5 Dayton podcasts you should check out

The creators of Gem City Podcast, (from left) Mark DaGrossa, Izzy Rock, Eric Ruiz and Libby Ballengee, in the Oregon District space where they have produced more than 100 episodes on local business, politics, music and more. DON THRASHER/CONTRIBUTED

Credit: Don Thrasher

Credit: Don Thrasher

The creators of Gem City Podcast, (from left) Mark DaGrossa, Izzy Rock, Eric Ruiz and Libby Ballengee, in the Oregon District space where they have produced more than 100 episodes on local business, politics, music and more. DON THRASHER/CONTRIBUTED

Podcasting is on the rise. Though it's been around for a while, only recently did the term enter the mainstream cultural consciousness.

This is in partial thanks to NPR's Serial, which looked at the 1999 murder of Maryland high school student Hae Min Lee -- which was "the fastest podcast to reach 5 million streams or downloads in iTunes history."

You're probably familiar with Gem City Podcast, which shares stories from all walks of our community. But according to TheIzzyRock on Reddit (who produces two local podcasts of his own), there are quite a few Dayton-grown podcasts to check out. Have you heard of them?

  • "Gem City Podcast is a podcast that covers everything. Music, politicians, businesses, festivals, local personalities, etc." Find on iTunes.
  • "Tales From the Hardside is a podcast I started in April 2012, featuring family, friends, famous comics, authors, documentarians, etc. Pretty much covering things I enjoy. I play local Dayton music on here as well. Sorry for non iTunes users. It's on Stitcher as well. It's released every Tuesday." Find on iTunes.
  • Completely Straight is hosted by Jason, Josh and a guest. Their focus? "An unedited comedy podcast where Jason and Josh talk with a guest every week about EVERYTHING that is going on." According to their website, they release new episodes every Thursday. Find on iTunes, Stitcher.
  • "Sound Check Chat is 'a bi-monthly music lover's podcast that delivers the answers fans are looking for, straight from the lips of those who make the music. We have new episodes coming out on the 1st and 15th of each month.'" Find on iTunes, Stitcher.
  • "On The Block is a podcast with my friend Scott Epic. He's a radio DJ from Richmond, Indiana and the first person I ever met from the internet. We live a block away from each other. This podcast is released on the 1st and 15th of the month." Find on iTunes. UPDATE: Per Izzy Rock, this podcast ended in September -- but there are still 70+ episodes to listen to.
  • "Miami Valley Skeptics is a group of freethinkers discussing news, issues and a wide variety of topics all from a dogma-free perspective. The co-hosts of the show met each other through Freethought Dayton, a local community group." UPDATE: the podcast aired its last show on January 18, 2016, but there are still 60+ episodes to listen to on iTunes or Android. They have a new podcast project in the works, so stay tuned to their Facebook page for more info.

For those interested in getting a little more up close and personal with your local podcasters, Dayton Podfest is coming up on June 3, 2016 at the Old Yellow Cab Building. According to the Facebook event, it's "an evening of the various podcasts in the Dayton...area, recorded live in front of an audience."

Dayton Podfest is hosted by Izzy Rock (Gem City Podcast, Tales from the Hardside podcasts) and Josh Moody (Completely Straight podcast).

Did we miss any local podcasts? Let us know -- email us: contact@dayton.com.

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