Speaking
Ideas worth
putting on a stage.
Hendrik Baird speaks from thirty years of practice — not theory alone. His talks draw on a career that spans community theatre, arts festival direction, LGBTQ+ advocacy, radio broadcasting, academic research, and podcast production. He brings the researcher's rigour and the storyteller's instinct to every platform.
Hendrik Baird — Toastmasters
Speaking Topics
How global platforms systematically disadvantage independent creators in the Global South — even when those creators are fully included. Drawing on his PhD research into podcast monetisation among South African independent producers, Hendrik examines the gap between platform access and platform benefit, and what it reveals about the political economy of the creator economy beyond the Global North.
A practitioner's view of what it actually takes to build a sustainable podcast — from content strategy and batch production methodology to monetisation, audience development, and the realities of platform dependency. Grounded in five years of producing, training, and advising independent and corporate podcasters across South Africa.
What thirty years of storytelling — from community theatre in the North West to audio drama scripts, radio production, and podcast series — teaches about the fundamentals that survive every format change. This talk explores the through-lines between live performance, broadcast audio, and digital media, and why the craft of story matters more as the volume of content increases.
From founding community advocacy structures in Mafikeng to managing Africa's only LGBTQ+ online radio station, Hendrik has spent decades at the intersection of media and queer visibility. This talk examines the role of media in community formation, the specific challenges of building LGBTQ+ media in the African context, and what GaySA Radio's story reveals about resilience, platform dependency, and the power of a persistent voice.
What a developmental arts festival in the North West Province teaches about the relationship between creative industries and community transformation. Drawing on his experience founding and managing the North West Cultural Calabash, Hendrik examines how arts programming functions as infrastructure — building skills, creating opportunity, and giving rural communities a stake in the cultural economy.
Speaker Biography
Hendrik Baird is a South African author, researcher, and creative practitioner with more than thirty years of experience across the performing arts, media, and cultural industries. He is co-founder and director of Baird Media, a podcast production company based in Pretoria, and a first-year PhD candidate in Digital Culture and Media at the University of Pretoria, where his research examines the political economy of podcast monetisation among independent creators in the Global South. He holds an MA in Journalism and Media Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand and undergraduate degrees in Drama from the University of Pretoria. He is the author of three books on podcasting, a contributor to a Routledge academic volume on radio in South Africa, and a two-time finalist in the RSG/ATKV Radiodramaskryfkompetisie. His work has been recognised with the Muse Award for Best New Media Script, a Bronze Award at the South African Podcast Awards, and the Feather Award for Best Media.
What to Expect
Keynote, panel contribution, workshop, or academic conference paper — adaptable to your event format and audience.
Media studies departments, creative industries conferences, podcasting festivals, LGBTQ+ events, arts leadership forums, and corporate storytelling events.
Practitioner-researcher perspective — grounded in real production experience and informed by ongoing academic research.
Based in Pretoria, South Africa. Available for in-person and remote engagements nationally and internationally.
Book Hendrik for your event
Submit a speaking enquiry using the form below. Include your event date, format, audience, and topic interest and Hendrik will respond within five working days.
Submit a Speaking EnquiryOr email hendrik@baird.media directly with your event details.