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Are You Still Listening?

We are very proud to be teaming up with the incredible organisation, Samaritans Ireland. Their “Still Listening” campaign aims to recruit listening volunteers for their 24-hour telephone support service. We obviously have the ears of loads of great listeners, so we were thrilled to be brought in as partners on this campaign. Our podcasters were also very keen to be involved, so you’ll hear them encouraging their listeners to check out the website listening.ie over the next couple of weeks. 

Samaritans have 13 centres in the Republic of Ireland, which is amazing, but of course, they are always looking for volunteers, and particularly in their Dublin branch.

“Because we never know when a person will summon up the bravery to pick up the phone and call the Samaritans, it’s vital that there’ll always be someone there not just to take that call, but to listen and respond to the person on the other end of the phone with empathy and patience.”

That’s why we (HeadStuff and The Podcast Studios), and our legendary podcasters have teamed up with Samaritans Ireland to find great listeners (you) all over the country. Together we are identifying the places and platforms where people go to listen to other people speaking at length, finding times during those conversations to mention the campaign, and encouraging them to use those skills to help people who want to be heard – who desperately need to be heard – at a difficult or delicate time in their lives. 

And the best thing is you don’t need any qualifications to apply, you don’t need a counselling degree or any previous experience. If you can listen, and be empathetic, you can do this.

Anyone interested in finding out more and/or applying to become a Samaritans Ireland listening volunteer can start their journey at listening.ie.

I would urge you, excellent listener and wonderful person, to volunteer with Samaritans if you have the capacity, or can make the time. It’s worth it, for you, and even more so for the countless people who at one time or another need to pick up the phone and talk to someone like you. 

You will see us posting articles and doing posts on social media, we’ll be promoting the campaign on our podcasts and sending people to Listening.ie. If you can share these posts, create your own posts with the link to Listening.ie and tell everyone about it, anything you can do will be a huge help.

Join The Cast Winner Announced

We are delighted to announce that we have a winner for our Join The Cast Competition. Join The Cast started back in October of 2023. We had over 100 submissions who submitted a 3-minute audio or video clip pitching their podcast idea. The entries were judged by a selection of big names in the podcast game, including Tony Cantwell (Tony Cantwell’s Hit Show), Naomi O’Leary (Irish Passport Podcast), and Gearoid Farrelly (Agony Rants), among others.

First Place: ‘Threads’

‘Threads’ hosted by Danielle Olavario is the winner of our first prize. Olavario’s show will ‘explore the intimate connections between people and their clothing.’ Each episode will feature engaging conversations with a diverse range of guests and aims to revive a sense of appreciation for our garments. 

You can now look forward to threads joining the HeadStuff Podcast Network. The show has won an incredible €50,000 in production and marketing. This includes full production at The Podcast Studios, guidance from HeadStuff, and a full marketing campaign to launch the show. 

‘I’m so excited to start working with HeadStuff on this project – and learning from the best in the business. I genuinely believe that we can trace the stories of our lives through clothes. The prevalence of fast fashion has made people wear things once and forget about them. But I think in doing that, we miss out on something special. This is what I’m so excited to do with Threads. It’s all about bringing back the magic to our clothes and showing how they’re more than just fabric – they’re part of our journey. The competition process has already been so rewarding, and I’ve already connected with some of my fellow finalists. I want to thank the people who voted and made this possible for me – especially my family. I can’t wait to get started!’ – Danielle Olavario

You can still listen to the full pilot of ‘Threads’ here

Second Place: 

‘The Junior B Things Podcast’ hosted by James Mc Dowell came in at second place, winning the Deluxe Podcaster Package. The package includes a 1-hour consultation with our experts, 3 hours of recording in our premium studio, 3 hours of editing, and music supplied for the trailer and episode. 

There are 100s of GAA podcasts, all of which look at analysing the big games. The Junior B Things Podcast has no interest in that. At its heart GAA is about the people within the community; everyday people that everyone in the club knows something about. This is a show about those people. 

You can listen to the full pilot of ‘The Junior B Things Podcast’ here

Third Place: 

Last but not least, ‘Freaks’ hosted by Sophie Hearne won the Podcaster Starter Package. This includes a 30-minute consultation with our experts, 1 hour of recording in the studio, and 1 hour of editing. 

As an anthropologist Sophie is mad about all things human! We’re rather unique compared to the rest of the animal kingdom; we manufacture and keep pets, we cry when we’re sad, we document, and we choose not to walk around in the nip, we’re complete freaks of nature considering no other animal does any of the above! FREAKS is going to delve into all the weird and wonderful things us human beings do that no other animal does.

You can listen to the full pilot of ‘Freaks’ here

HeadStuff Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary

We are delighted to announce that this year HeadStuff is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. To celebrate this achievement we are bringing you back to the very start. 

HeadStuff History 

HeadStuff was founded by Alan Bennett in 2014. It started as a website, HeadStuff.org, that covered topics from literature and music, to film, computer games, and podcasts. Having become more and more interested in podcasts, Alan decided to make one himself, which was when The HeadStuff Podcast started. On the show, Alan interviewed an interesting or creative person on each episode and some big names were featured – starting with Jarlath Regan, whose podcast ‘An Irishman Abroad’ was one of the biggest at the time. If he’s honest, Alan would admit that the episode was really just him asking Jarlath how to make a podcast! Other episodes included Saul Williams, John Connolly, Annie Atkins, Kevin Barry, Arthur Matthews, Josie Long, Ken Early, B. Dolan, and Mary Morrissy.

The podcast did well and was a lot of fun, and it wasn’t long before the idea of a network started to look very appealing. Alan approached Gearoid Farrelly, who had an excellent podcast called Fascinated, and The HeadStuff Podcast Network was born. Now with a small, newly fitted-out recording studio, new shows were added to the network – some from HeadStuff.org editors (Juvenalia and NO ENCORE), and others by opening up to new applications (Double Love, In the Shower with Taz and Marcus, Personality Bingo with Tom Moran, and The Alison Spittle Show). The Network grew as new shows were developed (Motherfoclóir) and established ones were brought in (Dubland with PJ Gallagher and Suzanne Kane), and soon HeadStuff was the biggest podcast network in Ireland. In 2019, The Dublin Podcast Festival was created, in collaboration with Aiken Promotions, attracting international podcasting talent to Ireland, and the network continued to develop.

As the network grew, and with a podcast studio available, HeadStuff became increasingly involved in working with people outside the network to make podcasts. When the legendary Dublin recording studio, Westland Studios, became available, HeadStuff took the leap and spent the best part of a year refurbishing it and turning it into The Podcast Studios as we know it today.

From the 80s themed Blog Awards at which we won our first award

From the 80s-themed Blog Awards at which we won our first award. (Alan Bennett, Paddy O’Leary, Matt Mahon)

HeadStuff 10 Years On 

10 years on, HeadStuff has been awarded Ireland’s best podcast network at The Irish Podcast Awards in 2023. Along with the big win, HeadStuff Podcasts were nominated across five categories: best comedy, best entertainment, best factual, best wellbeing, and best interview. We have also added some great new shows to the network including ‘Young Hot Guys’, ‘Keep It Tight’, and ‘The Baby Tribe.’ The exciting news is there is more where that came from!

It is a pleasure to be the Network Coordinator for HeadStuff at its 10th anniversary. For 10 years HeadStuff has been at the forefront of Irish Podcasting, offering high-quality production and bringing some of the best Irish podcasts to life. At the moment, I am working on some very exciting things behind the scenes and there’s plenty more to come from HeadStuff!’ – Hilary Barry (Network Coordinator)

‘If I had told my mother in 2014 that in ten years time I’d be running a respected podcast and media company with ten employees, she’d have said, as she said many times back then… “what exactly are you doing?” And to be honest, while I told her at the time what I thought I was doing, even 2014 me would have been fairly surprised if you told him we’d be here. So that’s all to the good. I’m pretty proud of what we’ve achieved. I love my friends who came along with me and the friends I’ve made along the way. And I’m excited to see where we are in another ten years.’ Alan Bennett (CEO)

‘Join The Cast’ votes are now open!

We have officially come to the final stage in the HeadStuff ‘Join The Cast’ competition. This means that you can have your say on which podcast should be crowned the ‘Join The Cast’ 2024 winner. The winner will have a full season produced here at HeadStuff Podcasts for you to enjoy.

The successful podcast will be awarded €50,000 in production and marketing. This includes full podcast production at The Podcast Studios, a marketing campaign to launch the show, and guidance from our amazing team.

To vote, you must simply listen to each trailer and/or pilot produced for our 5 finalists:

FREAKS by Sophie Hearne

As an anthropologist Sophie is mad about all things human! We’re rather unique compared to the rest of the animal kingdom; we manufacture and keep pets, we cry when we’re sad, we document, and we choose not to walk around in the nip, we’re complete freaks of nature considering no other animal does any of the above! FREAKS is going to delve into all the weird and wonderful things us human beings do that no other animal does.

The Junior B Things Podcast by James McDowell

There are 100s of GAA podcasts, all of which look at analysing the big games. The Junior B Things Podcast has no interest in that. At its heart GAA is about the people within the community; everyday people that everyone in the club knows something about. This is a show about those people. 

Scanrach by Cherise Hanvey and Kori Schagunn

Cherise Hanvey is a paranormal investigator with over 15 years experience. She has travelled around Ireland visiting Ireland’s most haunted places. Kori Schagunn is a comedian and improviser who has a keen interest in the paranormal but doesn’t know the first thing about it. Join Scanrach as they visit, discuss, and investigate Ireland’s most haunted places and spooky folklore. 

Threads by Danielle Olavario

Through engaging conversations with a diverse range of guests, Stitches will explore the intimate connections between people and their clothing. By highlighting these personal stories, the podcast aims to revive a sense of appreciation for our garments, urging listeners to view them not as mere commodities but as tangible records of the human experience.

Who’s in a Name by Ben Butler

Our name is the thing that is most unique to us. It is how we are branded at birth, and it is our interface with the world. In this podcast, we’ll cover the phenomena of naming people, places and things.


To vote visit click here and give each trailer a star rating. And if you would like to listen to a full pilot just search ‘Join The Cast’ on your podcast platform of choice!

The Baby Tribe Joins HeadStuff Podcasts

We are excited to announce that we have a new podcast joining the HeadStuff Podcasts family. The chart-topping award-nominated podcast The Baby Tribe will return for its third season on Tuesday the 5th of March. 

The Baby Tribe podcast is dedicated to providing parents and caregivers with the latest information and expert advice on baby health and nutrition. From prenatal care to feeding and nutrition, this podcast will cover all the important topics to ensure your little one gets off to the best start in life.

Hosted by Katie Mugan, a paediatric nurse and lactation consultant, and Afif EL-Khuffash, a neonatologist, paediatrician and lactation consultant. Katie from nursingmama.ie, and Afif who works in the Rotunda Hospital have over 40 years of newborn care experience between them. They’re not bad podcasters either! The podcast was shortlisted for Best New Podcast at The Irish Podcast Awards in 2023 and has been topping the parenting podcast charts. With a fantastic guest line-up for season 3, the show is set to grow and grow.

‘We’re absolutely ecstatic to be launching Season 3 of Baby Tribe. It’s a season that promises more insights, more expert voices, and more heartwarming stories that our listeners have come to love. We’re incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received. Our listeners are the heart of Baby Tribe, and we’re thrilled to share the new episodes we’ve been meticulously crafting. Stay subscribed, and if you’re as excited as we are about this new chapter, consider joining HeadStuff Plus for an even richer experience.’

 – Afif EL-Khuffash

‘We are joining forces with the Headstuff Podcast Network! It’s a privilege to align with a network that is home to some of the most influential podcasts out there. This partnership is a testament to the quality and the heart that Baby Tribe brings to the podcasting world. We’re covering every topic imaginable when it comes to children. And it’s not just about overcoming the hurdles; it’s also a celebration of the little victories and joys of parenting.’

– Katie Mugan

To access bonus content and discounts, and to support the show, become a member of HeadStuff+ from as little as €5 (+VAT) per month.

Keep It Tight is here!

Keep It Tight Podcast Launching on the 14th of February

Each Wednesday Deirdre and Emma will discuss what’s delighted them, bewildered them, enraged them, and everything in between.

No topic is out of bounds from the highest brow to the lowest pelvic floor. Through their uniquely comedic lens, this podcast creates the kind of belly laughs you’ll want to send to a friend; and with the state of the world, a good laugh is in order! With two queens of Irish Comedy, you’ll be in good hands.

Their friendship was recently cemented when they both took part in the no. 1 Amazon Prime show LOL Last one Laughing Ireland presented by Graham Norton. They’re two hilarious and fully-fledged grown women who don’t have time for the faff, so let’s just keep it tight shall we?

Keep It Tight is the latest podcast from HeadStuff Podcasts. You can listen to the first episode on the 14th of February on your podcast platform of choice. Listen to the trailer now.

‘‘Both Emma and I have such a great following of smart funny women who love a laugh – And this is for them really – everyone’s welcome, there’s no subject left off the table and we promise we’ll keep it tight”

– Deirdre O’Kane

“When Deirdre O’Kane asks you to do a podcast with her how can you say no? She is the funniest woman in Ireland. On and off stage”

– Emma Doran

To access bonus content and discounts, and to support the show, become a member of HeadStuff+ from as little as €5 per month.