You are (probably) missing out on non-English podcasts. Let's talk about it!
Eurowaves #12
Hey podcasters,
Language differences will always be on my agenda when it comes to European podcasting. As much as there are challenges posed because of this, I am choosing to look at the opportunities. Audio lovers are craving great storytelling from beyond their borders, local and global events are aiming to close the gap, and language lovers have a drive to use different media formats to grow their language skills. In this issue, we’re getting into it again.
What’s the last podcast you listened to that wasn’t in English or your native language? If you haven’t yet, what would encourage you to?
In other news, it’s almost time for The Podcast Show! I’ll be speaking on European collaboration in podcasting on Wednesday at 16h in the International Lounge. Last call - if you’re planning on coming, reply to this email and let’s set a time to meet! Jamit is giving away 7 FREE TICKETS for European podcasters. You can also use the Eurowaves discount code: EW10 for 10% off on your tickets.
And now, some European news, courtesy of Podnews:
🇪🇺: The EBU released a proposal for five key principles for a code of practice for the use of AI by tech companies in news reporting.
🇫🇷: Sports Social has launched five shows into the French podcast market.
🇸🇪: PodX Group is to acquire Lemonada Media. The Swedish company already owns a number of podcast production houses across the world.
🇩🇪: Wondery has done its first podcast distribution and monetisation deal. Two podcasts have joined the network - Zum Scheitern Verurteilt and 50+2 - Der Fussballpodcast mit Nico & Niklas.
Eurowaves Update ☘️
Since the last issue, we have…
…+30 new subscribers.
Please share with your network to keep the community growing! My goal is to reach a community of 1,500 podcasters this year.
If you are interested in advertising in Eurowaves, reply to this or email me at andreea.coscai@gmail.com.
Czech Radio and Beyond, with Audio Documentarist Martina Pouchlá 🇨🇿
Martina Pouchlá works as a spoken-word editor at Czech Radio. Her documentaries have received awards, including the Prix Bohemia or Åke Blomström Award and have been nominated for the Prix Europa. She founded AudioCafé, a collective listening project at Masaryk University. She´s based in Brno, the Czech republic.
You can connect with Martina on LinkedIn and read the full interview here.
Share with us a general image of the podcasting landscape in the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic is a small market that lags behind the global one. It is a bit of a paradox, as Prague was home to the world’s second continuously broadcasting radio station. Still, the podcast boom eventually reached us, though it seems its peak has already passed.
Traditional chatcasts and interview formats remain the most popular, with true crime, personalities, news, and lifestyle topics leading the charts. Many companies now use podcasts as a tool for internal communication or content marketing. Nearly every major print or audiovisual outlet has a podcast extension, and influencers are leveraging their audiences through audio.
Personally, I love distinctive audio formats that do not rely solely on the spoken word, but instead draw from a broader expressive palette, from reportage and real life situations to intentional use of silence and ambient sound. That is why I am pleased to see small pockets of documentary podcasts starting to emerge.
Most often, these are created by nonprofit organizations or individuals connected to or trained by Czech Radio. With over a century of history, Czech public radio has accumulated immense craft expertise. It remains a leader in its field, producing podcast formats that are rarely found elsewhere, including fiction series, sound experiments, and educational series.
What do you think audio can do across language boundaries that other kinds of media cannot?
I work almost exclusively in Czech, with Arabic appearing only occasionally, as in my current short project for THE ECCO. In fact, I see the language barrier as a major weakness of the European audio scene. Non-English podcasts are practically invisible, or rather inaudible, on the global market.
I personally follow the audio documentary segment, and I am always curious to encounter work by colleagues from other countries, especially at shared showcases like the EBU Audio Storytelling Festival, Prix Europa, and others. These are spaces where both linguistic and geographic boundaries fall away. We get to hear work in most European languages, usually accompanied by English subtitles.
Huge thanks go to Eleanor McDowall, who makes non-English language pieces accessible on RadioAtlas dot org with English subtitles. That platform makes such work available to anyone. Otherwise, it is incredibly difficult to access audio from neighboring countries unless you already speak the language or go out of your way to translate it using autogenerated subtitles. That is a significant investment of time and energy. Not to mention, listening in a foreign language while reading subtitles requires a high level of focus, which many of us struggle with in today’s distracted world.
I am convinced that, not only in the Czech Republic, there have been and still are plenty of fascinating projects with innovative potential that reaches far beyond our national borders. But they simply do not stand a chance of reaching a global audience. More than once I have come across praise for a groundbreaking English language podcast and thought to myself, “Wait, we did something just like this years ago.”
…Read the full interview here.
🎙️🌍What I’ve been listening to🌍🎙️
Before we get into this issue’s recommendations, I wanted to share a couple of podcasts I was recently a guest on: Catch me in the latest episode of WePod's Sounds Like Europe where Javi Caminero and I talk about the US and European podcasting markets. Many thanks to Mișcarea SENS and Miclea Alex as well for the invitation to Podcast cu Sens!
P.S. Wish us, Romanians, good luck with this weekend’s elections.
Brown Way To Money - Money Talks for Women of Color Entrepreneurs
Alejandra has built an incredible global community of women of color entrepreneurs. She created a financial mentoring platform, and alongside it, a podcast packed with invaluable resources and powerful human stories made to inspire. A few episodes I listened to are How to Scale An Audience When Time and Money Are Limited? and What Mindset Shifts Help Me Achieve Financial Independence Without Guilt? I highly recommend checking out this podcast for life advice and lessons from remarkable women, if you are an entrepreneur and equally if you’re not. Keep an eye on the newsletter. You might just catch an interview with her in an upcoming issue!
The emotional rollercoaster I was on listening to this! It’s a queer love story of two men in Lithuania who have been in love for 52 years. As the memory of Albinas starts to fade, Vitalius recounts their love story. It’s full of sweet, candid moments, societal and historical struggles, and above all, resistance and love conquering all. I have to say that, given that it’s in Lithuanian with English captions on screen, focusing was difficult. A live listening event completely changes that energy, and I hope we find ways to maintain that interest in our personal listening time. It was recommended by my friend Ana Maria Praviceanu, sound artist and creative director of Semi Silent. It’s an audio documentary piece from Lithuania that was the winner of the Prix Europa European Audio Documentary of the Year 2024 and featured at the EBU Audio Storytelling Festival 2024.
Listening to more pieces in different languages is an occasion to practice my French skills, and this podcast is a lovely way to do it. It’s about love, and the series I started listening to, Anatomie d’une dispute, is all about the power of female friendship which can turn into a feminist friendship, and how that can help us be better participants in society, and better people overall. The sound design is beautiful, the writing is sensitive and quirky, and the input of expert professionals jumping in is a very nice touch.
P.S. Please, pretty please, add transcripts to your podcast. It’s crucial for accessibility, and it will make life so much easier for those trying to listen in other languages.
🇬🇪Podcasts from Georgia🇬🇪
Tamuna Chkareuli is a journalist and photographer who, as of last year, ventured into audio production. She is based in Sakartvelo, also known as Georgia, where she work at Project 64, a local media outlet that values creative freedom.
With nearly a decade of episodes, this is likely Georgia’s longest running podcast, hosted by journalist and pop culture enthusiast Niko Nergadze. Published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, it covers everything from celebrity feuds to summer nostalgia playlists. With guests ranging from artists to chefs, there is never a dull moment in the Nikoverse.
ეს ათწლიანი პოდკასტი ალბათ საქართველოში ყველაზე ხანგრძლივია. წამყვანი ნიკო. ნერგაძე, ჟურნალისტი და პოპკულტურის მოყვარული, გიყვებათ ყველაფერზე, მუსიკოსების დაპირისპირებებიდან, საზაფხულო ნოსტალგიის ფლეილისტებამდე. სტუმარსაც ყველანაირს მოუსმენთ, ხელოვანებს, შეფ-მზარეულებს, მოგზაურებს. მოკლედ, ნიკოვერსში მოსაწყენი ეპიზოდი არ არსებობს.
Full disclosure: I work at Project 64 as an audio producer and have co-produced eight episodes of this show. Piradi Sakme (Personal File), hosted by Maka Antidze, explores recent history and the people shaping it—world leaders, journalists, activists, and more. With the clarity of a former Reuters reporter and the flair of an art lover, Maka delivers complex stories in a compelling biweekly format.
რა დასამალია და, ამ პოდკასტის რვა ეპიზოდზე მეც ვიმუშავე, როგორც პროექტ 64-ის. აუდიო პროდიუსერმა. პირადი საქმის წამყვანი მაკა ანთიძე უახლესი ისტორიის. საკვანძო მომენტებსა და ადამიანებზე გვიყვება, მსოფლიო ლიდერებზე, აქტივისტებსა და ჟურნალისტებზე, თანამედროვეობის ყველაზე კონტროვერსიულ ფიგურებზე. მაკა ამბავს ქარიზმატულად და თანმიმდევრულად ჰყვება, როგორც. როიტერსის ყოფილ კორესპონდენტისა და ხელოვნების მოყვარულს შეეფერება.
A veteran of Georgian podcasting, this history show boasts over 160 episodes covering everything from ancient Rome to the historical context of the Alien movies. Most valuable, though, is its deep dive into Georgian history—a complex tale of cultural crossroads and ongoing struggles for independence. Hosted by historian Nika Khoperia, the show brings in experts to fill the gaps many of us missed in school.
“მწარე პოდკასტი” ქართული პოდკასტინგის კიდევ ერთი ვეტერანია, უკვე 160-ზე. მეტ ეპიზოდს ითვლის და ძირითადად ისტორიაზე გვიყვება - ყველაფერზე ანტიკური. რომიდან, “უცხოს” კინოსაგის ისტორიულ გავლენებამდე. თუმცა ჩემთვის ყველაზე. ფასეული მაინც საქართველოს ისტორიის ეპიზოდებია. ისტორიკოსი ნიკა ხოფერია. პოდკასტში ექსპერტებს ესაუბრება, რომ ყოფილ უყურადღებო მოსწავლეებს. ისტორიული განათლების დანაკლისი შეგვივსოს.
Thank you for sharing, Tamuna!
You can connect with her on LinkedIn here.
🚀Events and Opportunities🚀
This issue has two bonus opportunities! Check out the international Dig Awards below and get your tickets to the International Women's Podcast Awards ceremony! It will be held on June 17 at the BBC Radio Theater in London. You can also grab livestream tickets. I was honored to be a part of the judging panel this year!
Meet fellow podcasters, share tips, and grow your community at this podcast industry meetup. Full details and speakers coming soon. I’ll be there moderating a panel on European podcasting!
When? June 3, 2025.
NTR Podcastprijs (Belgium and The Netherlands)
A prize for young creators under 30 from Belgium and the Netherlands for works in Dutch or Flemish. The form of the audio piece is completely free. Ten podcasts will be nominated; the prizes include professional recording equipment, a visit to the Prix Europa in Berlin or a masterclass by the NPO fund.
When? Submit by May 30.
Audionomia Awards (Poland)
Free-to-enter awards celebrating Polish non-fiction audio reportage. There are two awards, the Audionomia Award (PLN 10,000 prize) and the Audionomia Sound Design Award (PLN 5000 prize). Entries must not exceed 50 minutes in length.
When? Submit by May 31.
The Dig Awards (International)
International awards for investigative journalism in video or audio formats. The category is open to works in Italian, English, Spanish and French, but French and Spanish entries require an English translation. The festival will take place 14th - 28th September in Modena, Italy. Entries cost €50.
When? Submit by June 1st.