Building Podcast Communities That Show Up with Wendy Brant

On this episode of Poduty and the News, Jeff Revilla is joined by Wendy Brant, Director of Podfest Expo, to break down six stories from across podcasting, creator media, and live events. 

The conversation focuses on what happens when podcasters move beyond simply publishing episodes and start building communities that show up, participate, buy tickets, support creators, and create opportunities in the real world.

Jeff and Wendy discuss community building, live podcasting, audience growth, creator independence, monetization, event strategy, content repurposing, and long-term sustainability. Across all six stories, one question keeps coming up: are podcasters spending too much time trying to get more listeners when they should be creating more value for the listeners they already have?

Wendy Brant is the Director of Podfest Expo, one of the largest multimedia creator gatherings in the United States. 

She is also an experienced podcaster and creator who built a show that spent four consecutive years in Apple’s Top 150 Relationship & Family charts, generated more than 1.3 million downloads, and achieved rapid YouTube monetization. Through her work with Podfest Expo and her own creator experience, Wendy brings a practical perspective on audience growth, community, monetization, live events, creator burnout, and building a sustainable podcast brand.

Chapters In This Episode:

1. Legacy Lounge Takes the Podcast Into the Community
A local podcast in Steubenville, Ohio turned its mission into a real-world community event. The inaugural Legacy Lounge Community Cookout brought together more than 300 people for food, music, raffles, swimming, kids’ activities, and connections to local churches and nonprofits. The story opens a larger conversation about whether a podcast can be successful by becoming important to a local community, even without massive download numbers.

2. Goalhanger Turns a Podcast Network Into a Live Festival
Goalhanger brought 22 shows together for the first The Rest Is Fest at London’s Southbank Centre and sold 26,000 tickets over three days. Roughly 85% of attendees reportedly came specifically to see one particular podcast. Jeff and Wendy discuss what this says about passionate podcast communities, cross-promotion between shows, and how independent creators could apply the same model on a much smaller scale.

3. True Crime Meets Local History on the Live Podcast Stage
Crimes of the Centuries is partnering with the Butler County Historical Society for a live recording built around a late-19th-century local murder case. The event combines true crime, journalism, local history, audience Q&A, and a VIP ticket package. The story creates a discussion about local partnerships, audience expansion, premium experiences, and whether localization could become a smart touring strategy for podcasters.

4. Hayley Williams and Kathleen Hanna Turn a Live Conversation Into Evergreen Content
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame brought Paramore’s Hayley Williams together with Kathleen Hanna for a sold-out live edition of the Music Makes Us podcast. The conversation was later released as full-length video, extending the value of the original live event. Jeff and Wendy discuss how live podcast recordings can become podcasts, video, clips, social content, and evergreen media long after the audience leaves the room.

5. KUNC Turns a Local Life Story Into a Live Podcast Experience
KUNC’s In the NoCo brought public radio storytelling onto the stage at the Historic Park Theatre in Estes Park, Colorado. More than 100 people attended as Erin O’Toole interviewed restaurateur and former sponsored climber Melissa Strong about climbing, entrepreneurship, surviving a catastrophic electrical accident, recovery, and deciding to sell the restaurants she built. The story shows how strong interviewing and storytelling alone can create a compelling live podcast experience.

6. Bitch Talk Proves Independence Can Be a Long-Term Strategy
San Francisco’s Bitch Talk is approaching 1,000 episodes after 13 years of independent podcasting. Hosts Erin Lim and Angela Tabora have built the show around Bay Area culture, film, activism, and an Asian American perspective while largely self-funding the podcast through an annual fundraiser and occasional sponsorships. Their story leads into a bigger conversation about independence, authenticity, monetization, longevity, and what podcast success should actually mean.

These six stories represent very different versions of podcast success, from a local cookout serving more than 300 people to a major podcast festival selling 26,000 tickets. Together, they show how podcasters are turning audiences into communities, partnerships, events, content libraries, and sustainable opportunities.

For independent creators, the takeaway may be simple: success is not only about how many people press play. It is also about how deeply people care, whether they show up, and what you build together after they become part of the community.

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