Podcast Movement has opened public voting for speaker sessions at its 2026 conference, taking place September 17-18 at Terminal 5 in New York City. The organization also named the inaugural selection committee that will help build the remaining half of the on-stage programming.
The event drew more than 750 session submissions from over 500 unique speakers spanning creators, publishers, platforms, brands, agencies, and technology companies, according to the announcement. Voting runs through July 21, with the public able to cast votes for as many sessions as they want to see, though each individual session can only be voted for once.
Half of the final agenda will be determined by the community vote, with the highest-ranked submissions filling that portion of the schedule. The other half will be selected by the newly announced committee using a published evaluation rubric intended to prioritize content quality while reflecting the range of the podcasting industry.
The committee includes Alice Florence Orr of Podcast Review, Ami Thakkar Ravi of The Podcast Academy and The Ambies, Anne Baird of the Audio Fiction Conference, Demetrius Bagley of The Black Podcast Awards, Fatima Zaidi of Quill Podcast Awards, James Cridland of Podnews, Lauren Passell of the International Women’s Podcast Awards, and Peter Lewis of SXSW.
“The event industry is overdue for an update,” said Bryan Barletta, President of Podcast Movement and a Partner at Sounds Profitable. “Too often, I see conference stages reward visibility over value, and sponsorship over substance. We’re putting meaningful decisions in the hands of the community while making the rest of the process transparent, because attendees deserve to know how a conference agenda is built.”
The September dates mark the first time Podcast Movement has brought its flagship conference to NYC. The main event is part of a broader five-day run that opens September 14 with the Sounds Profitable Business Summit, an executive-level program for senior industry decision-makers and brand and agency media buyers, followed by a pause in daytime programming on September 16 to coincide with the IAB Upfronts. Barletta previously framed the move to New York as a signal of the medium’s maturity, calling podcasting “a multi-billion dollar industry that’s not even close to its peak.”
To vote, users can visit podcastmovement.fider.io, search for a speaker or session name, and select “Vote for this Idea.” Voting closes July 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Podcast Movement has opened public voting for speaker sessions at its 2026 conference, taking place September 17-18 at Terminal 5 in New York City. The organization also named the inaugural selection committee that will help build the remaining half of the on-stage programming.
The event drew more than 750 session submissions from over 500 unique speakers spanning creators, publishers, platforms, brands, agencies, and technology companies, according to the announcement. Voting runs through July 21, with the public able to cast votes for as many sessions as they want to see, though each individual session can only be voted for once.
Half of the final agenda will be determined by the community vote, with the highest-ranked submissions filling that portion of the schedule. The other half will be selected by the newly announced committee using a published evaluation rubric intended to prioritize content quality while reflecting the range of the podcasting industry.
The committee includes Alice Florence Orr of Podcast Review, Ami Thakkar Ravi of The Podcast Academy and The Ambies, Anne Baird of the Audio Fiction Conference, Demetrius Bagley of The Black Podcast Awards, Fatima Zaidi of Quill Podcast Awards, James Cridland of Podnews, Lauren Passell of the International Women’s Podcast Awards, and Peter Lewis of SXSW.
“The event industry is overdue for an update,” said Bryan Barletta, President of Podcast Movement and a Partner at Sounds Profitable. “Too often, I see conference stages reward visibility over value, and sponsorship over substance. We’re putting meaningful decisions in the hands of the community while making the rest of the process transparent, because attendees deserve to know how a conference agenda is built.”
The September dates mark the first time Podcast Movement has brought its flagship conference to NYC. The main event is part of a broader five-day run that opens September 14 with the Sounds Profitable Business Summit, an executive-level program for senior industry decision-makers and brand and agency media buyers, followed by a pause in daytime programming on September 16 to coincide with the IAB Upfronts. Barletta previously framed the move to New York as a signal of the medium’s maturity, calling podcasting “a multi-billion dollar industry that’s not even close to its peak.”
To vote, users can visit podcastmovement.fider.io, search for a speaker or session name, and select “Vote for this Idea.” Voting closes July 21 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
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