Radiotopia is a podcast network founded by Roman Mars (host of 99% Invisible) and run by the Public Radio Exchange. The network is organized as a collective of some two dozen shows whose producers have complete artistic control over their work. Since its launch, podcasts in the network have been downloaded over 19 million times per month.
History Radiotopia, founded by Roman Mars, was launched in February 2014 with an initial group of seven shows: Jonathan Mitchell's The Truth, Lea Thau's Strangers, Benjamin Walker's Theory of Everything, Nick van der Kolk's Love and Radio, the Kitchen Sisters' Fugitive Waves (later renamed The Kitchen Sisters Present), Radio Diaries, and Roman Mars' own flagship show 99% Invisible. Without the support of traditional radio broadcasting, these independent producers banded together to instead target a growing audience of podcast listeners.
The podcast network was initially supported by a US$200,000 injection from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The network is run by the Public Radio Exchange (PRX) who described it as "somewhat like an independent record label". In October 2014 a Kickstarter campaign was started to support the growth of the network; it raised over US$600,000, making it the most-funded radio or podcast project on the site. This money allowed the network to expand, as well as add four new shows. In May 2015, the network received a further US$1 million from the Knight Foundation to fund more shows. In September of that year, Julie Shapiro was hired as Radiotopia's executive producer.
Around the time of Radiotopia's launch, the network's podcasts received around 900,000 downloads per month. This figure increased to 7.5 million by May 2015, 8.5 million in September 2015, 13 million as of June 2016, and more than 19 million times by the end of 2019. Within its first year, Radiotopia grew from seven to eleven shows, adding The Heart (formerly Audio Smut), Phoebe Judge's Criminal, Helen Zaltzman's The Allusionist, and The Mortified Podcast based on the popular international stage show and documentary series. Within the company's second year, Radiotopia adopted Hrishikesh Hirway's Song Exploder and Nate DeMeo's The Memory Palace from the Maximum Fun network, as well as Megan Tan's show Millennial; it has continued to add new shows to its roster ever since.
Podcasts
Timeline of shows
Current shows Radiotopia members include the following podcasts: TitleHost(s)GenreFirst episode airedAdult-ISHNyge Turner and Merk NguyenSociety and cultureAug 14, 2019Articles of InterestAvery TrufelmanClothingDec 8, 2018Ear HustleEarlonne Woods, Antwan Williams, Nigel PoorStorytellingJun 14, 2017Everything is AliveIan ChillagUnscripted FictionJul 16, 2018The HeartKaitlin PrestLove storiesJan 1, 2015HyperfixedAlex GoldmanProblem-solvingOctober 2, 2024The Kitchen Sisters PresentThe Kitchen SistersStorytellingFeb 3, 2014The Memory PalaceNate DiMeoHistoryNov 12, 2008MortifiedDave Nadelberg, Neil KatcherFirst-person storiesFeb 5, 2015Normal GossipKelsey McKinneyConversationJan 5, 2022Oprahdemics: The Study of the Queen of TalkKellie Carter Jackson, Leah Wright RigueurPopular historyMar 23, 2022Passenger ListKelly Marie TranFictionSep 16, 2019Radio DiariesJoe RichmanFirst-person storiesMay 16, 2013ShowcaseMultipleAnthologyAug 4, 2017Song ExploderHrishikesh HirwayMusicJan 1, 2014Theory of EverythingBenjamen WalkerConversationApr 19, 2013This DayJody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, Kellie Carter JacksonPolitical historyMar 31, 2020ZigZagManoush Zomorodi, Jen PoyantBusiness documentaryJun 14, 2018
Adult-ISH
Adult-ISH features interviews, storytelling and advice by and for people in their 20s. Hosts Nyge Turner and Merk Nguyen highlight topics central to their own lives, such as mental health, professional goals, personal identity, music, and relationships. The show debuted in 2018 through YR Media and partnered with Radiotopia for its second season.
Articles of Interest
Avery Trufelman's podcast Articles of Interest is about clothing, fashion, and power. Originally a miniseries appearing on 99% Invisible's podcast feed, it was given its own feed in December 2018 and publicly announced in March 2019. Its debut season put Articles of Interest on many best-podcast-of-the-year lists, including that of the BBC, Vulture, and The New Yorker. Its third season focuses on American ivy, and was highlighted in The New York Times best-of-year list.
Ear Hustle
Ear Hustle is a podcast about life inside prison, produced by two inmates at San Quentin State Prison, Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams, together with Nigel Poor, a Bay Area artist who volunteers at San Quentin. The show beat out 1,536 other entries to win Podquest – a 2016 contest organized by Radiotopia for new podcast ideas. The term "ear hustle" is prison slang for eavesdropping or being nosy. On November 21, 2018, Earlonne Woods' sentence was commuted, with Ear Hustle cited as a significant contributor to his reformation.
Everything is Alive
Everything is Alive is an unscripted interview show in which the host, Ian Chillag, interviews an actor inhabiting the role of a different inanimate object each episode. Interview "subjects" in the first season included a can of generic cola, a bar of soap, and a mousetrap. These interviews are punctuated by conversations between Chillag and a real person that further explore topics touched upon in the main interview. Before joining Radiotopia, Chillag was a producer on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! and Fresh Air, and had previously co-hosted the now-defunct podcast How to Do Everything.
The Heart
The Heart originally aired in Canada under the name Audio Smut. It changed its name when moving to Radiotopia in 2015. On December 8, 2017, it was announced that The Heart would not be producing new shows in 2018. After December 2017, the show took a hiatus while its producers made a serialized fiction podcast called The Shadows for the CBC in 2018. In 2019 producer Kaitlin Prest announced the founding of a new audio arts production company, Mermaid Palace, that will make shows in partnership with Radiotopia and the CBC, including a new season of The Heart, which launched in January 2020.
Hyperfixed
Hyperfixed is a podcast hosted by Alex Goldman. Each episode, Goldman and staff try to solve a listener-submitted question, ranging in seriousness from minor curiosity to major life decision.
The Kitchen Sisters Present
The Kitchen Sisters Present is a podcast produced by Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, who are collectively known as the Kitchen Sisters. They have had long careers in radio production, with shows like Hidden Kitchens, Lost & Found Sound, and The Hidden World of Girls. Their podcast, then called Fugitive Waves, was one of the founding members of Radiotopia. In it they present pieces from their archive of stories built up over their careers, which they describe as "stories from the flip side of history".
The Memory Palace
The Memory Palace is a monthly historical podcast hosted by Nate DiMeo. The Memory Palace moved to Radiotopia from the Maximum Fun network in 2016.
Mortified Mortified is a podcast based on the popular stage show of the same name. Both the podcast and the original show feature adults sharing things they wrote as teenagers, such as diaries, letters, and poems, that now seem embarrassing in retrospect. The show was started in Los Angeles by David Nadelberg in 2005, whence it spread to other cities. Nadelberg also turned the show into the book Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic. Together with Neil Katcher, he also created a documentary series, The Mortified Sessions, that ran on Sundance Channel for two seasons in 2011 and 2012, and a 2013 documentary movie, Mortified Nation. The podcast, which was also created by Nadelberg and Katcher, joined Radiotopia in 2015. Celebrity guests who have appeared on the Mortified podcast include Elijah Wood, Kate Micucci, Chvrches, Alison Brie, Alanis Morissette, and Busy Philipps.
Normal Gossip
Normal Gossip is a conversation podcast co-produced by Defector Media, hosted by Kelsey McKinney and produced by Alex Sujong Laughlin. Each episode explores an anonymized story of interpersonal drama alongside a celebrity guest.
Oprahdemics: The Study of the Queen of Talk
Each week, historians and longtime friends Kellie Carter Jackson and Leah Wright Rigueur dive deep into the cultural significance and contributions of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Discussion topics have included diets, the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Tyler Perry, Toni Morrison, and Oprah's Book Club.
Passenger List
A serialized fiction podcast starring Kelly Marie Tran in which a plane has disappeared mid-flight between London and New York with 256 passengers on board. Tran plays Kaitlin Le, a college student on a quest to discover the truth behind the missing aircraft. The first eight-episode season ran in the fall of 2019. A second season launched on May 10, 2021.
Radio Diaries
Radio Diaries Inc. is a production company started by Joe Richman in 1996. Richman and his staff give everyday people a tape recorder and ask them to record their daily lives, which is then edited to create an episode-length story. Richman's pieces have appeared on NPR's All Things Considered, and This American Life, and on BBC Radio. In 2013, Richman started the Radio Diaries podcast, as a showcase for his pieces. The podcast later became one of the founding members of Radiotopia.
Radiotopia Plus
In 2018 Radiotopia created a short-form exclusive podcast for its financial supporters. Each episode of Radiotopia Plus poses a question that each of the network's show hosts and producers answer.
Radiotopia Presents
In 2017 Radiotopia launched a podcast feed under the name Showcase after putting out an open call for new podcast proposals. From over 1,500 entries, four were chosen to run as limited series with weekly episodes all sharing the same podcast feed. After a successful run, four more limited series were chosen in 2018. In 2020 the feed was renamed Radiotopia Presents.
The series broadcast so far have been: Summer 2017: Damon Krukowski's six-episode treatise Ways of Hearing about how humans listen to music. Fall 2017: The Polybius Conspiracy, a fiction podcast about Polybius and other urban legends. Winter 2018: Secrets by Swedish producers Mohamed El Abed, Martin Johnson, and Åsa Secher, about the secrets people keep. Spring 2018: Errthang, by Al Letson and Willie Evans Jr. This is the second season of the podcast – the first season ran as an independent show. Summer 2018: The Great God of Depression by Karen Brown and Pagan Kennedy, a five-episode documentary about the author William Styron and his neurologist Alice Flaherty. Fall 2018: The Stoop, by Leila Day and Hana Baba, a four-episode series about stories regarding African Americans. Winter 2019: Spacebridge, by Julia Barton and Charles Maynes, a four-episode documentary about U.S.–Soviet Space Bridge. 2021: Blind Guy Travels by Matthew Shifrin, a 6-episode documentary about the experience of blindness. 2021: S***hole Country by Afia Kaakyire, an 8-episode memoir about her Ghanaian-American immigrant family. 2022: a hit dog will holler by Inda Craig-Galván, a 4-episode fiction drama about an African-American political podcaster facing backlash. 2022: My Mother Made Me by Jason Reynolds, a 4-episode memoir about his mother. 2023: Bot Love by Anna Oakes and Diego Senior, a 7-episode documentary about companion chatbots such as Replika and Woebot. 2024: Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative by Jess Shane, a 4-episode documentary about making documentaries. 2025: Red for Revolution by Jana Naomi Smith, a 6-episode fiction drama about queer Black women facing homophobia in 1971 and in the present day.