XTR and Futurism Studios announce Age of Audio documentary, profiling the world's obsession with podcasts
XTR, the premium nonfiction film and television studio, and Futurism Studios, the film and television arm of online tech and science forum Futurism, today announced “Age of Audio,” a new documentary exploring the resurgence of audio storytelling as it grows from a vivid passion to an extraordinary worldwide industry. As the podcast industry continues to gain popularity, media creators and brands have turned to podcasts as a new form of storytelling. XTR and Futurism Studios partnered to create “Age of Audio” to showcase the comeback within the art of audio storytelling.
There are an estimated 86 million podcast listeners in the U.S. who are incorporating the medium into their daily lives from entertainment programs and talk shows to news broadcasts (Statistics). “Age of Audio” is an in-depth look at the podcast industry, examining how what we listen to influences everything we do. The documentary takes viewers through the history of podcasts and how they’ve shaped the entertainment industry by speaking with some of the most influential people in audio.
“Age of Audio” features interviews with leaders who have shaped the podcast scene today such as Ira Glass (This American Life), Jad Abumrad (Radiolab), Kaitlin Prest (The Heart/ Mermaid Palace), Aaron Mahnke (Lore), Sean Rameswaram (Today, Explained / Vox), Josh Clark (Stuff You Should Know), Phoebe Judge (Criminal/This is Love), Lauren Spoher (Criminal/This is Love) Glynn Washington (Snap Judgement), Amanda Lund (The Complete Woman, Erios), Avery Trufleman (99% Invisible), Roman Mars (Radiotopia /99% Invisible), Al Letson (Reveal), Paul F. Tompkins (Bojack Horseman) Scott Aukerman (Comedy Bang Bang), Kevin Smith (Smodcast), Scott Mosier (Smodcast), Stephanie Foo (This American Life), Pheobe Lett (New York Times Contributor) Jake Shapiro (PRX), Matt Gourley (Conan O’Brien needs a Friend Podcast), Hernan Lopez (Wondery), Shereen Lani Younes (Ethnically Ambiguous), Jesse Thorn (BullsEye / Maximum Fun), and many more.
“We’re witnessing a massive trend towards the consumer adoption of podcasts, leading more media and entertainment companies to enter the marketplace,” said Justin Lacob, Head of Development, XTR. “Podcasts are captivating and transporting consumers back to the basics of audio-only as a storytelling medium which is what “Age of Audio” does -- it takes you back to the creation of podcasts and where the resurgence began.”
“Justin and XTR share my passion for exploring the world to uncover the truth and history within storytelling,” said Shaun Colon, director of “Age of Audio. “This is an unprecedented time for podcasts - and we are sharing with listeners exactly how they rose in popularity and changed so rapidly over a short amount of time.” Producer Geoffrey James Clark added “I’m excited to reunite with two incredibly talented filmmakers in Director Shaun Colon and EP Bryn Mooser, both of whom I’ve worked with previously and always hoped to find a future project to collaborate on again”.
“Age of Audio” is written and directed by Shaun Michael Colón, director behind festival darling feature documentary “A Fat Wreck.” Geoffrey James Clark (“SophiaWorld”, “2067”) and Catherine Mullen of Futurism Studios are producers on the film alongside Joel Herrera and Shaun Michael Colón of [open -ended] films, which is also executive produced by Bryn Mooser and Justin Lacob of XTR.
Follow “Age of Audio” on instagram and twitter @aoamovie or on the web at ageofaudiofilm.com. Follow director Shaun Michael Colón on Twitter/Instagram at @openendedfilms. To keep up with news from XTR or join the community, visit xtr.com or follow on Instagram @xtr and Twitter at @xtrfilms.
About XTR
XTR is a premium nonfiction film and television studio headquartered in Echo Park, Los Angeles. Founded by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and RYOT co-founder, Bryn Mooser, the team is led by an award-winning executive team with the goal of empowering a new generation of artists to pursue impactful storytelling on a global scale. XTR: Based on a True Story.
About Futurism Studios
Futurism Studios is the content production and distribution studio founded by the Brooklyn-based online content and news provider, Futurism, that covers the breakthrough technologies and scientific discoveries that will shape humanity’s future. Previous projects include viral scripted short film “SophiaWorld”, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Sophia the Robot, Tribeca Film Festival doc film “I AM HUMAN”, a sci-fi documentary about the future of man and machine through the lens of entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, the documentary film “Trust Machine: the Story of Blockchain”, Directed by Alex Winter and narrated by Rosario Dawson, and the upcoming scripted science fiction film “2067”, starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Ryan Kwanten.
This is a press release which we link to from Podnews, our daily newsletter about podcasting and on-demand. We may make small edits for editorial reasons.