At SXSW, Vox Media Drew Over 5,000 Attendees for Live Podcast Tapings, Workout Classes, Happy Hours, and More

Vox Media headed to South by Southwest last weekend for an official podcast stage that drew over 4,000 attendees for three days of live-programming that included fan-favorite shows like Pivot (hosted by journalist Kara Swisher and NYU Stern Marketing professor Scott Galloway), Where Should We Begin? (hosted by acclaimed psychotherapist Esther Perel), Unlocking Us (hosted by research professor Brené Brown), Point Forward (hosted by former NBA stars Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner), and more. Presented by Atlassian, The Vox Media Podcast Stage featured conversations with special guests including comedian Trevor Noah, who talked about the role of comedy in our lives, former soccer player Megan Rapinoe, who talked about her prolific career, director and producer Judd Apatow, who talked about comedy and the state of Hollywood, entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who interviewed Swisher about her new book, and more. Independent media agency Noble People facilitated Vox Media’s partnership with Atlassian, for whom they handle media duties.

Grid View

• Journalist Kara Swisher and NYU Stern Marketing professor Scott Galloway tape Pivot Getty Images for Vox Media
• Point Forward hosts Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner with former professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe, research professor Brené Brown, and acclaimed psychotherapist Esther Perel Getty Images for Vox Media
• Radio host and producer Charlamagne Tha God joined social justice advocate Angela Rye and Today, Explained host Noel King to talk about the Black vote Getty Images for Vox Media
• Director and producer Judd Apatow joined Vulture’s Jesse David Fox for a taping of his podcast about jokes, Good One Getty Images for Vox Media
• Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff makes remarks onstage Getty Images for Vox Media
• Acclaimed psychotherapist Esther Perel and comedian Trevor Noah tape Where Should We Begin? Getty Images for Vox Media
• Figma CEO and co-founder Dylan Field joined The Verge’s editor-in-chief Nilay Patel for a taping of his interview podcast, Decoder Getty Images for Vox Media
• Entrepreneur Mark Cuban interviewed journalist Kara Swisher about her new book in a taping of her podcast, On with Kara Swisher Getty Images for Vox Media
• Atlassian CMO Zeynep Ozdemir makes remarks onstage Getty Images for Vox Media
• The Verge’s Nilay Patel, Alex Cranz, and David Pierce tape their long-running technology podcast, The Vergecast Getty Images for Vox Media

Among the highlights:

• For Where Should We Begin?, Trevor Noah broke down the key to making good small talk: “The key to good small talk is to acknowledge the environment that both of you are sharing. That’s why weather is the most widely used small talk possible because it’s the one thing that we all have to experience whether we like it or not. I don’t care what newspaper you’ve read. I don’t care where you’re from in the world. I don’t care how you see the world. It’s raining. It’s raining. Wow. This rain. Yeah, man. This rain. Ugh, this rain. And now we’re IN.”
• Judd Apatow told Good One host Jesse David Fox that turning down a head writer job at Saturday Night Live was “the best thing he did for comedy”: “The truth is I don’t think I am a great sketch writer. I don’t think that’s my move. And so on some level I think I was aware that I would have been in over my head. And I also think it was the best thing I did for comedy was turning that down because the person that was named the producer there was Steve Higgins (one of my oldest friends) and then they picked the cast and that was Tina Fey and Will Ferrell and that generation of people. It really was the great resurgence of Saturday Night Live, which I clearly would have fucked up. I would have said no to everyone that the world fell in love with. I would have went a different way. So I really think it was a destiny for me to run away scared.”
• Brené Brown brought back her chart-topping show, Unlocking Us, after a yearlong hiatus and talked about quitting social media for a year: “I went off social media for a year. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me personally to be honest with you. I’m really wrestling with it right now because what I realized is that all of the connections I had that… I had so much more energy for connections with people in real life that would hold my hair back if I was sick and throwing up, would talk to me about my mom’s dementia journey, would feed my dog. And it’s almost like if we believe that time and energy and focus is finite, when you live in that world online, something’s going to give in your real life.”

Vox Media’s partnership with Atlassian also included a live-taping of Scott Galloway’s Prof G Pod at their Austin office. Speaking before a crowd of 200 attendees, Galloway shared his takes on the business stories of the week in his signature humorous and brash style. He and his co-host Ed Elson broke down Nelson Peltz’s white paper on Disney and the dangers of a proxy fight, why a Tik Tok pan could work, and whether we’re in an AI-driven bubble.

This sponsorship also offers Atlassian reach in show feeds. When the episodes air, they’ll reach an estimated 1 million listeners in addition to the thousands who tuned in live at SXSW. “We saw this partnership as a way to reinforce Atlassian’s ‘impossible alone’ brand platform alongside premiere podcast teams like Scott Galloway and Kara Swisher,” says Daniel Weisman, group director at Noble People, of the partnership they helped broker.

In addition to the podcast stage, Vox Media partnered with brands including Team Milk, Allegra, San Diego Tourism, and Smirnoff Smash on a rooftop activation that attracted hundreds of attendees for work out classes, happy hours, panel conversations, and more. Team Milk and The Cut partnered on an International Women’s Day run that brought 225 women runners together. They also hosted a panel conversation led by The Cut’s editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples with some of their favorite women in sports including Chloe Kim, Haley Rosen and Dina Asher-Smith. Meanwhile, women’s health brand, Popsugar, partnered with Allegra for an energy-boosting HIIT Pilates class from holistic health coach Yovana Mendoza, and Eater and San Diego Tourism hosted a happy hour that featured bespoke cocktails from Punch’s “Best New Bartender” Alicia Perry and San Diego inspired bites and drinks including avocado toast, ceviche, baja fish tacos, homemade churros, a paleta cart, and more. The roof also included a Smirnoff Smash bar.

Grid View

• Allegra and Popsugar’s HIIT class
• Eater and San Diego Tourism’s happy hour
• Eater and San Diego Tourism’s happy hour
• Eater and San Diego Tourism’s happy hour
• Eater and San Diego Tourism’s happy hour
• Eater and San Diego Tourism’s happy hour
• Smirnoff Smash bar
• The Cut and Team Milk’s “How I Get It Done” panel