EstoCast is Growing and Evolving!
With the leaves changing colour and the air getting that colder twinge, EstoCast has jumped into the fall season with tons of momentum, offering discussions on a wide variety of captivating topics for our listeners. If you’re just tuning in for the first time or don’t know about this endeavour, EstoCast is ideal for those who are simply curious about a multitude of topics and are in search of something fresh, exciting, inspiring, and educational to listen to. If you’ve ever wanted the latest of 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. Estonian Music Week, Eesti Elu/Estonian Life newspaper, and VEMU continue to collaborate and bring you the latest on everything Estonian and beyond in our biweekly episodes. Our episodes alternate between English and Estonian so that we can reach out to each and every one of you.
The title mentions evolving.. so how has EstoCast evolved? We continue to grow our listener base steadily every month and have begun to branch out more into other communities as well, once in a while we hear or see a comment from someone with a completely different cultural background who has found our podcast, singing praises of how captivating our topics are and how much we have to offer. We’ve also evolved and grown in what we have to offer to our listeners and helping promote community events, often having lecturers, musicians, politicians, who have an upcoming event, in our studio to introduce them to our local Estonian community and to our listeners. Our podcast is over a year and a half old and we’re getting ready to close out our second season at the conclusion of this year; we’re not showing any signs of slowing down! We continue to experiment with our new recording technology and strive to continually improve recording quality and auditory experience. The fall months have brought a slew of new topics to offer, from world travel to marathoning and fascinating, behind-the-scenes looks into what its like to be a professional athlete and coach. We continue to expand our range of topics!
We’ve had some great, personable guests in the studio these past few months, from Estonian-Canadian beach volleyball star Ruby Sõrra who touched upon how family values and support play a big role in becoming an athlete, to world traveler Markus Pukonen, who detailed his amazing trip around the world without the use of motors, and Estonian musician Anneliis Kits, who delved into the importance of equity and humanity in music. We also continue to focus on bringing the stories of people in our diaspora Estonian communities in Canada and all over the world. We have something for everyone!
A sizeable portion of our listener base continues to be in Canada, with the United States, Estonia, Finland, and Australia now rounding out the top 5 list of countries. We’ve even gained new listeners in all corners of the earth, for example, Tanzania, Oman, and Colombia. We’re taking over the world, one listener and interview at a time! Our most popular episode is still “Paul Lillakas Shares his Path to Becoming a TV Chef,” followed by “Volleyball and Values-Talking Sports and Fitness with Ruby Sõrra,” and “The Sonic Universe of Kara-Lis Coverdale.” Most of our listeners tune in on Spotify, as well as Apple Podcasts, and organically through our podcast site. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and we continually strive to improve, grow, and evolve!
With the end of this year, we’re rounding out Season 2 (already!) and we have lots more in store for you in Season 3. Keep tuning in, there’s a lot to check out!
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!
Kati Kiilaspea