“The podcast will expand and deepen Shuffle’s commitment to music and artists in Northeast Ohio through long-form interviews, deep-dive reporting and conversations with expert contributors,” reads the press release.
Full disclosure: This reporter will be one of the contributors.
The podcast will release a new episode every Thursday, and Shuffle will continue to air on WKSU 89.7 every other Thursday during Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The podcast released on the same day will be an extended version of the broadcast.
The podcast will feature Shuffle creator Amanda Rabinowitz and Shuffle producer Brittany Nader, a dynamic duo that’ll serve as hosts, journalists and commentators.
“Northeast Ohio is full of musicians with incredible talent and ambition. Our music community is vibrant and pushes boundaries — with our bi-weekly Shuffle program on WKSU, we could barely keep up with all of the excellent new artists, ideas and stories,” says Rabinowitz in a press release. “The Shuffle podcast creates a platform where we can feature everything happening in the music community and engage directly with artist, listeners and music appreciators.”
Dedicated to promoting diversity, Rabinowitz and Nader will deliver commentary and music recommendations on the Shuffle podcast.
“There’s a gap in the media and entertainment community when it comes to long-form audio content featuring our Northeast Ohio musicians,” says Nader. “The Shuffle podcast will create a space for conversations about our music community — where there is so much energy and activity.”
Other contributors include the following: Annie Nickoloff, arts and culture writer for Cleveland.com; Annie Zaleski, Cleveland-based author, editor and journalist; Larry Gargus, creator and host of Bleachmouth Post Script music podcast; Kenny Averiett, Akron-based music writer, booker for Porch Rokr and co-manager of the Oakdale House venue; and John Stursa, co-founder of I’m From Cleveland.
The Shuffle podcast will be available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. It’ll also be available at wksu.org/shuffle.
The June 24 program will feature local singer-songwriter Cory Grinder from Cory Grinder & the Playboy Scouts.
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This article appears in Jun 16-29, 2021.

