Rowhome Newsletter: Winter 2024
As we enter 2024, we reflect on the past year and our place in the podcast ecosystem
Collecting field recordings on Philly’s South 9th Street Italian Market for WHYY’s The Statue.
When we started Rowhome more than 3 years ago, our goals for the company were relatively simple: to work on projects we enjoy, to establish ourselves locally in Philadelphia, to grow at our own pace, and to become sustainable.
Reflecting on our path now, we can proudly say that we’ve been able to exceed our expectations by staying the course. Despite the well-documented tumult in the wider podcast industry - a depressing number of layoffs, “reality checks” at major media companies, talented folks dreaming of new ways to operate - our work at Rowhome has steadily grown. We’ve never been more excited about the future of creative audio making. Especially right here, in Philly, where we we live and work.
In 2023, we doubled-down on our role in Philadelphia’s media ecosystem. We worked on more than a dozen projects, primarily with Philly-based partners and collaborators. We’re especially proud to work on second (and third!) seasons of shows that we’ve helped local organization’s create and grow. These podcasts explore how to nurture creativity and develop community through writing, art, and social change.
The Mighty Writers Podcast: Maureen Boland interviewing two Bodine High School students for Episode 4: “Will the Kids Be Alright?”
Many Lumens : Behind the scenes taping of Maori Karmael Holmes’s conversation with LA-based curator and writer Meg Onli.
We worked on projects that amplify underrepresented voices and deepen our understanding of how the world works and the ways we can work together to make it better. Here are just a few highlights:
With Technical.ly, we followed 10 Philadelphians for an audio documentary series focused on their paths to thriving and achieving their economic goals.
With Fishadelphia, we supported a crowdfunding campaign for a Philadelphia-centered storytelling project about our local fish, people who love fish, and the ways fish connect us to the world, each other, and ourselves.
With Community Legal Services, we continued their podcast series where politicians, activists, and advocates break down specific examples of systemic racism in the law and policy.
With WXPN, we told the stories of five Black artists trying to make it in the worlds of country and Americana music.
And we worked on the award-winning podcast, How to Citizen with host Baratunde Thurston, which reimagines the word “citizen” and our responsibility to our community and each other.
Several of our projects also centered on Philadelphia’s built environment, with a particular focus on historical monuments. We contributed to WHYY’s podcast series The Statue and the Association for Public Art’s Museum Without Walls: AUDIO program, which are both supplements to larger conversations about public art and collective memory. Who is remembered when we build monuments and who gets left out?
Listen to the full audio program for Maren Hassinger’s temporary sculpture exhibition Steel Bodies.
Beyond the content of our work, we have continued to invest in local talent and play an ever-increasing role in cultivating the Philly audio community. Our annual Rowhome Fellowship is one way we help nurture and support the next generation of audio producers.
Our 2023 Rowhome Fellow, Danya AbdelHameid, worked with us for six months sharpening her field recording, interview, mixing, and other production skills. She produced two excellent pieces for our audio tour of businesses along Philly’s 52nd Street Commercial Corridor with The Enterprise Center which will debut next year. (Danya continues to work with us as our Mighty Writers Podcast lead producer!)
Portrait of Tedd and Miriam Hall, owners of the women’s boutique store Babe. It is one of the oldest Black-owned businesses on the 52nd Street commercial corridor. The Enterprise Center audio tour traces the rich history and legacy of Black businesses along the strip. Photo by PJ Agbay.
In March and October, we organized our first Philly Podcast Mixers at the Pen & Pencil Club and Solar Myth. These mixers are casual events where audio folks can gather, talk about craft, and gossip about the industry. We also taught workshops, attended conferences, and led talks at places like The Lenfest Institute, People Power Media Fest, Haverford College, Bryn Mawr College, and the Resonate Podcast Festival. In February, Alex will be leading a three-week course at Scribe Video Center in West Philly.
A couple of photos from our trip to Resonate 2023 in Richmond, Virginia. On the left
is audio artist and journalist Sayre Quevedo giving his presentation “A Manifesto In 21 Questions.” On the right is the ICA, the venue for the festival.
Overall, 2023 was a big year for Rowhome Productions. We’re so grateful to all the producers, engineers, and editors we collaborated with who helped bring our projects to life.
It astounds us that our projects collectively garnered millions of downloads this past year. We compiled some statistics that reflect the breadth of our work and our commitment to putting Philly on the map.
Speaking of maps, explore this map to see some of the Philly locations where we collected tape and recorded interviews in 2023.
Lastly, in December we said goodbye to our very talented marketing assistant Natalie White. Natalie started with us in Summer 2022 as an intern via Haverford College’s VCAM Center.
In her time with Rowhome, Natalie helped significantly expand our social media reach, developed content for our various pages, and dreamed up this very newsletter. We’re going to miss her dearly, but are so excited to hear her work at Marketplace Morning Report!
Looking forward, we have a busy year ahead of us with many exciting projects to share very soon. For now, we just want to say “thank you” to everyone who has joined us on our journey thus far.
We feel so lucky to be able to do this work.
Happy New Year,
Alex + John