Bear Radio: Berlin audio network wants to ‘elevate the calibre of German podcasting’

When Jill Beytin arrived in Berlin in 2014 to study a Masters she was surprised to see how little podcasting, diversity, and English radio existed in the gray city.

The Californian says she was raised by “liberal hippie parents” who had the radio glued to NPR. After uni, Jill worked in New Zealand before bouncing between Berlin and Washington D.C., where she eventually got to work with NPR’s famous All Things Considered.

After consulting with the German radio industry she realised there seemed to be a genuine lack of interest in innovating, no desire for diverse voices, or wish to attract new audiences.

By 2017 Jill thought this was a gap worth filling, so she teamed up with producer and personality Julia Joubert and founded Bear Radio.

“We started having [podcast] meet-ups and then very quickly people were like ‘can you help us make stuff?’ So we started to do workshops and we started making our own in-house shows”, Jill says.

In the five years since the team have taken leaps and bounds — they now even have a ‘label’ of curated, mostly European, shows that support one another. But still, Jill says the Berlin scene has a long way to go.

“There’s nowhere here to incubate a podcast idea. There’s also no money in it, which is something we’re still working on”, Jill said.

“Our goal is to elevate the calibre of podcasting that’s coming out of Germany. We’ve been working with a lot of people to help them tell their story, and realise that their stories matter”.

Part of raising the profile of podcasting in Berlin is hosting live events. I’m lucky to be collaborating with these guys for a show in Berlin. If you’re nearby why not come down and meet some like-minded audio friends?

When: Sunday 28 August, 6pm

Where: Noisy Rooms (Room 8) at Revaler Str. 99

With special guests from the Bear Radio network.

Tickets are €5 on the door — register to reserve your spot hereie