Cat Blackard

When I started to put together a series on industry leaders, Cole and I talked about who we should try and interview. Cat Blackard was the first name to come up, not only because she have been a part of the industry for around a decade but also because Cat plays a huge role at two major podcast networks. If you haven’t heard of them, prepare to be amazed, because few people are doing as much as Cat, and even fewer are doing it all so well.

Since her move from radio to podcasting almost ten years ago, Cat has co-founded The Nerdy Show Network, become the Podcast Network Director for Consequence of Sound’s Consequence Podcast Network, served as host and showrunner for a myriad of podcast series, become a voice for the transgender and genderqueer in podcasting, and continued to work as a writer and Art Director at both networks and a multidisciplinary artist outside of podcasting. With all of that experience and knowledge, it’s no wonder that I learned a lot from my conversation with Cat. Here are the highlights:

Over the decade Cat has spent in podcasting, she’s seen a lot of changes come through and each of those changes is still shaping the industry. The first major shift Cat has noticed is how monetization has become so accessible for creators. There are currently many ways to raise funds via fans, but advertising has also become more attainable than ever before. “The industry has matured in a way that can allow for us to easily acquire advertising without having to hustle on a one-to-one basis,” Cat explained. Creators are becoming experts at using custom and dynamic advertisements to optimize monetization and reach, but all of that comes at a cost.

Cat pointed out that podcasting, and most revolutionary mediums in the 21st century, began as a space for people who didn’t fit into regular boxes. She was “born by people being able to freely express themselves on the Internet.” That ability to freely express yourself revolves around the understanding that your audience also exists outside of the box and thus relates to you. But advertising depends entirely on aiming specific products at people in the corresponding boxes: “Boxes are the interest of advertisement.”

So, as monetization through advertising becomes the aim of more and more creators and thus the expectation of listeners, there is the need to aim content at people who will buy into the products being advertised. The commoditizing of listeners means placing them and creators in the boxes that podcasting originally existed to avoid. “It’s a double-edged sword that everyone should be plainly aware of because podcasts thrive on authenticity, but the medium’s continued viability will rely on working with or gaming the marginalizing nature of advertising,” Cat says.

Advertising isn’t the only thing that Cat sees changing the landscape of podcast content. Cat thinks that “The most important [trend], which is already well underway, is the importance of narrative and the resurgence of audio dramas.” Clearly certain audio dramas like Welcome to Nightvale, The Moth, and Dirty John have gained massive success by telling stories, but Cat isn’t just talking about fiction narratives.

Narrative has always been how people communicate most clearly and podcasting is in the unique position of being able to create narratives, be it talk programming, documentaries, or fiction, with as much emotional impact as most popular mediums and, in many cases, even more intimacy than film. Significantly, this is all accomplished with a drastically leaner team and budget than film or television — while being just as dynamic in many cases. Of course, a narrative show isn’t nearly as easy to write or produce as a few people just talking, but the historical significance of story in communicating facts and resonating with audiences means that investing time into cultivating stronger narratives is more than worth the extra work.

In closing, keep this in mind: Cat made sure to remind me that, in the end, “it’s hard to say how media will evolve .” But that also means the possibilities are endless. “Formats may come and go,” Cat explained. “But the oral tradition of storytelling isn’t going anywhere. Podcasting is pure, human storytelling and no matter how the winds blow, the fire at the heart of that tradition will continue to burn brightly.”

If you’re curious about Cat’s work and want to check out some of the exciting stuff she’s producing, here are a few of her favorite projects. Cat is currently most proud of the second series of The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program: The Terrible Secret of Lot X, what she describe as “a Lovecraftian black comedy styled like a 1930s radio play. Series 2 follows Estelle Thorpe, a wealthy occultist, and her mismatched band of curiosity seekers as they get dangerously over their heads while investigating the eldritch underbelly of New England.” For those on the nerdy side of things, Cat says that the best episode of Nerdy Show is Oral History of Video Games and — for those looking for the more “creative and weird” — Nerdcasting the Multiverse Thanksgiving Special. Cat also edits and produces The Opus, a recently-launched collaboration between Consequence Podcast Network and Sony that examines legendary albums’ ever-changing legacy. Lastly, you can check out Cat’s visual work combining with a podcast on the documentary series Lightning Dogs, chronicling the development of an animated series she co-created, about a “pack of anthropomorphic dogs, trapped on a post-apocalyptic Earth, battling the evil Glampire.” As always, be sure to leave reviews and let Cat know what you think!

This piece on Cat Blackard continues our new Industry Leaders series. We want to talk about the people who are pushing podcasting forward and hear what she thinks may be coming to podcasting as a whole. If you have suggestions for an interview or questions about the content, feel free to email me at [email protected].