Podcaster Profiles: Andreea Coscai: Making The World A Better Place One Podcast At A Time

 People can be divided into two categories. Those who want to make the world a better place for themselves and their cronies. Then there are those who want to make the world a better place for everyone, no exclusions. 

That second category is a flawless description of podcaster Andreea Coscai.

Andreea's weapon of choice for world change? Podcasting, naturally.

Andreea Coscai is a podcaster with experience in marketing, production, social media, and community-building. But more than anything, she's a big podcasting fan and audio nerd.

 Andreea has been working in podcast marketing with an incredible team of podcast-loving superheroes (shoutout to Tink Media!) and joined the Earbuds Podcast Collective as a newsletter and community coordinator. 

Andreea has been in the news because last month she developed and published a new Substack podcasting newsletter called Eurowaves.

In these divisive times, Eurowaves recounts stories that connect us across borders. These stories from other cultures are more relevant than ever.

The newsletter was created by, and is written by, Andreea Coscai. I'll let her tell you about herself: "I’m from Romania, in the Balkans, where press freedom is customarily restricted, and independent journalism is in a constant fight for sustainability. Having lived in China for two years, the U.S. for five, and now back in Europe, storytelling has become the connecting link of it all for me—a way to make sense of my own journey, connect dots across the world, and bring people together to have interest in issues beyond their borders."

In an interview with the Podnews Weekly Review podcast last week, Andreea said,"I want to use the newsletter to bring people together more, not only in Europe but connecting the U.S. and Europe."

Those are noble aspirations in a post-U.S. election world where divisiveness and exclusion are foundational strategies.

Not to be dissuaded, Andreea notes: "Last fall, after I started working with Tink Media, I started to think about how to help the Romanian podcasting space. Right now, It's pretty limited."

Andreea is not one to be limited in her vision. "Let's not stop at Romania but look at Europe as a whole," she told hosts Cridland and Sethi on the podcast.

Andreea continues: "Podcasting is more subscription-based in Europe. There is definitely a need for more narrative shows."

 Like all of us, Andreea Coscai is heavily influenced by her origins. "I’m from Romania, in the Balkans, where press freedom is customarily restricted, and independent journalism is in a constant fight for sustainability. Having lived in China for two years, the U.S. for five, and now back in Europe, storytelling has become the connecting link of it all for me—a way to make sense of my own journey, connect dots across the world, and bring people together to have interest in issues beyond their borders."

I believe that Andreea has punctuated a simple wisdom: "What happens to others can be an object lesson for us. We are one world. There is no more, 'Too far or too remote.' Wars, climate change, pandemics, political instability, corruption, and inequality. It's the butterfly effect, which rests on the notion that the world is deeply interconnected, such that one small occurrence can influence a much larger complex system."

Our "connector" on this journey is Andreea Coscai who has this vision of using podcasting and journalism to make the world a better place.

Some of the stories she's worked on have explored Romania’s struggling healthcare system, reproductive rights and lessons Americans could take from Romania’s Communist past (haunting now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned). She has hosted a podcast about podcasting and has co-hosted one about podcast discovery.

In 2022, Andreea released six episodes of her Who Holds up Half the Sky podcast.

Who Holds up Half the Sky is an investigative podcast discussing the possibilities of advancing feminist activism in China under censorship and lack of free speech. In 2020, she founded the first NGO that promotes leadership and networking for young women, Her Time Romania. She spent her childhood in Romania, lived in China for two years, and moved to the United States in 2018. She released those six episodes in mid-May 2022, with various Chinese academic and intellectual figures discussing how women in China battle censorship and the governmental intrusion into their lives that only women experience. What I love about this podcast is that it reveals feminism as more than a socioeconomic movement in highly developed countries. Coscai portrays feminism as a potentially powerful force against a Communist government like China.

At the time, Andreea Coscai observed: "Over the years, I have dived deeper into issues of multiculturalism, social activism, and gender identities. This work defines my curiosity, which stems from a continuous movement through distinct cultural spaces, which started in China."

When we asked Andreea about Eurowaves, she told us: "This newsletter has been simmering for a while, so I’m beyond excited to finally share the news with everyone."

Andreea continues: "The podcasting scene in Europe is very diverse. Each country has its own approach (learn all about it from this podcast) but the more you look at it closely, you’ll see surprising similarities. Compared to the U.S. space which is well-developed (although debatably shaky), there’s plenty of room and need for growth, funding, and support. The great news is there are many wonderful podcasters working to build those bridges and grow the European podcasting community. And I’m joining in!"

Andreea explains: "We will be embarking on a mission to connect European stories through podcasting by showcasing the uniqueness of audio in connecting us, building connections between European podcasting industries AND internationally, and alerting subscribers to podcast trends across the continent."

Eurowaves will be filled with podcast recommendations from Andreea, industry insights, interviews with European podcast professionals, upcoming events and opportunities, spotlights on companies, and organizations driving change in European podcasting.

Andreea cannot contain herself: "And the part I’m most excited about: Every other newsletter will feature a curated selection of podcasts from a different European country—in its native language!"

 Andreea has released several issues of Eurowaves and in one edition she covered one of my favorite European podcasts. Don’t Drink The Milk. 

Andreea narrates: "This episode of the fabulous and beloved Don’t Drink The Milk podcast goes beyond that and explores the invisible labor of women at an international level, on a daily basis: from Iceland to South Korea. Fun fact, Iceland was the first country in the world to have a female president in 1980. And Icelandic women have held multiple women’s strikes, the first one being in 1975, where 90% of Iceland’s women participated. The country has nearly 50/50 women’s representation in politics, so with all these things in mind, some might think there is no more need for a feminist movement. This episode goes into why that’s not the case and also explores stories of South Korean women, a country that does much worse in gender equality reports. You’ll hear about the 4B movement, Escape the corset and much more."

Ear Worthy has covered numerous podcasters of uncommon skill in the past four months through its Podcaster Profiles edition, but no one with the global track record of excellence that Andreea Coscai has amassed. From Romania to China to the United States, Andreea has left her footprint of excellence in the podcasting community.

As American musician Bob Dylan once mumbled, "A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with their freedom."

 Andreea Coscai may use a podcasting microphone and laptop as her weapons of choice, but make no mistake about it. She is determined to make the world a better place -- one country and one continent at a time.

An appropriate Romanian saying that encapsulates Andreea's intrepidness goes like this: "Fii schimbarea pe care vrei să o vezi în lume."

That means "Be the change you want to see in the world."