Co-creator, Pen Pals) + Amber Hunt (Host, Accused) + Gisele Regatao (Creator, Celestial Blood)
+ 10:15 AM: Extreme Engagement
Your audience listens, but they can also talk.
Presenters: Manoush Zomorodi (Host, Note to Self) + Gretchen Rubin (Host, Happier) / Moderator: Karen Grigsby Bates (NPR Correspondent, Code Switch)
+ 11:00 AM: Don’t Point
We want our listeners to learn and be moved and see the world differently -- but what’s the line between those experiences and merely gawking at people different from ourselves?
Presenters: Rebecca Carroll (Editor for Special Projects, WNYC) + Nigel Poor (Producer and Co-host, Ear Hustle) + Kathy Tu (Host, Nancy) / Moderator: Aminatou Sow (Co-host, Call Your Girlfriend)
11:45AM: Lunch Break
+ 1:00 PM: Embedded Live, with Kelly McEvers
Kelly McEvers does a live performance of Embedded -- a podcast that takes a story from the news and goes deep.
+ 2:00 PM: Ask the Ethicist
What’s fair use? Do you need to get approval from Richard Simmons to do a podcast about Richard Simmons? Should you call a trans activist if you’re a doing a story on trans activism? A journalist and a lawyer tackle all your pod ethics questions.
Presenters: Evelyn Larrubia (Managing Editor, KPCC) + Nabiha Syed (Assistant General Counsel, BuzzFeed) / Moderator: Jenn White (Host, Making Oprah)
+ 2:45 PM: Question Everything
There are no rules in podcasting. So why is everyone telling us what we should do?
Presenters: Starlee Kine (Creator, Mystery Show) + Helen Zaltzman (Host, The Allusionist) / Moderator: Mary Harris (Reporter and Host, WNYC)
+ 3:30 PM: The Future of Love, Lust and Listening
The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives. Yet expectations and social norms are quickly shifting beneath our feet. A penetrating observer of cultural patterns, psychotherapist and podcast host Esther Perel explores the complicated and contradictory needs shaping relationships today, both intimate and professional, and teaches us how to listen more deeply to make thriving connections.
Presenter: Esther Perel (Host and Executive Producer, Where Should We Begin?)
+ 4:15 PM: This Is Not a Joke
Two very funny podcast hosts in conversation about how the funny can illuminate the serious.
Presenters: Lena Waithe (Writer, Producer, and Actress) + Maeve Higgins (Host, Maeve in America) / Moderator: Nora McInerny (Host, Terrible, Thanks for Asking)
7:oo PM: WNYC Studios and KPCC In Person Present: 2 Dope Queens with Guest Host Naomi Ekperigin (Podcast taping tickets sold seperately)
October 5: Werk It Second Stage
+ Werk It Presents: How I MaKe It
How I Make It brings together hosts and producers of your favorite podcasts in an intimate setting to reveal how they get their shows out the door. Expect candor and lots and lots of tape.