Friday evening at Sundance Film Festival, Audible, the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling and Sundance Film Festival’s Official Audio Entertainment Partner, hosted a “Variety x Audible Cocktails and Conversations” panel at The Audible Listening Lodge. Kenya Barris — the award-winning creator behind titles such as “Black-ish,” “You People,” “#blackAF,” “Girls Trip, “and the Founder & CEO of Khalabo Ink Society — and Audible’s Chief Content Officer Rachel Ghiazza spoke with Variety’s Brent Lang about the creative opportunities in audio, highlighting content from the multi-project development deal between Khalabo Ink Society and Audible.

Panel discussion highlights included:

• Kenya Barris on working with Audible on projects including DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz Podcast: “Audible wanted to do things that were far beyond anyone else [in audio]. Immersive, really sort of 360-degree sonic things that make you feel something different than a normal podcast. It didn’t feel flat, and it felt like, as a storyteller, the kind of thing I want to do.”
• Rachel Ghiazza on the types of stories Audible tells and what listeners will take away from them, “[At Audible] we really care about the creative arts… we create things where there are strong characters that leave listeners feeling like they understand who they are, have some kind of connection to them, and there was a real story.”
• Kenya Barris on the power and potential of audio storytelling: “Podcasting can be relevant now, and I think that’s a really important and special part of the medium. We need to be able to talk about what we’re experiencing right now, and do it in a real, immediate way.”

The Audible Listening Lodge will host a second “Variety x Audible Cocktails & Conversations” panel tonight:

Sunday, January 21, 5:30-8:00pm

Panel Discussion: Breaking Down Genres

An exploration of the importance of creative freedom in storytelling, across different mediums of entertainment. Actors, writers, directors and producers will gather to discuss their experiences defying expectations and challenging genre norms for greater expression and innovation, opening new doors for creativity and the future of storytelling. Featuring “Rob Peace” director, writer and actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, “Parish” EP and star Giancarlo Esposito, “Winner” director, writer and producer Susanna Fogel, Audible Head of Creative Development, North America Kate Navin and author, poet, comedian & public speaker Alok Vaid-Menon.

Moderator: Angelique Jackson, Senior Entertainment Writer for Variety

In addition, listeners can explore some of the world’s most innovative and fearless storytellers on Audible with a spotlight on curated listens in the spirit of the festival, from Sundance creators, and more: https://adbl.co/audiblelistens.