WGTE PUBLIC MEDIA TO HOST EVENT RECOGNIZING LOCAL PODCASTERS

Beyond the Mic: Meet the Faces of “Voices Around Us®” is on May 8 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and aims to invite the community to local voices

TOLEDO, OHIO – April 10, 2025 –WGTE Public Media is hosting a “Voices Around Us®” podcasting event on May 8, 2025 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at 1270 S Detroit Ave, Toledo, OH 43614. This event aims to connect the community with local voices and discover the dynamic topics of the Voices Around Us® (VAU) podcasts. 

This event will showcase our 16 VAU podcasts and their respective hosts and producers. The community is invited to connect with our VAU podcasters and WGTE FM 91 staff to learn more about our podcasting initiative and how they can get involved. The podcasts and creator information is located at www.wgte.org/vau.

“In less than 2 years, we have created sixteen amazing Voices Around Us® podcasts with twenty-three local Content Creators. During this event, we’re putting the spotlight on each Content Creator and recognizing them for their extraordinary work. This is also a chance for local listeners to come out, meet them and ask them any questions they may have about the podcasts,” states Chris Peiffer, Voices Around Us® Podcast Manager.

The VAU podcast initiative was launched in August 2023 and currently has 16 total podcasts with nearly 200 episodes. The VAU podcasts have amassed over 12.6 thousand streams across all major streaming platforms, wgte.org and the WGTE mobile app. These podcasts accumulated over 1,000 listeners across all platforms within the first year. 

WGTE conducted a podcast search to find diverse local storytellers willing to produce their own podcasts with the guidance and tools of WGTE’s staff and facilities. The complete list of VAU podcasts are: “Brain Politics,” “Farmworker Chronicles,” “A Gram of Hope,” “Hot Topics, Cool Friends,” “Lake Effect,” “The Mental Gains Podcast,” “No More Silence,” “On the Come Up with Libby and Riley,” “Proud To Be of Rust and Glass,” “Soul of the Glass City,” “Storied Ground” “Telling It Our Way” “Treat Addiction,” “Voices of Legacy,” “Women and What WE-DO” and “Women Got Game.”

“Voices Around Us®” is supported in part by American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated by the City of Toledo and the Lucas County Commissioners and administered by The Arts Commission. 

“Voices Around Us®” is WGTE’s newest podcast series. Other WGTE FM 91 podcasts include “Raising Up Ohio’s Women,” “Shakespeare Full Circle,” and “Classical Conversations.”