On Air Fest Adds New Speakers; Expands Program

On February 19-21, 2025, On Air Fest returns to Brooklyn for its biggest year yet: three days, four nights and six locations, presenting 80+ live performances and podcast tapings, exhibitions and multi-sensory experiences, intimate talks and interactive workshops to level up skills and more. Thousands of creators and creative professionals working in audio, visual and new media will all come together as part of the annual event’s most dramatically expanded line up to date, and today, On Air Fest announces its next wave of featured talent.

From artists to industry leaders to the influential voices defining the medium, each session will be focused on the ways in which audio is being used to shift culture, build brands, and shape the future of storytelling, social media and self-expression. Taking over multiple floors at its returning headquarters of the Wythe Hotel, as well as first-time locations like the 15,000 square-foot Creator Hall at XXV, iHeartPodcasts’ Official Party at 74 Wythe, music and arts venue National Sawdust, and Dolby88's VIP theater for film screenings, On Air Fest’s 2025 Lineup now includes:

• Dan Taberski on the making of his breakout hit, Hysterical (Wondery & Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios), named Apple Podcasts’ Show of The Year and TIME’s #1 Podcast of 2024.
• A keynote conversation from tech and culture journalist Taylor Lorenz, about media’s new mainstream, the creator economy, and power.
• A creator session with Kareem Rahma, of SubwayTakes and Keep The Meter Running.
• Acclaimed musician, mystic and new age legend Laraaji, leading the audience in a guided laughter meditation.
• Live podcasts of Wondery’s Lemme Say This with Peyton Dix and Hunter Harris, Slate’s Death, Sex & Money with Anna Sale, SiriusXM’s Vibe Check with Sam Sanders, Saeed Jones, and Zach Stafford, NPR’s It’s Been a Minute with Brittany Luse, TED’s How to Be a Better Human with Chris Duffy, Pushkin’s Broken Record with Justin Richmond and a musical guest, and WaitWhat’s Pioneers of AI, where Dr. Rana el Kaliouby will demonstrate the making of an AI clone, and consider the applications and philosophical implications of “digital twins” in the real world.
• NPR’s Throughline will present cinematic soundscapes, Twenty Thousand Hertz’s Dallas Taylor will deliver a workflow workshop, The Atlantic’s Hanna Rosin and Lauren Ober will conduct an “Anatomy of a Scene,” Craig Finn and Jody Avirgan will debut their brand new Talkhouse Network podcast in an exclusive first-look, and Elliot Krimsky and Benjamin Louis Brody will perform and discuss Shared Spaces, a musical exploration of collective loss and memory.
• Maria Garcia (My Divo, Anything for Selena) and Maria Hinojosa (Latino USA) will host a conversation about journalism “with heart,” while Jonathan Hirsch (VP of Creative, Global Podcasts, Sony Music) and Catherine Saint Louis (Executive Editor of Podcasts, Sony Music) will discuss the key strategies to developing compelling narrative series that hook audiences, such as those from Sony Music’s flagship True Crime network, The Binge.

Previously revealed programming ranges from SNL’s James Austin Johnson and Jokermen to The Kid Mero’s Victory Light Podcast, Alex Goldman of Hyperfixed and Reply All, Design Matters’ Debbie Millman, Modern Love’s Anna Martin, Radiolab creator Jad Abumrad, The New York Times’ Jenna Wortham, Snap Judgment’s Anna Sussman and many more, as well as KCRW and On Air Fest’s inaugural KCRWWW – a pop up radio lounge that will live-stream music, talks and sonic experiments, free and open to the public through a dedicated microsite.

Learn more about On Air Fest 2025 and buy tickets.

Exact schedule details will be announced in the coming weeks – as well as more lineup additions from media and programming partners at NASA, WNYC, WBUR, Talkhouseand Radiotopia/PRX, and presenting sponsors such as iHeartPodcasts, Patreon, Dolby, ESPN 30 for 30, PAVE Studios, Shure and Bumper. But it all begins on February 19th, with the On Air Fest Podcast Business Summit. Co-presented by Bloomberg and reporter Ashley Carman, the invite-only gathering of business, tech, advertising and publishing executives will explore and forecast the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities.

Then, the rest of On Air Fest will open its doors to all, to dive even deeper into the worlds of creativity, innovation, philosophy and technology, and how audio is impacting creative arts and live entertainment at large. Attendees will also have the opportunity to join networking breakfasts, happy hours and parties, pitch projects and ideas to executive decision makers, meet collaborators, and record and share their own audio and video content in pop-up spaces on-site.