EstoCast’s Upward Flight Continues!

As the holiday season is approaching, the year is also quickly coming to a close. With the onset of colder weather, it’s the best time to sit indoors and listen to a podcast or watch your favourite tv series with a cup of tea.

Season 3 of EstoCast is also coming to a close, which has seen good improvements in listenership and follower growth during the past year. 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. We’ve had a whole variety of interesting and thought-provoking topics we’ve covered — from exploring cultural diversity and heritage to Tartu European Capital of Culture 2024 and how wordplay plays such an important role in music. In the second half of the season, starting in September, we’ve brought in a new topic of focus which was the Mass Flight of 1944. Since this year marks the 80th anniversary of that momentous occasion, we knew that dedicating a few episodes to the topic was a must. That provided for touching, eye-opening stories straight from the mouths of some of those who had to live through the atrocities and also some of their stories told through their direct descendants. We also had two wonderful Estonian musicians visit Toronto for performances thanks to Estonian Music Week, Alika Milova and Jarek Kasar, and so we invited them into our studios for some insight on their music-making and perspectives on the current musical landscape. It’s been an exciting season to say the least.

So how has EstoCast taken flight this past year? Our listener base is expanding steadily thanks to collaboration on social media platforms with artists and other important figures who we’ve had in the studio for discussions. Yet again, we’re reaching father corners of the world than we ever have before. This year, we’ve had around 2,000 downloads to date and gained new listeners in places such as Spain, Greece, and Ireland. Episode by episode, we’re taking over the world! It’s also interesting to note that what platform our listeners prefer to tune in on has changed — over 30% prefer to use a web browser in comparison to apps such as Spotify or Apple Podcasts on the phone. That’s a definite percentage increase over last year, which means that we might be reaching an increased number of age groups. We’ve also tried to create a better balance of topics that would appeal to younger and older audiences alike, for example, interviewing younger members of the community for a fresh perspective on what being Estonian means to them, alongside content like the Mass Flight of 1944. 

What episodes have people liked listening to this year? Our top 3 episodes have been: “Navigating in a Multicultural Society with Elva Palo,” “Lapsena põgenikuteele (Embarking on the Escape Journey as a Child) – vestlus Hille Viiresega,” and “Argentine nostalgia, hematology, and photography with Peeter Põldre.” It’s clear that people like listening to content that is both engaging and educational based on the statistics, and that’s exactly what we continue to strive to offer. As mentioned earlier, starting in the fall we brought some more focus to the topic of the Mass Flight of 1944. There were so many great interviews, among them Hille Viires’ and Vilme Pede’s touching and nerve-wracking stories of having to flee their homelands when they were young. Another interesting discussion on the music front was with owner of Psühhoteek record store in Tartu, Estonia. Ahto provided insight into how vinyl records have gained so much popularity over the past few years with younger generations, what Estonian-Canadian artists he plays during his DJ sets, and even how famed Estonian composer Arvo Pärt once made surf rock. As you can see, we offer something for everyone! 

We still have a couple of episodes left coming up in December, such as a riveting discussion with young Estonian musician Mart Avi about how the Brazilian city of Ubatuba influenced his latest record and more. Stay tuned for more great content in 2024!

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!