Voices of VR Podcast
Image source: Voices of VR Podcast
With over 1,200 episodes and interviews all conducted by a single person over 11 years, Voices of VR is by far the best podcast covering the XR industry available today. It is a listener-supported podcast available direct on the website and through regular podcast platforms.
Starting in May 2014, Bye posted that he was “in the process of learning everything I can about the principles of what makes an incredible virtual reality experience. It’s the wild west of experimentation for what works and doesn’t work within an immersive 3D VR environment. This podcast will track a journey of learning by talking with the innovators, thought-leaders and pioneers of the consumer-grade VR games, educational experiences and data visualizations.”
Over the past decade, the podcast has expanded to include the entire XR industry (virtual reality, mixed reality, augmented reality) but has stayed true to that original ethos.
So let’s dive right in… about the host behind this amazing series.
About Kent Bye
Podcast host Kent Bye. Image source: Voices of VR Podcast
According to his website Bye is a “philosopher, oral historian, and experiential journalist helping define the patterns of immersive storytelling, experiential design, and the ultimate potential of XR.”
His interest in people and their projects as well as his passion for the industry is reflected in his obvious deep research, preparation and approach to interviewing guests. Bye asks considered questions about their background, experience, how they came to work in the industry - threads that are often teased out when delving deeper into the inspiration behind projects.
Bye is deeply interested in where the industry is going and challenges including topics such as ethics, privacy and security as well as philosophical questioning around narrative, embodiment, and phenomenology. This is reflected is his signature last question for guests “what do you think the ultimate potential of all these spatial computing, immersive technologies, AI, and what they might be able to enable?”
Why I love the podcast
Besides Bye being a skillful interviewer, I love this podcast because he goes to many of the important major XR industry events across the globe including Augmented World Expo, Tribeca Festival, , Raindance, SXSW, Sundance, Cannes, New Images Festival, Immersive Design Summit and many more!
Besides being on the ground and present at those events – I value his perspective and opinion. Bye never interviews a guest in a vacuum. He’s always extremely cognisant of the wider political, social and cultural landscape that each work sits within. XR projects are developed with funding and investment (lean at times, abundant at others), by individuals with a particular viewpoint and message for an audience and marketplace that is constantly evolving. Bye catches these threads and weaves them into the conversation that in itself is a reflection of what his happening at that time.
If I sound overly positive, I’m not the only one! A sign of his popularity within the industry is the number of repeat guests who come back for second, third or more interviews. He has a great rapport with guests before the interview takes place because they all seem to be more than ready to discuss the intricate details of their projects often reflecting on difficult subjects such as failures and challenges from personal, project or industry perspectives.
Independent Journalism
Whether Bye realised it or not when starting his podcast but Voices of VR has become such an important landmark in the Extended Reality landscape.
An important aspect of the podcast, which I think is related to his popularity, is that it features no advertising or sponsors. I believe this allows Bye to provide an unbiased perspective when he interviews guests. It also provides those guests with the comfort that Bye doesn’t take any stance but his own.
I think this is an admirable stance to take but it must place him in a financially difficult situation. Which is why I want to point out that he has a Patreon platform through which people can support his venture. If you’re able to, you can also support Kent Bye and the Voices of VR podcast through the patreon. https://www.patreon.com/voicesofvr
In this day and age, when independent journalism is under fire (and often underpaid!) and where quality content is being undervalued due to the advent of AI slop, I think its more important than ever to support those who embark on such important endeavours and produce work of such a high standard.
Some recent episodes and highlights
#1650: Sneak Peak of Venice Immersive 2025 Selection with Curators Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac
#1630: Keiichi Matsuda on Metaphors for AI Agents in XR User Experience: From Omniscient Gods to Animistic Familiars