With great podcasting comes great responsibility, which is why the second annual Vancouver Podcast Festival is offering audiophiles the chance to check their privilege with every episode they download.

 Alongside opportunities to learn about podcasting’s DIY roots and take masterclasses in sound design, this year’s program offers panels such as “Podcasting in Community: Shut Up and Listen” and “Women and Non-Binary People in Podcasting: Creating a Feminist Network.” 

Ahead of the festival, I was able to chat with three hosts being featured—Sara Gill (Warriors, Bards N Brews), Nic Wayara and Lala Matthen (Seen)—about the role marginalized people play in transforming this emerging medium.

Warriors, Bards N Brews started by accident, according to Gill, who identifies as non-binary and queer. 

“My wife and I were literally watching episodes of Xena and doing our own commentary, which made each other laugh a lot, and we just thought, ‘Hey, let’s do a podcast and see if it sticks,’” says Gill.

That was a couple of years ago, and today the show is still mainly comprised of the couple’s commentary on the cult classic. Since they record from home, the only production cost is their microphone. While Gill says their identity isn’t overtly addressed in every episode, the hosts view everything through a queer, feminist lens.

“We talk about the good in Xena but also call out problematic behavior and bad writing, the cultural appropriation and moments of transphobia,” says Gill. This leads to the pair discussing ways in which Vancouver’s queer community can be more inclusive. “We try to walk that line between giving information and using our platform to raise voices of other people while still being entertaining and engaging.”

As white people in Canada, Gill says the couple acnkowledges their role in a racist culture, while encouraging people from marginalized communities to write in with corrections or explanations. 

“We’re happy to share it and read it out so you can get your voice out there too—to a wider audience than maybe you have in your regular life,” Gill says. “It's a good learning experience for anybody to be able to get their voice out there.”

But Gill is aware of the stakes of their voice being heard at several events throughout this festival.

“I'm non-binary and there’s not too many of us out there in the public eye. I think I'm putting some pressure on myself to do a really good job, and be a really good ambassador for my community,” Gill says.

Visibility and representation is why close friends Nic Wayara, a black queer woman, and Lala Matthen, a brown queer woman, decided to broadcast their intimate conversations for the podcast Seen. 

“The premise of the theme is really for us to be like ‘I see you, you see me, the things that we have to say are out in the open,’” says Wayara.

The pair’s special bond means they aren’t afraid to be uncensored with one another, to learn with each other, stumble, ask questions and make mistakes. They say the choice to make that private space public is because they feel the world needs to hear the experiences of black and brown queer women. 

“We see the lack of our perspective and how much that’s impacted our world in a very negative way,” says Matthen.

The pair books free recording studio time at Vancouver Public Library to create each episode, and appreciate that podcasting has a low barrier for entry compared to other forms of media. 

“Podcasting allows us to tell our stories on our own terms, and go directly to the audience to right some of the wrongs of other less accessible forms of media,” says Matthen. “Too often, women and non-binary people and other marginalized, intersecting identities face gatekeepers who keep our voice out of the conversation.”

The co-hosts only began Seen this July, and have featured a different woman or non-binary person of colour on each episode. Already, they’ve heard from both strangers and friends that the show has been illuminating.

“Our podcast is an opportunity for folks to be a fly on the wall in a room they might not be in other wise,” says Matthen, using a white female friend’s feedback as an example. “She says she now has an understanding that her skin— there’s a power in it. It changes everything around her. When she’s physically present the dynamic, the energy, the conversation changes.”

Yet the pair strives to hold themselves accountable and learn from those with different lived experiences. 

“When we don’t only speak to white people, we don’t understand ourselves only as oppressed,” says Matthen. “We acknowledge things that give us power over others in our community.”

Ironically, the common goal between each podcast host—who by nature of the format, have to talk a lot—is to listen more, and use their platform to hold space for other marginalized communities.  With the comfort of having a close companion as a co-host, they can all embrace the uncomfortable moments of growth that comes with acknowledging gaps within their own identities.

With great listening comes great learning opportunities, which is why the diversity driven events of this festival are not to be missed. Like podcasts, these hosts’ panels and live shows have a low barrier to entry—the festival is presenting 17 free events during its run from Nov 7-10.