Manchester Podcast Festival returns this autumn – here’s what to expect

If you like nothing more than plugging into a podcast when you’re out and about, then take the opportunity to be part of the live audience when the Manchester Podcast Festival returns to the city this autumn. 

The tickets have gone on sale today for the festival, which will take place throughout November and will see some of the country’s most popular podcasts recorded here in the city.  

The festival is only in its second year, but the inaugural event saw over 2500 people attend in 2018, and it’s expected there will be an equally large turnout this year with the likes of Richard Herring’s RHLSTP, Dan Snow’s History Hit, Rik Edwards’ Science-(ish) and Deborah Frances-White’s Guilty Feminist all announced as part of the stellar line-up.

The recordings will take place in venues across Manchester, including The Dancehouse, Exchange Auditorium and Gorilla, beginning with Help! I Sexted My Boss on 1st November and concluding with Mandatory Redistribution Party on 27th November.

The line-up encapsulates science curiosity, history, comedy, LGBTQ+, feminism, politics, music and sport, so whether you’re looking for advice, a laugh, or to be enlightened, here’s what’s happening, where and when.

1st November

Help! I Sexted My Boss

Etiquette expert William Hanson and BBC Radio 1’s Jordan North offer their very different adduce to help you navigate the daily struggles of modern life. 

Dancehouse Theatre, 8pm

2nd November

Dan Snow’s History Hit

Dan Snow’s podcast, which gets almost a million listens every month, sees him travels the length and breadth of the country to keep up with the cutting edge of history. It’s his mission to give you the history behind the news, and the context you need to understand the modern world. 

Exchange Auditorium, 5pm

RHLSTP with Richard Herring

Previous guests on Richard Herring’s award-winning interview podcast have included Stephen Fry, Dawn French, Sarah Millican, Steve Coogan and Bob Mortimer. See him live and hear all the bits that are too libellous and controversial to podcast. 

Exchange Auditorium, 7.30pm

5th November

The Guilty Feminist

Join award-winning comedian Deborah Frances-White and her special guests as they discuss topics “all 21st century feminists agree on” while confessing their insecurities, hypocrisies and fears that underlie their lofty principles. 

Exchange Auditorium, 7.30pm

12th November

Science-(ish)

TV presenter Rick Edwards, and editor-at-large of the New Scientist, Dr. Michael Brooks, delve into the science behind popular culture. Join them for a live deep dive into the spurious science behind film and TV. 

Gorilla, 8pm

Top Flight Time Machine

Andy Dawson and Sam Delaney’s highly acclaimed podcast is finally reimagined as a theatrical experience. This is no ordinary live recording of a podcast episode – Sam and Andy will be carrying out extreme physical movement, while the audience will experience similar emotional movement.

The Dancehouse, 8pm

13th November

Set Piece Menu

Set Piece Menu is the podcast where four friends – a broadcaster, a commentator, a writer and an injury-prone former full-back – talk football over food. The football can be anything: the reality of injury, the nature of joy, the problem with post-truth. The food is generally bought last-minute from the Didsbury Marks and Spencer’s. 

Antony Burgess Centre, 8pm

14th November

Phil Taggart’s Slacker

Each show kicks-off with an artist playing their first ever demo, laying bare the raw sounds that encouraged them to take up a career in music. From here the conversation freewheels down a spaghetti junction of quirky anecdotes, hot takes and uncovers the journey each artist has taken to where they are today. Previous guests have included Johnny Marr, Manic Street Preachers, Dizzee Rascal and Fatboy Slim.

Union Theatre, 8pm

16th November

Nobody Panic

Comedians Stevie Martin and Tessa Coates co-host their smash-hit podcast Nobody Panic, which asks life’s biggest (and smallest) questions to help you become a functioning adult without screaming all the time.

Anthony Burgess, 5pm

A Gay and A NonGay

Hosted by James and Dan, expect audience interaction, a parody of Queer Eye as Dan lends his hetero gaze to the Gay community in NonGay-Eye and a look at issues affecting Gay and NonGay people in a simple but hilarious premise; what divides us makes us laugh harder. 

Anthony Burgess Centre, 8pm

23rd November

Do The Right Thing

This award-winning comedy panel show is hosted by Danielle Ward, with team captains Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Michael Legge and amazing special guests. Two teams work out the right thing to do in strange scenarios and scary situations, which range from the everyday to the weird and extreme.

The Dancehouse, 7.30pm

27th November

Mandatory Redistribution Party

Join northern comedians Sean Morley and Jack Evans for what they describe as “a radical left-wing podcast from delirious comedians seeking audience of anxiety-wrecked socially conscious husks”. Expect interviews, repartee and even performance set pieces about peasant revolts from the 18th century. 

Peer Hat, 8.30pm

TICKETS