From Investigative Formats to Intimate Testimonies. Podcasts offer a wide range of approaches
The last day of the festival made space for the youngest category with the fourth edition Podcast competition kicking off in the early morning. The debates were hosted by Anna Vošalíková of Czech Radio. This year’s new feature was the extension of voting for the audience award for the best podcast to listeners online, not just those present in Olomouc.
Unlike other festival days and categories, the podcast section did not only include listening and discussions, but also active presentations by the creators and their teams. Each production was given 10 minutes, followed by questions from the expert jury and the audience.
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After a brief introduction of the expert jury, the first podcast Odposlech was presented by its co-creators Petr Gojda and Jiří Slavičinský. The investigative podcast addresses major international cases and is founded on a collaboration between podcasters and journalists from the investigace.cz portal. Questions from the jury focused mainly on the promotion and distribution of the podcast, as well as selection of topics.
Crime Prevention
The second podcast up for presentation was the true-crime Kriminálka, introduced by its author Mirek Vaňura. He highlighted the podcast’s three main goals, namely raising the visibility of the work of the Czech Police, preventing crime, and deterring people from committing them. In his presentation he emphasised in particular ethical aspects of the podcast, including protecting witnesses and the bereaved.
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The third competition entry was Stoupenci, introduced by its authors Damián Machaj and Vít Kubant. Their presentation outlined the main intention of the podcast and the process of its creation.
Ivana Veselková's question then focused on the authentic recordings of the sect leader Richard Schiffer himself, which appeared in the piece. According to Machaj and Kubant the recordings came from a covert source and could only be published after court proceedings, which, paradoxically, took place on the same day the podcast was published.
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The penultimate podcast of the morning block, Sirény, was personally presented by authors Linda Bartošová, Aneta Martínková and Hana Řičicová. Their presentation was fresh, witty and light-hearted, full of short extracts that illustrated the style and tone of their work. They emphasised their feminist perspective, the importance of building a community and the effort to break stereotypes in a male-dominated media space.
The morning block concluded with the presentation of the podcast Vinohradská 12: EXTRÉM, a special spin-off series about political extremism. Kristýna Vašíčková and Jaroslav Pokorný described how the Vinohradská 12 team works, how topics are selected and the podcast‘s recording process. They revealed that although there will be no third series of EXTRÉM, the team is planning further special episodes and new thematic series.
Breaking Taboos with Sound
Following the energetic morning session, the competition day transitioned into the afternoon, the session kicking off with the podcast Oh My Hot.
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The project, focusing on erotic audio stories that reflect a female perspective and inclusivity, was very well received. Creator Hana Kuncová emphasised that up to 70 percent of women prefer audio over visual erotica, and that this very fact influenced her decision to create content that is high-quality, ethical and sensitive.
The discussion also touched on monetisation of audio stories, translation into foreign languages, and working with non-actors—bringing spontaneity and authenticity.
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The podcast Urgent, by Ondřej Vaňura and Martin Pařízek, focused on the work of medical staff in the ER at Motol Hospital. The creators introduced the key objectives of the production, which were to bring closer the challenging work of frontline healthcare workers, raise awareness and popularise the topic. They also addressed the difficulties and unpredictability of interviewing healthcare proffesionals and ethical aspects of recording in a hospital environment.
In contrast, the podcast Slast (Pleasure) by Linda Bartošová and Veronika Ruppert, opened up the theme of female intimacy and sexuality in the Czech public-service sphere. The presentation also touched on the visual accompaniment and bonus content of the podcast, with much discussion about sex education in elementary and secondary schools.
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The second to last production, titled Akce: Výbuch, told the dramatic story of the explosion in Vrbětice in 2014 and the subsequent court proceedings. Among other things, the presentation focused on interviews with witnesses and former President Miloš Zeman.
The closing podcast of this year’s festival was Cobain, which reflects the life of Kurt Cobain and his unmistakable mark in pop culture. The final podcast discussion addressed, for example, the complications of using music in podcasts and working with sources.
And what about the student jury?
At the end of the final listening day, Iva Jonášová, the guarantor of the Podcast competition category, took the stage and explained how the winning podcasts would be evaluated. This year, the jury focused not only on content, but also on visual aspects, reach, audience response, and creativity.
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The student jury then took the floor and presented their criteria, which differed from those of the expert jury. The students placed particular emphasis on the auditory form of the podcasts, the use of narrative, and the communication of the topic. According to them, third place went to Vinohradská 12: EXTRÉM, second place to Stoupenci, and the final winner was Oh my hot for its innovative format and sound and spoken form.
The author of the original Czech article is a member of the student editorial board of the Prix Bohemia Radio website.
