LeVar Burton and More Join Lineup for 2017 NOW HEAR THIS Podcast Festival

Podcast industry leader Midroll Media, organizer of the pioneering Now Hear This podcast festival, has announced additional programming, as well as the daily line up, for the second annual festival. The hosts of many of today's most popular podcasts will take to the stage for live performances and mingle with fans in meet-and-greet gatherings.

Newly announced shows include "LeVar Burton Reads," from the star of "Reading Rainbow" and "Stark Trek;" comedy podcast "Hello From The Magic Tavern;" "Vox's The Weeds," an in-depth look at current events; and "Nancy," conversations about today's LGBTQ issues; as well as a block of wrestling podcasts, including "Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast," "The Art of Wrestling" and "Conversation with the Big Guy."

After successfully launching the event in 2016 in in Anaheim, California, festival organizers moved Now Hear This to Manhattan's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center (655 W. 34th Street). The festival takes place Sept. 8-10.

The festival's daily schedule will be as follows:

FRIDAY

- "How Did This Get Made?" [Comedy] - Have you ever seen a movie so bad that it's amazing? In this long-running and top-rated podcast, Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas watch movies and report back with the results. (Earwolf)
- "Lovett or Leave It" [News & Politics] - Jon Lovett, former Obama speechwriter and co-host of top podcast "Pod Save America," is joined by comedians, actors, journalists and others for a roundup of the week's top news. (Crooked Media)
- "Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People" [Storytelling] - Every week, Chris Gethard ("The Chris Gethard Show," "Broad City," "This American Life") opens the phone line to one anonymous caller, and he can't hang up first, no matter what. From shocking confessions and family secrets to philosophical discussions and shameless self-promotion, anything can and will happen! (Earwolf)
- "Lauren Lapkus & Jon Gabrus" [Comedy] - Actress/improviser Lauren Lapkus and actor/writer/comedian Jon Gabrus present a brand new podcast, the details of which have yet to be announced. (Earwolf)
- "Found" [Storytelling] - Host Davy Rothbart explores personal stories of love, loss, hope, transformation and aspiration through the lens of lost and found notes with the power of humor and music. (Wondery)

SATURDAY

- "Comedy Bang! Bang!" [Comedy] - Host Scott Aukerman ("Comedy Bang! Bang!" on IFC, "Mr. Show") blends conversation and character work from today's funniest comedians. (Earwolf)
- "LeVar Burton Reads" [Storytelling] - Lose yourself in a great story with LeVar Burton Reads. In each episode, host LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow, Star Trek, Roots) handpicks a different piece of short fiction, and reads it to you. (Midroll Media)
- "Larry Wilmore: Black on Air" [News & Politics] - Emmy Award-winning producer, actor and comedian Larry Wilmore's podcast weighs in on the issues of the week as he interviews guests in the worlds of politics, entertainment, culture, sports and beyond. (The Ringer)
- "Hello from the Magic Tavern" [Comedy] - Arnie Niekamp fell through a dimensional portal behind a Burger King into the fantastical land of Foon. He's still getting a slight Wi-Fi signal, so he uploads a weekly podcast from the tavern, the Vermilion Minotaur, where he interviews lizards, monsters and adventurers. (Earwolf)
- "Mortified" [Storytelling] - This podcast celebrates stories revealed through the strange and extraordinary things we created as kids. Witness adults sharing their most embarrassing childhood artifacts (journals, letters, poems, lyrics, plays, home movies, art) with others in order to reveal stories about their lives. (PRX, Radiotopia)
- "I Was There Too" [Society & Culture] - Host Matt Gourley (Superego, Drunk History, James Bonding) speaks with guests who provide the inside stories of how cinema and television history was made from a fly-on-the-wall perspective. (Earwolf)
- "Terrible, Thanks for Asking" [Society & Culture] - Hosted by author (It's Okay to Laugh (Crying Is Cool Too)) and notable widow (her words) Nora McInerny, this is a funny/sad/uncomfortable podcast about talking honestly about our pain, our awkwardness and our humanness, which is not an actual word. (APM Podcasts)
- "The Nod" [Society & Culture] - Co-hosts Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings gleefully explore all the beautiful, complicated dimensions of Black life. It is a fun, yet poignant examination of both the biggest moments and most underexplored corners of Black art, media and culture. (Gimlet)
- "Lore" [Storytelling] - This award-winning, critically acclaimed podcast is about true-life scary stories. "Lore" exposes the darker side of history, exploring the creatures, people and places of our wildest nightmares.
- "Criminal" [True Crime] - A podcast about crime and people who've done wrong, been wronged or gotten caught somewhere in the middle. (Radiotopia)
- "The Flop House" [Comedy] - For this bi-monthly podcast devoted to the worst in recent film, hosts Dan McCoy and Stuart Wellington, joined for this live performance by The Daily Show's Ronny Chieng, watch a questionable film and then engage in an unscripted, slightly inebriated discussion, focusing on the movie's shortcomings and occasional delights. (Maximum Fun)
- "Politically Re-active" [News & Politics] - Hosts, comedians and longtime friends W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu answer questions and separate fact from fake news as they navigate the US political landscape. (First Look Media's Topic & Earwolf)
- "Who Charted?" [Comedy] - Hosts Howard Kremer and Kulap Vilaysack look at the week's music and movie charts with your favorite comedian guests. (Earwolf)
- "The Cracked Podcast" [Comedy] - Top editors from popular humor website Cracked.com dissect pop culture tropes and debunk myths, along with an impressive roster of guests. (Earwolf)
- "Nancy" [Society & Culture] - Join BFFs Kathy Tu and Tobin Low for provocative stories and frank conversations about the LGBTQ experience today. (WNYC)
- "Story Telling in the Dark" [Storytelling] - The hosts of Wondery's most popular storytelling podcasts including "Secrets," "Crimes & Audiotape," "Inside Psycho," "Terms" and others will get you immersed in an experience you'll never forget: your imagination, powered by sound. The oldest and purest form of virtual reality. (Wondery)

SUNDAY

- "NPR's Planet Money" [Business] - The economy explained with stories and surprises. (NPR).
- "Vox's The Weeds" [News & Politics] -Hosted by Vox's Sarah Kliff and Matthew Yglesias, and joined for this live performance by a special guest TBC, this is the podcast for people who follow politics because they love thinking about health care, economics and zoning. It's not a podcast for people who like hearing talk about gaffes. (Vox)
- "Doughboys" [Comedy] - Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger love to talk almost as much as they love to eat. On "Doughboys," they review chain restaurants and generally gab about grub. (Feral Audio)
- "StarTalk All-Stars" [Science] - The first spin-off space and science podcast and radio show of the popular "StarTalk Radio" podcast from host Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
- "Art of Wrestling" [Sports] - Each week, host Colt Cabana sits down, in person, with friends in wrestling to tell their stories of struggle and triumph in an attempt to live their dream. Episodes also include rare music, hilarious stories, commentaries and more.
- "Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast" [Sports] - Professional broadcaster Sam Roberts talks to wrestlers and media personalities about their common love of all things wrestling, and give his take on current day Sports Entertainment.
- "Conversation with the Big Guy" [Sports] - A weekly podcast hosted by former WWE superstar Ryback and independent wrestler/promoter Pat Buck that explores life challenges, controversial subjects, wrestling nonsense, nutrition, motivation and anything that they selfishly feel is relevant.

"We're thrilled about this year's lineup," said Chris Bannon, Midroll Media's chief content officer and leader of the booking and creative process for Now Hear This. "It offers podcast fans a truly wide variety of hosts -- including some of their favorite comedians and storytellers -- who all love performing in front of an excited live audience."

Three day passes -$170 for general-admission; $320 for VIP- as well as single day tickets-$75 for Friday; $125 for Saturday; $50 for Sunday-are on sale at nowhearthisfest.com. A detailed schedule with set times will be announced soon.

Midroll Media is a leading podcast content company, advertising network and distribution platform that is changing the face of digital audio. It is the parent company of the Earwolf network and its top-ranked comedy podcasts; popular podcast listening platform and content network Stitcher and its premium subscription service; and the Midroll advertising network, representing over 300 of the world's largest podcasts. With offices in Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco, Midroll was founded in 2010 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP).