Podcast Corner: Crimes and creatures rule at Cork’s first podcast fest

When it comes to podcasting, all it takes is one idea — and who knows where it can take you. The first Cork Podcast Festival took place across various venues in the city over the weekend, the idea being that fans could put names to the voices they hear every week on their favourite series.

One wonders if Blindboy knew his idea for a podcast would turn into the phenomenon it has since become after debuting in October 2017.

He sells out venues, such as Cork Opera House on Sunday, with ease — his guest was Collie Ennis, who had been seen earlier in the day at the Crawford, alongside spiders and creepy-crawlies, for his own podcast, The Critter Shed. It’s the nature class you wish you had in school.

West Cork podcast headlined the Opera House the previous night. The 13-episode series had examined the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in 1996 — on Saturday, creators Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde picked up where they left off.

They travelled over to Paris earlier this year for the trial in absentia of Ian Bailey and, over the course of about an hour on Saturday, they tell the story of what seemed like a farcical trial.The duo stand stage left reading from a script, interspersed with sound clips, while a cellist adds atmospherics.

Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde of the West Cork podcast at Cork Opera House. Picture: Shane J Horan

It is as riveting and compelling as the series itself . The second part of the night is a conversation between Bungey and Forde hosted by myself.

The Irish Examiner’s Ask Audrey sashayed onto the Kino stage for something completely different, ano-holds-barred, rollicking mid-afternoon slapdown.

It was one of many live debuts by podcasters over the weekend. Another such example was Jo Linehan, a journalist and co-founder of GAFF Interiors, who hosts The Futurist podcast. Linehan is an easygoing interviewer, a chat with the Burren Perfumery’s Sadie Chowen delving into the world of sustainability.

The Alison Spittle Show (Friday, The Kino) was a rip-roaring affair, though her guest, food writer Lilly Higgins, stole the show, dropping hilarious quips and one-liners. The crowd left hoping Higgins has her own idea for a podcast.