Podcasting’s First Star

Wired News has a profile of one of podcasting’s first stars — an obscene, gay drag act from Chicago called Madge Weinstein.

A performance artist and one-time aspiring filmmaker who lives in Chicago, Bluestein appears to have successfully traded his former job in tech support at a local hospital for a life of spouting off on air.

He sees himself as one of those people for whom the new medium of podcasting has created opportunities where none existed. He had sporadically posted video blogs online and had performed as Madge around Chicago since 2000. Then, last November, stuck in a funk over President Bush’s 2004 re-election, Bluestein stumbled over (ex-MTV VJ Adam) Curry’s show and became obsessed with podcasting. Soon thereafter, Yeast Radio was born as an outlet for performing as Madge and for obscenity-laden political venting.

Curry, the ex-MTV VJ turned self-styled “podfather,” says he thinks Bluestein’s act is a scream and hired him in September as a member of Curry’s PodSquad stable of talent. Yeast Radio has been heavily promoted on Curry’s programs and Madge has subbed for Curry on his Sirius radio program from time to time.

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“Richard is just the sweetest guy and he’s really spearheading this qPodder community with over 150 gay and lesbian podcasters (on the site), which is remarkable,” Curry said. “I mean, come on. Is this some big secret in advertising, that gays and lesbians are a good market? I don’t think so. If that’s not a market, let me go eat my shoe.”