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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!