On Air Fest Announces Malcolm Gladwell as 2024 Recipient of Audio Vanguard Award

Today, On Air Fest is proud to announce journalist, speaker, New York Times bestselling author and hit podcast host Malcolm Gladwell as 2024's recipient of the Audio Vanguard Award. Since 2020, the annual prize has celebrated a creative icon and thought leader whose work has not only advanced the culture of audio, but whose lasting legacy has inspired a new generation of storytellers. Like previous honorees - This American Life's Ira Glass, Fresh Air's Terry Gross, Radiolab's Jad Abumrad and CNN's Audie Cornish - Gladwell will accept this year's Audio Vanguard Award on-stage during one of the keynote sessions of On Air Fest, taking place February 28th-March 1st at Brooklyn's Wythe Hotel.

On Friday, March 1st, in front of a live audience of fellow storytellers, audio creatives, multimedia artists, musicians, industry leaders and inspired listeners, Malcolm Gladwell will deliver a career-spanning conversation, discussing his work co-founding audio production companyPushkin Industries, hosting the long-running Revisionist History, pushing the boundaries of audiobook production, moving into a new era of podcasting, and more. The interview will be conducted by Gretta Cohn, CEO of Pushkin Industries(The Happiness Lab, Broken Record, Against the Rules).

"We're honored to give this year's Audio Vanguard Award to a true renaissance man in Malcolm Gladwell. His deeply attentive ways of exploring and explaining the world - first as a journalist and author, and now in audio - makes his work so distinct," adds Scott Newman, Founder & Creative Director of On Air Fest. "His shows like Revisionist History and Broken Record have expanded the field and have attracted countless new listeners to the artform of podcasts."

As the most influential event for audio storytelling and podcasting, On Air Fest promises to push the art and business of podcasting into new territory. Described as the Sundance of Audio and "the Coachella of podcast festivals" (Fast Company), On Air Fest brings the medium far beyond the limits of personal listening devices, through an array of real-life experiences that give storytellers the opportunity to step forward and people the chance to connect.

In addition to Malcolm Gladwell, On Air Fest 2024 features a lineup of media powerhouses alongside emerging voices and visionary thinkers. Initial programming includes Fresh Air co-host Tonya Mosley, live editions of Design Matters with Debbie Millman, Sing For Science with singer, songwriter and rising superstar Sid Sriram, The Allusionist with Helen Zaltzman, and the Talkhouse Podcast, plus more from partners such as Vox Media Podcast Network, Radiotopia, APM Studios, WBUR, iHeart and Audio Flux. The event's three days and nights will also bring back the Hot Pod Summit, presented in collaboration with Hot Pod and The Verge, and an expansion to three distinct stages throughout Brooklyn's Wythe Hotel: Main Stage headliners, live tapings in the Podcast Penthouse, evening events in the cinema-style Screening Room, and an array of unexpected audio installations around the hotel and beyond.

Learn more about On Air Fest 2024 and find tickets HERE, and stay tuned for the full lineup coming soon

Produced by work x work - the go-to creative agency that's been powering the podcast revolution, bringing major brands like Meta, Netflix, Sonos, Spotify, Squarespace, Target, Warner Music Group and many more into the audio movement - On Air Fest has premiered dozens of award-winning podcasts from the likes of Audible, NPR, SiriusXM, Spotify and The New York Times, produced hundreds of live sessions, convened thousand of fans each year, and created a new platform to elevate the artform. Attendees can expect the event to deliver on an increasing demand for multi-sensory and communal audio experiences, as well as programming that highlights the widening definition of podcasting and a new, original and optimistic class of creatives.