What is Podcasthon 2025 - and how can you take part?
Doug Downs from the Stories & Strategies PR and marketing podcast had a chance encounter with the organiser of Podcasthon…
Doug Downs: Jeremie, you and I met at Reagan airport. We were both catching a cab. We realized to the same hotel, got in and we exchanged pleasantries and all that stuff. You asked me what I do for a living. I said, I’m a podcast producer. I asked you what you’re doing and you gave me the most amazing answer. And after you told me about Podcasthon, I was like, can I get in on that? Tell me about Podcasthon what is this idea?
Jeremie Mani: It all started in France and French speaking countries. The idea is to convince as many podcasters as we can to dedicate one episode of their show to a charity of their choice. And that’s a very specific bond, an important point to do that in a coordinated effort altogether simultaneously to create a mass effect, to create a ripple effect of positive and inspiring audio content. So next March, probably around 1,500 podcasters worldwide will release one episode featuring a charity of their choice. So highlighting a cause that they care about, and they do that altogether. That’s what this Podcasthon is about, just to raise awareness. There is no money, a stake, no financial engagement. We just ask podcasters to offer the mic to their audience.
Doug Downs: That was my first question in the cab - what’s in it for you? And you were saying, look, I’ve just gotten to a point where I can do this. Briefly, tell me about the first Podcasthon, you mentioned it was in France, the first iteration and how it went.
Jeremie Mani: Yeah, I’m a French Italian living in Montreal in Canada. And it was easier for me to start with my French network. So we had this idea in mind. We were not sure it was a good idea. So we started to talk about that with a few French, speaking from French podcasters. And then somehow we fine tuned the formula with them. The first edition took place in March, 2023 with 300 podcasters at the time, which was quite a nice surprise because we were expecting maybe a hundred maximum for our first edition. And there was a wave, a sheer wave of enthusiasm. It was great energy with this first edition. So we decided to keep on and have a second one to open it to French speaking countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, Québec in Canada. And now we are starting to extend it to English speaking, podcasting podcasters. So in the us, in UK, in Australia and the rest of Canada for sure, and many, many other countries.
Doug Downs: And you have a website Podcasthon.org, so you can start to see some of the interest that you’re generating within the podcast industry. How’s it going?
Jeremie Mani: So far, so good. It’s a great surprise. I can give you the figures. We have exceeded my son of 1000 podcasters, 1,100 something coming from more than 40 countries so far. Well, most of them are just with one or two podcasters, but the bulk of it is coming from us. US the first is the first provider of podcasters now is over 300 and something than France and UK. So it’s a great surprise to see that and relief too, because we were not sure about the successes of this initiative elsewhere than in French speaking countries. So yeah, a lot of enthusiasm from fellow podcasters in US, in UK and Australia, in South Africa, in many countries. We have podcasters from New Zealand, from everywhere in the world. So that’s really amazing. And every day many more are coming in average, 15 per day, new restaurant. So that’s great. And probably we will exceed the 1500 podcasters in March.
Doug Downs: Fantastic. And that’s what podcasters can do right now is go to the Podcasthon website and register. And that’s simply indicating I’m going to do this third week of March 2025, right?
Jeremie Mani: Exactly. That’s a very straightforward process. It takes probably 90 seconds, just have as a podcasters to fill the form, giving us information about the name of your podcast, your cover. You just have to upload your cover, a few details about your podcast and also, for example, your social networks. A short description, the one you can have on Spotify or Apple Podcast. You don’t have to figure out something different. And from there, we will display your cover and your details on our website. So anyone now can see that public list or registered podcast podcasters or they are all there either in French or in English. You can choose and you have the full list and we will be pleased to have yours.
Doug Downs: Perfect. And I mean we’ve seen this on social media, right? You and I are both in Canada and for example, there’s Bell Let’s Talk Day, which is a mental health awareness day, and everyone gets on X or gets on Instagram and they use the same hashtag. And different countries have different variations of that. With podcasts, it’s a little bit different. I like to think of social media as wide, but not very deep, right? Because you spend a few seconds at most engaging. Podcasts, maybe not quite as wide, but awfully deep because people are having 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 minute conversations. Why does it work for podcasts, do you think?
Jeremie Mani: Yeah, I mean, we figured out that podcasting is probably the best medium to convey emotion, to tell stories. I mean, you guys podcast are great storytellers, and that’s on the one hand. And on the other hand, all those charities, wherever in the world they are, whatever the causes they are supporting could be very large NGO to a very local charity, they all need to connect with a large origins. They all need to enlarge their circle of supporters. And when I’m saying supporters, I mean potential future donators, potential future volunteers or whatever else. And we know, and it doesn’t, I mean, when you’re asking for donation, it’s really rare that anyone is saying, okay, yes, I will do it right now. Especially if you don’t know the charity. It takes time to check if it’s a serious charity or to connect emotionally with this charity. So through a podcast episode, and as you said, it could be one hour, I mean, you have one hour of nuance speech of you can go into details, you can introduce your challenges, you can introduce whatever you’re doing on the ground and of the day. At the end of the episode, if you’re listeners, something will remain a memory, an immersion, and the next time you will hear about this charity, or maybe because you would have subscribed on their social networks or on their newsletter, you would be much more connected and maybe keen to either donate or share the content or why not becoming a volunteer. So that’s what I’m saying when I’m saying enlarging the circle of supporter and they need that.
Doug Downs: Third week of March. Any podcaster, any charity, charity of your choice, any format. A lot would be interview format, but it doesn’t have to be it. It could be solo stories. For example, I’ve lost both my best friend and my mom to cancer. My charity of choice is going to be cancer. We’ll do an interview, but it could be a solo episode telling those stories.
Jeremie Mani: Yeah, exactly. So that would be the 15th of March, mid-March from the 15th of March to the 21st, a span of seven days during which any podcaster can relieve their episodes. Could be. So Monday or Tuesday, whatever the day you pick up. And yeah, the format is completely up to the podcasters. Most of the time it’s an interview with a representative of a charity, but we are open to any kind of format. You mentioned a solo mic, could be also an audio report. We had that a few times during the first edition, meaning you take your mic and you go directly on the ground, a charity, and then you interview people there and you’re mixing just like you would do on the radio, for example. So any, as you understood the concept is to raise awareness on charity and you can unleash your creativity. You can do whatever your talent is, do whatever you think is best for you as podcaster and for the charity you want to promote.
Doug Downs: Thanks for your time, Jeremy. I’m glad we shared that cab.
Jeremie Mani: My pleasure.
Listen
This page contains automated links to Apple Podcasts. We may receive a commission for any purchases made.
