Owen, Marius, and Abby recording in their studio (photo: Emma Monrós)
By Helen Chen and Emma Monrós Rosell
Every Thursday afternoon, an Irishman (Owen O’Sullivan), a Dane (Marius Lathey), and an American (Abby Wambaugh) gather in their studio in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen to make a weekly episode of “Coping in Copenhagen.”
The podcast discusses what is going on in Copenhagen and Denmark, all of this in English. The podcast was the first of its kind when it first began back in 2018, and it has grown with both and international and Danish audience.
Podcasts about Danish life…with some twists
If you were to ask the creators what makes their podcast special, their answer would for sure be that they do a comedic take on the podcast.
All three are professional comedians and are not hesitant to add their comedic talent to their podcasts. They address the news and happenings in Denmark, but according to Abby: “I would say we’re like the opinion section of the newspaper, no one should rely on us for the news!”
Pondering on their Danish lifestyle has helped Owen and Abby, the two foreigners, to be more aware of their situation, and has helped Marius to better understand his country.
Passion vs. reality
Recently, the podcast has gained enough listenership to get a contract with Acast, a company that allows podcasts to bring in revenue from advertisements. However, according to Owen, it’s not nearly enough to cover an actual paycheck. “Passion is a big part of why we keep doing this,” he said.
The team struggles with finding ways to monetize the time and effort they put into making the podcasts. According to Marius, occasionally they get patrons, “but you never know when the next one is coming from.”
Part of the team’s goal is to find ways to make a more consistent income from the podcast.
This article would be published in The Art Newspaper, a monthly cultural newspaper based in London and New York (https://www.theartnewspaper.com/) under their ‘Podcasts’ section.