VEMU/Estonian Museum Canada, its biggest program, Estonian Music Week and Eesti Elu (Estonian Life) newspaper have had growing success with their joint venture EstoCast, a biweekly podcast. If you’ve ever wanted the latest Estonian books, music, art, history, science, and other key news and cultural topics but in a convenient on-the-go format, EstoCast is perfect for you. EstoCast is also ideal for those who are simply curious about any of the above topics and are searching for something fresh, exciting, inspiring, and educational to listen to. EstoCast alternates between English and Estonian every other episode so that there’s something for everyone; those wanting to learn or practice either language have the perfect chance for that as well!
EstoCast has officially turned one year old as of April! We’ve come a long way and made considerable, continual strides within the podcast world. We continue to gain listeners and have developed a true follower base that, without fail, tunes in every time we release a new episode. We’ve expanded our horizons, both in terms of the topics we cover and our audience base, finding and furthering developing our very own niche. To date, EstoCast has 28 episodes up in both languages, spanning topics from literature to music and the latest cultural news and hottest happenings. The previous year’s episodes focused on libraries and literature as a result of last year being announced as the year of the library by the Estonian Ministry of Culture, this year being the year of movement and sports. Newer episodes also touch upon topics such as politics, technology, exercise, sports, and the stories of people in our diaspora Estonian communities in Canada and worldwide. We’ve had some great, fun guests visit our studio in the last few months, such as famed Estonian musician Vaiko Eplik, goalkeeper for Toronto Football Club Andreas Vaikla, and photographer/bike enthusiast Kerly Ilves…and many more! With Estonian Music Week 2023, the festival’s 5th anniversary, about to kick off, we also focused on interviewing artists that are performing at the 5-day event. There’s never a dull moment with EstoCast; tune in and check us out!
A good portion of our listener base remains located in Canada, with the United States, Estonia, Brazil, and Sweden rounding out the top 5 in the list of countries. We’ve gained a significant amount of listeners in all corners of the earth, such as Germany, Nigeria, and Singapore! Topping the charts as the current most popular episode is still Chef Paul Lillakas’ Path to Becoming a TV Chef, followed by “An Interview with a Bookworm – a discussion with VEMU/ Estonian Museum Canada chief archivist Piret Noorhani,” “Returning to Musical Authenticity — a Feature Episode with Vaiko Eplik and “Notes on the Opera Life with Kristina Maria Agur.” We’re surely and steadily gaining ground in the vast sea of podcasts and have come a very long way in the past year!
Season 2 of EstoCast, which premiered in January, is well underway; with a slew of thrilling new guests visiting our studio, with many more to come, and captivating topics to capture the attention of all listeners; big and small, young and old… so stay tuned, you won’t want to miss what’s in store in the future! As a sneak peek, the next Estonian language episode will feature renowned athlete Aleksa Gold and the following English one will include Estonian jazz starlet Kirke Karja. Hosts Vincent Teetsov and Kati Kiilaspea, along with occasional guest hosts, will continue to take you through the exciting world of Estonian culture at large. You can find EstoCast here on major streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, as well as at our website: https://estocast.buzzsprout.com/ Happy listening!