New Media Partners Bring the World of Podcasts to Pohoda Festivalgoers

Slovakia’s largest multi-genre festival will be even better this year with a new accompanying programme. Podcast fans at Pohoda 2025 can look forward to becoming part of the action themselves, as live recordings will take place right at Trenčín Airport. This new addition comes courtesy of the festival’s latest media partners – ZAPO and SME Podcasts. Thanks to them, festivalgoers will not only be able to listen to but also watch and experience live recordings of some of Slovakia’s most popular podcasts – Tak bolo, Piatoček, and Dobré ráno sobota – all featured as part of the official festival programme.

27. June 2025

Pohoda Festival has expanded its portfolio of media partners. Joining Pohoda’s long-standing main media partners, Rádio_FM, Aktuality.sk and Startitup, will be ZAPO – Zábava v podcastoch and SME Podcasts. Both companies are part of the Petit Press publishing group, and together form the largest and most influential podcast network in Slovakia, with tens of millions of listens every month. “Podcasts are a global media phenomenon, with listenership continuing to grow rapidly year after year – and with no signs of slowing down. We’re delighted to have secured such a strong partnership that will help all of us grow our audiences. It’s also a meaningful collaboration for both sides – for festivalgoers, who will enjoy a new programme of live podcast recordings at the festival, and for the listeners of ZAPO and SME Podcasts, who’ll gain access to unique content throughout the year,” says Lukáš Grešš, PR & Media Director of Pohoda Festival.

Visitors to Pohoda 2025 can look forward to three live podcast recordings. On Friday, 11 July, the satirical podcast Piatoček will be recorded and released later the same day across podcast platforms. That will be followed by Dobré ráno sobota, which will be available the very next morning. Saturday’s line-up includes Tak bolo – one of ZAPO’s most listened-to podcasts – which will focus on the relationship between art and political regimes.

Programme of Live Podcast Recordings at Pohoda 2025:

Piatoček (SME Podcasts)
Crowdberry Club, Friday 10:15 am

In the satirical podcast Piatoček, hosts Kristína Gyuríková, Kristína Janščová, Viktor Hlavatovič, and Adam Blaško take a look at everything important and unimportant that’s happened in Slovak politics. At Pohoda, they’ll be joined by rapper Supa and singer Katarína Koščová to chat about music and the current social climate.

Dobré ráno sobota (SME Podcasts)
Optimistan of Orange Foundation, Friday 11:30 am

Why is it so important to speak out today? And why must we help each other? Zuzana Kovačič Hanzelová and Jakub Filo will try to find answers to these questions and more at Pohoda, joined by festival director Michal Kaščák – and the audience, who will have a chance to ask their own.

Tak bolo: Why Do Regimes Love Art? (ZAPO)
Crowdberry Club, Saturday 10:15 am

The Nazis looted art across Europe, collecting works by da Vinci and Klimt while their regime killed millions of people. Stalin dictated what ‘proper’ films should look like – cheerful tractor drivers, strong miners, no irony, no questions. In Czechoslovakia, there was even a Festival of Political Song. Can you imagine Pohoda being forced to feature songs praising the ruling elite? Art became a weapon. Aesthetics bowed to ideology. In this live episode of Tak bolo, hosts Kristína Paholík Hamárová, Juraj Jeleň, and Dominika Pišťanská will examine how 20th-century regimes adored art – but only when it obeyed. They’ll explore why totalitarian regimes saw artists as either heroes or enemies, why Hitler believed he had impeccable taste, and how Mussolini supported futurists, but only as long as they served him. How censorship worked, what happened to 'degenerate art', and how culture changed under the pressure of power.

This partnership between Pohoda, ZAPO, and SME Podcasts extends beyond these three podcasts. Throughout the year, Pohoda’s organisers will also feature as guests on various podcast episodes. Already released are:

Peklo v papuli (ZAPO), with Pohoda’s head of gastronomy Gabriel Sebő
Buzzworld (ZAPO), featuring Jana Kopecká and Lukáš Grešš from the PR team
Kariéris (ZAPO), with Paula Poštolková and Barbora Bodnárová about working for Pohoda
Roadtrip (ZAPO), with Mr. and Mrs. Repko on how to enjoy the festival in a caravan with family
Plus, you can listen to Pohoda Festival director Michal Kaščák in two SME podcasts: Dobré ráno and Biznislab

Live podcast recordings at Pohoda are brought to you by the festival’s new media partners – ZAPO and SME Podcasts. Thanks to them, you will not only be able to listen to, but also watch and experience live recordings of some of Slovakia’s most popular podcasts – Tak bolo, Piatoček, and Dobré ráno sobota – all featured as part of the official Pohoda 2025 programme.