“Podcasts by women, for everyone.” That’s the slogan for Earios, the new podcast network launched by comedy performers Maria Blasucci (“Mascots”) and Amanda Lund (“Fresh Off the Boat”). Following a successful Kickstarter campaign and a partnership with podcast company Acast, Earios is now up and running, with plans to debut 12 shows in 2019, Deadline confirms. Margaret Cho, writer-director and “GLOW” actress Kimmy Gatewood, and “Love” co-creator Lesley Arfin are among the inaugural slate’s hosts.
Earios was created after veteran podcasters Lund and Blasucci discovered they could not find a women-run podcast company, despite the fact that “30% of [podcast] shows are hosted or co-hosted by women and women make up half of podcast listeners.”
“All the podcasts I listen to are spread out among some awesome networks, but there wasn’t one that really spoke to Maria’s or my sensibilities and that felt like we were part of that community,” Lund recalled. “Maria and I also have spent years being beholden to gatekeepers as actors and writers. We knew that we had to carve out a space for ourselves and our fellow amazing women creators as we noticed podcasting becoming more like film and TV — so creating Earios scratches this itch.”
Three Earios podcasts have just launched: “Filling the Void,” “Foxy Browns,” and “Pleasure Studies.” Hosted by Arfin, “Filling the Void” will feature guests such as Diablo Cody speaking about the things they do purely for fun. Camilla Blackett’s “Foxy Browns” will tackle beauty and wellness practices from the perspectives of women of color and immigrants. “Pleasure Studies,” hosted by indie artist Feist, examines love, loss, and pain via interviews with athletes, mothers, artists, and more.
Upcoming Earios series include “The Margaret Cho,” for which Cho will interview a famous celebrity and a soon-to-be-star in each episode, and Gatewood’s exploration of modern parenting, “Mother of All Shows.”
Synopses for Earios’ entire upcoming slate are below, courtesy of Deadline.
Filling the Void hosted by Lesley Arfin, creator of Netflix series Love, talks to her eclectic group of friends about the things they do for pure, simple joy. Did you know Diablo Cody is a roller coaster fanatic? Or that Kate Berlant is obsessed with making sourdough bread? You might call these hobbies – Lesley calls them filling the void.
Foxy Browns hosted by Camilla Blackett. Camilla Blackett (New Girl) will explore what beauty and wellness means from their perspectives as women of color and immigrants. Some days they’re ranking eye creams, others they’re deconstructing Western beauty standards.
Web Crawlers hosted by Melissa Stetten & Ali Segel. Social Media stars Melissa Stetten and Ali Segel go down an internet rabbit hole to explore the strange and mysterious world of the dark web. From hauntings to murders to unexplainable disappearances, these internet sleuths will leave no message board unread.
The Big Ones hosted by Blasucci and Lund, who discuss life’s biggest moral dilemmas. The questions can be complicated but they’re always fun to discuss because they force you to look deep, inside yourself. Will you like what you see?
The Margaret Cho. Each week comedy icon Cho interviews one celebrity you know and love, and one person she believes is the next big thing.
Pleasure Studies. In this impressionistic podcast that accompanies her upcoming album and tour, indie pop darling Feist strings together interviews with professional athletes, new mothers, artists, and even polyamorous pornography performers wherein they examine facets of modern life. This podcast dares us to ask larger questions about how we overcome loss, define partnerships and let go of pain.
Mother of All Shows. Hosted by actor/director Kimmy Gatewood (Glow), this hybrid of investigative journalism, comedy, and thought-provoking interviews will shine a light on what it’s like to be a modern parent. From breastfeeding to work-life balance, this podcast will educate, challenge, and entertain you.
The Alarmist. Actor/writer Rebecca Delgado (The Good Place) sits down with a guest to analyze and scrutinize history’s greatest disasters, from the sinking of the Titanic to the break-up of The Beatles, to find out what went wrong and who is to blame. (It wasn’t Yoko.)
Sex for Money. You know Aasha Davis from hit shows like Friday Night Lights and Drunk History, but what you don’t know is that she loves to talk about sex. Aasha hosts this fun and lighthearted game show centered around demystifying our sexual experiences. Each week two contestants play educational yet ridiculous games in hopes of winning a cash prize.
Spermcast. Actor, writer, and comedian, Molly Hawkey wants a baby. The only problem is she’s 39, single, and not exactly ready for motherhood. So she’s on a quest – a quest for a sperm donor, and a quest for some personal growth. Each week you’ll hear interviews with potential donors, but she’ll also seek guidance from the pros: doctors, financial advisors, tarot card readers…whatever it takes. By the end of this series, if all goes according to plan, she’ll find her donor and inseminate herself.
We Need to Talk about Britney. What does it mean to be famous? What about Britney Spears famous? Do you find yourself comparing each moment of your own life to each moment of Britney’s life? Because even if you’ve never shaved your own head while the paparazzi watched from the barbershop window, we’ve all been there. Join writer and actress, Jen Zaborowski as she sits down with guests to break down Britney’s life and works all while trying to figure out why Jen’s so obsessed with Britney Spears. Sometimes we just need to talk about Britney.
The Complete Christmas. Amanda Lund brings 1960’s love and marriage expert Marabel May to life in the highly-produced audio fiction series, The Complete Woman. This Christmas, Marabel May is back to enforce her suffocating rules of conduct on your holiday celebration. As if you weren’t on the verge of a breakdown already.
