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Hi friends! The incredible Michal is off this week, so you’re getting a fun little roundup from me instead. I’m Ren, a Vocal Fry Vancouverite and one of our resident witchy producers (there are dozens of us! Well, there are at least two). And this weekend was big news for the witchy-minded.

Except it’s not just May – this past weekend was May Day, otherwise known as Beltane, the festival of spring (extra shout out to April 30, spookily known as Witches’ Night). Those who celebrate may have bonfires, tend to their gardens, or partake in rituals meant to put the winter to rest and welcome in the warmer months. It’s a whole set of May Pole, flower-crown, Midsommar-esque shenanigans (or Wicker Man-esque, if you’re freaky).

As if that’s not enough, the astrologers of the world will tell you that we have had some truly wild situations happening in the heavens. We’re currently between two eclipses, and Mercury is on its way into another retrograde. Hold on to your horoscopes, folks!

What all this represents is that it’s a spring full of chaos, for better and for worse. I think we can all see a bit of both unfolding in our lives and on our social media feeds these days. Our national astrology hero Chani Nicholas says it’s time to make like a seedling bursting out of the soil and reach for the stars. Wow, tall seedling!

But also, if you are a tired sprout like me, it’s okay to take a little extra time on the journey out into the world. There’s lots of work to collectively do, but it’s important to care for ourselves along the way!

Speaking of work: May 1 is also International Workers Day, also known as Labour Day. What better time than the season of renewal to remember our working history? Workers’ rights are still in contention and still in need of collective action. If you find yourself full of that seedling energy, it’s a great time to remember your rights and find ways to support yourself and your colleagues. And of course, freelancers have rights, too! Never forget!

So, witches, workers, podcasters and friends – let’s take a deep breath and dive into the chaos together.

If all this disruption has you feeling like our dear Florence above, know that we are right here with you. Times are weird and hard right now for a lot of us. If you can, remember to take a break from Twitter and take a deep breath and stretch from time to time. Your health (mental, physical, emotional) matters!

What else is top of mind this week:

Our very own Katie Jensen found an excellent example of good host practices in Emma Chamberlain at the Met Gala – check out this behind-the-scenes video.

Emma says: “I really like to pass it off to the people who are professionals at this stuff, and also include them in the process rather than telling them, "This is exactly what I want, do it, that’s it." And I think that’s how the best stuff gets created as well.”

Killer advice! Media training seems scarce and uneven these days. This kind of attention to the art of hosting is delightful.

Facebook announced that it’s removing podcasts from the platform.

…Did anyone else not know that Facebook even had a podcast platform?

Maybe I’m out of the loop on the state of affairs in Mark Zuckerberg’s Spooky Scary Metaverse Adventure, but considering the lack of buzz about this, I suppose it’s not surprising that podcasts are leaving the Facebook stage just one year in.

The Digital Publishing Awards nominees are officially out! The nominees for Best Current Affairs English-language podcast are: Canadaland, Life Jolt (CBC Podcasts), White Hot Hate (CBC Podcasts), The Sound Aquatic (Hakai Magazine), and Unascertained (TVO).

Finally, in light of the horrifying news out of the United States this week regarding the overturning of Roe vs Wade: this deserves far more than a few lines here, but I wanted to provide a small starting point for those of us who would like to get educated on how we got here, and what to do now (this has potential effects for all of us, even Canadians). Science Vs published their episode “The Abortion Underground” back in 2019. They rebroadcast it at the beginning of this month, in light of the upcoming Supreme Court rulings. Give it a listen if you’re looking to learn. And take care of your friends and loved ones who may be feeling particularly affected by the news this week.

DrawTogether Podcast is looking for a part-time producer to help with research, planning, partnerships, marketing and beyond. This show is a very cool audio drawing class - if you love drawing or just cool interpretations of podcasting, get your resume prepped!

French-speakers! CBC Moncton is hiring a producer for ICI Acadie’s radio morning show, La matinale. Wanna be an early-bird reporter en francais? Apply by May 9th.

Another one for the Francophones: CBC Montreal is looking for a temporary director of Internal Digital Audio Development and Production. High-level programming, here you come!

CBC North has potential radio & journalism opportunities opening up for speakers of English and Inuktitut - reach out to their team for more details!

CBC Radio Toronto is looking for a host for a new daily program covering arts & entertainment. Start working on those vocal warm-ups, and apply by May 18th!

Rabbit Grin Productions (home of Anna Faris is Unqualified and Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown) is looking for a double-threat audio and video producer. Apply by May 17th.

Spotify is hiring a talent manager for their Parcast network. It’s based in LA, but remote-eligible

Spotify is also hiring a senior podcast manager for The Ringer.

Chatelaine is offering an editorial fellowship for racialized journalists! The terms are a bit weirdly phrased as a “paid freelance full-time three-month position”, but the rate is $4,250 per month. Not bad at all!

And to round things out, internships are here! Gather around the proverbial internship May Pole!

JAR Audio out of Vancouver has two internships up for grabs - and both are fully remote. If you’re looking at trying out project coordination or marketing,give it a look. (Also, hint hint: look up minimum internship compensation standards in BC, information is power.)

Cool internship alert! Science Vs. is looking for an intern for a paid, 6-month commitment. You’ll get to fact check, assemble cuts, and write copy!

The Podcast Academy has a slew of workshops and masterclasses coming up! Check out the Tips for Monetization Lunch & Learn on the 11th, or the Help! I Need to Grow My Podcast! Masterclass on May 25th (you can submit questions to this one in advance).

I am a diehard fan of a public library. Out here in Vancouver, we have the very cool Vancouver Public Library, which offers a huge range of workshops, classes and tools way beyond your standard books & ancient CDs (which I also love, don’t kick me off the Reading Rainbow). VPL is currently offering a Sound Series with their Inspiration Lab, with a variety of talks and workshops on working with both sound and video. If you’re just starting out or need to brush up on some skills, this is a great place to start! Plus, you can check out VPL’s soundproof recording booths. Free real estate, so to say!

In keeping with the general chaos of this week, here are a couple of witchier listens from my catalogue, and a very wild story that has been lighting up Reddit recently.

First off: you gotta go to Chani for your astrology needs. Her show Astrology of the Week Ahead is simple, short, and sweet. Not quite as short as Parcast’s daily astrology series, though, which has a feed of super-short daily offerings tailored to each sign. I’ll check out Scorpio Today every once in a while, but Astrology of the Week Ahead has a tiny bit more context going on while still being simple enough for absolute non-experts, like yours truly.

If you’re looking to get even witchier, check out Sarah Faith Gottesdiener’s show Moonbeaming. She describes it as “a show for the modern witch and magical critical thinker” – intriguing! Sarah is an artist, tarot expert, and maker of pretty and informative Instagram content. A great, thoughtful place to get your witchy fix.

And now for something completely different: the final episode of iHeartRadio’s new series Sympathy Pains dropped this week. Hosted by Laura Beil of Dr. Death, this show tells the tale of a woman who built her life around being seriously ill – but, as you might expect, all is not as it seems.

Happy May Day, International Workers’ Day, Beltane, early Mother’s Day, ALL THE DAYS! Next week’s newsletter will feature another one of our fabulous guest writers. It’s going to be so good.

We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com.

Thanks to Emily Latimer for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.

We’ll see you again on Friday the 13th… prepare for witchery! Until then, here’s an update from my own little hellraiser Fig.

Getting into the Midsommar spirit 🌸