Damien Maloney
Roman Mars thinks public radio needs a tune-up. His popular design podcast, 99% Invisible , was a start, but Mars’ plan for total airwave domination relies on Radiotopia, the podcast collective he founded last year with public media company PRX. Radiotopia provides funding, support, and promotion for a stable of indie podcasts (shows like Love + Radio, Strangers, and Criminal ) that specialize in narrative journalism. Mars wants to broaden the radio landscape, making shows that aren’t bound by NPR’s conventions—Radiotopia shows tend to feature hosts speaking softly, so close to the mic that it’s like they’re in your head. This month Radiotopia launches its second season with four new series in its lineup. Mars himself listens to more than 50 podcasts, but he says there’s room for the collective to grow even bigger.
You call Radiotopia a label. Like a record label?
Exactly. Growing up, I bought everything on Dischord Records. I didn’t love everything that Dischord Records put out, but I knew it had a point of view and represented an ideal. Also, Dischord was responsible. I want Radiotopia to be like that.
Responsible?
I want to do better for our creators. One of the things that drove me crazy as a public-radio creator was that I was always a contractor. So 99% invisible provides subsidized insurance for the people we work with. I couldn’t get a radio station to cover health care for 10 years. But during our Kickstarter in 2013, the listeners covered it instantly.
Another thing is that we want a diversity of perspectives. Public radio is a bunch of white people, and the on-air personalities are predominantly men. That’s unacceptable. So we created a pilot fund to help bring more people in. The idea is to get people involved who aren’t already in public radio. If we don’t do this right, we’re going to lose them.
But there’s been huge growth recently in new shows, right?
It’s an effect of more people listening to podcasts. Those listeners hear these new shows—many made by people without formal experience—and realize that it’s a path they could take.
Most of the shows I listen to sound professional, though.
Yeah, the other type of people getting into podcasting right now are radio professionals drawn to it because they see that they can do it without having to deal with all the bullshit of a station or NPR or whatever.
So do you think this is a podcast renaissance?
Not really. There hasn’t been a real spike in podcasts’ popularity so much as long, steady growth in listenership. But there is a moment happening right now. One piece of that is Serial , which is clearly doing something big and different. Another piece is that Ira Glass was on The Tonight Show and he was talking about podcasts. That’s huge.
How do you see your relationship with your audience? You’re in people’s heads.
It’s weird, but I love the closeness that people feel to me and to my show. Public radio once cornered the market on the closeness. Listening to NPR became the definition of who you were. And podcasting is a hundredfold more intense than that. Podcast listeners are so, so dedicated. Radio stations have been unresponsive to podcasts up to this point because the raw numbers just don’t add up for them. But the thing they don’t get is that one podcast listener is worth 10,000 radio listeners. The personal connection is major.
Why is that? Do people listen to podcasts in a different way than they listen to radio?
Yes. People typically listen to podcasts by themselves, often with earbuds. It’s right there in their ears. It’s not playing over speakers at the bar. And even more important, it’s totally the multitasking medium. We’re in a world now where you have something to do at all times, and podcasts are available for you all the time, on demand.
Does that change how you make your show?
Absolutely. I know that people are doing something else while they’re listening to me. It affects how I write my work, the rhythm of it. I feel like podcasting is the perfect medium for right now because everybody’s attention span is divided. If I made a print article, people would have to only read the print article. If I made a video, people would have to only watch the video. But I get to make media that’s perfectly oriented for the modern world—you can wash your dishes to it.
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