On Air Fest, one of the podcast industry’s top festivals, has added actor Alec Baldwin, Malcolm Gladwell, and NPR’s “Code Switch” to its 2026 public lineup, along with podcast stars Adam Friedland, Kara Swisher and Pablo Torre to the festival’s invite-only event.
The Brooklyn-based event, scheduled to take place between Feb. 23-26, will feature Baldwin bringing his show, “Here’s the Thing,” to a live setting; Gladwell will do the same with “Revisionist History.” NPR co-hosts Gene Demby and B.A. Parker will discuss “Code Switch,” and Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway will talk about hosting ten years of “Odd Lots,” which broke new download records this year.
Other new additions to the main-stage lineup include “Song Exploder” host Hrishikesh Hirway and “This Day: A History Show” host Jody Avirgan of Radiotopia, a special session of “Creation Myth” with “This American Life” star Sean Cole and “The Town Show” co-hosts and comedians Mark Chavez and Ryan Bell, among others.
The second day of the four-day festival includes the invite-only Podcast Business Summit, a partnership with Bloomberg featuring stars who’ve broken ground in podcasting and are paving the way for its future.
This year’s event, hosted by Bloomberg reporter Ashley Carmen, will feature Friedland, Swisher, Torre, Paper Kite Productions’ Jenna Weiss-Berman and “The Telepathy Tapes” host Ky Dickens. Slow Creator Fund’s Megan Lightcap and Goalhanger’s Jack Davenport will also appear at the summit.
The collection of podcast stars will join the previously announced names for the festival, including former CNN host and “The Don Lemon Show” star Don Lemon; “The Assignment” host Audie Cornish; and author Roxane Gay; the English/Spanish show “La Brega.” There’s also an opportunity to pitch ESPN executives on a show as part of ESPN 30 for 30’s programming. Its public programming — which will span Williamsburg locations like the Wythe Hotel, Arlo Williamsburg and The XX Venue — takes place between the 25th and 26th.
On Air Fest has seen the likes of Seth Meyers, Norah Jones, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, David Remnick, Anderson Cooper, Terry Gross, Francis Ford Coppola, Ira Glass, and Astead Herndon grace its stages since it began in 2018.
Check out the full lineup here:
