The annual On Air Fest, one of the podcasting industry’s biggest gatherings, has announced some of the headliners for its 2026 event.
The festival, scheduled for Feb. 23-26 in Brooklyn, will include sessions featuring Roxane Gay, Don Lemon, Audie Cornish, Jonathan Goldstein, Radiolab hosts Latif Nasser and Lulu Miller, and Futuro Media’s bilingual show La Brega. Cornish (CNN’s The Assignment) and Goldstein (Heavyweight) will each host live editions of their podcasts during On Air Fest. ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcasts will also host programming and give creators a chance to pitch sports-related stories.
The opening day of On Air Fest will include the sixth annual Ambie Awards for excellence in podcasting. The awards are presented by The Podcast Academy (the entry deadline is Nov. 28), and the festival’s creative team will produce and direct the awards for the first time.
The 2026 festival will have more than 80 hours of programming with a main stage at the Arlo Williamsburg and the fest’s creator hall at The XX Venue. Bloomberg reporter Ashley Carman will co-host the New York edition of On Air’s semiannual Podcast Business Summit with Bloomberg, an invitation-only event, on Feb. 24. The remaining two days will be devoted to sessions delving into innovations and changes in the field.
Sponsors and partners for the 2026 festival include iHeartPodcasts, ESPN 30 for 30 Podcasts, CNN, Pushkin Industries, WNYC, Futuro Media, Bloomberg and The Ambies.
