We believe the world is still filled with wonder

At Kaleidoscope our shows are a passport to adventure; thrilling true stories, filled with heart. It’s racing down the Amazon with a modern Indiana Jones. It’s being lost in space with a Russian cosmonaut and falling in love with your handler on the ground. It’s the joy of underwater discoveries, and the thrill of being on the lam with a 
real-life Robin Hood. It’s stories that will change your perspective and broaden your horizons. But most of all, it’s fun.

Our Team

  • Oz Woloshyn

    CO-FOUNDER

    Oz is a Peabody and Emmy-award winning journalist, who has produced and hosted two podcasts that helped him (and hopefully others) see the world through new eyes: Forgotten: Women of Juarez and Sleepwalkers. Previously Oz presented Like Art for Vice, a show about how the internet is changing art.


  • Mangesh Hattikudur

    CO-FOUNDER

    Prior to Kaleidoscope, Mangesh headed up podcast development as SVP for iHeartMedia, where he launched critically acclaimed shows (Somebody, Hit Man, Forgotten: Women of Juarez), collaborated with wonderful personalities (from Minnie Driver to Hillary Clinton to the grandmothers of Call Your Grandmother), and worked with incredible brands (Buzzfeed's Impeachment Today, Vice News Reports).

  • Constantinos Linos

    HEAD OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS

    Costas joins Kaleidoscope from Bertelsmann, where he served as an entrepreneur in residence, developing growth strategies for companies like Penguin Randomhouse and BMG Music. Before Bertelsmann, Costas worked in corporate strategy and business development at Univision and the Fusion Media Group. He holds a MBA from INSEAD and a BA from Harvard University.

  • Kate Osborn

    HEAD OF PODCAST DEVELOPMENT

    Kate is a career long journalist and veteran of the podcast business. She has produced and reported stories all over the world in a variety of mediums: audio, nightly news and feature documentary. Before joining Kaleidoscope, she was a Vice President at VICE Media Group where she created VICE Audio, the company’s global podcasting division. Her work has been seen and heard on Netflix, MSNBC, BBC, PBS, MTV, NPR, WBUR, APM and The New York Times’ “The Daily.”

Advisors

  • Joanna Coles

    CCO, HEARST

    Joanna Coles is the chairwoman and CEO of Northern Star Acquisition Companies II-IV; Northern Star I announced a merger with BARK in December 2020. She is also the Executive Producer of Hulu’s The Bold Type (on Netflix globally), the five season TV drama inspired by her career. She is the former Chief Content Officer of Hearst Magazines, responsible for 300 magazines globally. Coles sits on the public boards of Snap Inc. (Snapchat) Sonos, and Bark. Read More

  • Tom Freston

    PRINCIPAL, FIREFLY3

    Tom Freston is a Principal of Firefly3, an investment and consultancy firm focusing on the media and entertainment industries. He is both a former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Viacom Inc. One of the founding team at MTV in 1980, he became Chairman and CEO of MTV Networks in 1986. Read More

  • Andrea Wong

    PRESIDENT, INT’L PRODUCTION, SONY PICTURES

    Andrea Wong serves on the boards of Liberty Media Corporation, Qurate Retail Group, Roblox, Hudson Pacific Properties and Oaktree Acquisition Corp II. Wong was most recently President, International Production for Sony Pictures Television and President, International for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Read More

Kaleidoscope IN the Press

  • “The Dumb Money Is Gone”: Is the Podcast Boom Going Bust?

    Fewer acquisitions, smaller budgets, diminished dealmaking—but it’s not all bad! “There’s been no recession among listeners,” says one audio guru. “There’s still more room to grow.”



    Vanity Fair

  • The Best Podcasts of 2023 (So Far)

    In the hands of Mangesh Hattikudur, previously the host of Part-Time Genius and part of the HowStuffWorks brain trust, the podcast really comes to life when the show becomes a moving reflection on being a second-generation immigrant.

    Vulture

  • The Last Soviet — podcast tells the fascinating story of a lone cosmonaut

    It’s a remarkable story, expertly narrated by Bass… The sound design is also excellent, with the sounds of the Mir space station interspersed with archive audio of news reports and crackling transmissions from mission control, all set against a tinkling otherworldly soundtrack.


    Financial Times

  • *NSYNC’s Lance Bass Returns To Space Exploration In New Podcast

    Lance Bass never made it to space, but now he returns to the story of the man he'd heard so much about while training






    Forbes

  • Listen Pick: Obsessions, Wild Chocolate

    “There is chocolate and then there is wild chocolate. […] Listeners don’t have to love chocolate to enjoy the close calls, mishaps, and exotic eccentrics Jacobsen encounters along the way—think Fitzcarraldo meets Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”




    Air Mail

  • The Buzzy Podcast Startup

    The buzzy podcast startup Kaleidoscope, launched by ex-iHeartMedia and Mental Floss executive Mangesh Hattikudur and 'Sleepwalkers' host Oz Woloshyn, is ramping up production on several new shows…






    Semafor

  • Pivot to … Something? The Blurry Future of Podcasting

    Top creators and executives, gathering at the Hot Pod Summit, mulled over monetization and new formats as the market matures: “This industry has changed every year for the last 10 years, so if we’re only going to cater to the now, then where are we?”



    The Hollywood Reporter

  • A cosmonaut was stranded in space. Now a pop star tells the story.

    The podcast, an iHeartPodcasts production(opens in a new tab) with Kaleidoscope and Samizdat Audio, comes at a poignant time, with the past serving as prologue.

    Mashable

  • Cosmonaut-turned-TikTok "Guncle" Lance Bass on podcast 'The Last Soviet,' hoping his son gets bit by space bug

    Lance Bass is hosting a new podcast called The Last Soviet, the real-life story of a Russian cosmonaut left stranded in space for 313 days after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Lance is the perfect host because he trained to be a cosmonaut himself. If that's news to you, you're not alone.

    ABC

  • The Last Soviet

    Bass has planted his flag firmly back in the space community with the release of a new podcast called The Last Soviet. Bass hosts the eight-part podcast, which brings to life the experience of cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev.






    Ars technica

  • Lance Bass Explores His Lifelong Fascination with Space Travel on Podcast Series 'The Last Soviet'

    The eight-part series — a production from iHeartPodcasts with Kaleidoscope and Samizdat Audio — tells the story of Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and his 313 days in space amid the collapse of the USSR. At the time, "hell was Breaking loose in Russia," Bass says, but the astronaut was committed to his work — and just as committed to his country.

    People

  • Wild chocolate brand raises the bar for ethical cocoa bean production

    It is marketed as the ultimate chocolate without guilt, the product of a modern-day, environmentally friendly search for the world’s rarest cacao.

    the times of london

  • Kaleidoscope raises funding to create a podcast portfolio

    Podcast startup Kaleidoscope has raised $3.5 million in convertible notes for seed funding led by North Base Media, the co-founders tell Axios.

    AXIOS

  • Kaleidoscope Podcast Start-Up Signs With WME

    The podcast company is co-founded by the former iHeartMedia podcast executive Mangesh Hattikudur and 'Sleepwalkers' host Oz Woloshyn.

    The hollywood reporter

  • Vice Media’s Kate Osborn Joins Kaleidoscope Podcast Startup

    Osborn, who most recently oversaw Vice's global audio division, will be the podcast company's evp, head of podcast development.

    The Hollywood Reporter

  • Startup Kaleidoscope looks to disrupt podcasting: 'Enormous amount of room to run'

    A new startup is looking to disrupt the podcast space by betting big on overseas content.

    yahoo finance

  • The Best Gifts Under $100, According to W Editors

    To go along with the investigative podcast Obsessions: Wild Chocolate, which charts a journey through the rainforest in search of ancient cacao sources, Swiss chocolatier Stettler has put together a box of sustainably harvested, decadent, single origin bars inspired by the story. A pretty excellent combo, if you ask me.

    W magazine

Press Kit

For promotional images and more