Wondercast: personalized cultural podcast generator
The challenge
Cultural experiences like concerts and theater performances can be deeply moving and inspiring. But many first-time visitors hesitate to attend cultural events when they don’t know what to expect. While institutions offer trailers, podcasts, and introductions, these generic tools don’t always meet the needs of diverse audiences. This “preparation gap” keeps them from fully experiencing the impact of live performances.
The solution
Key insight: cultural experiences become more fun and engaging when you know more. Wondercast uses AI technologies to generate a fully personalized podcast experience that help visitors prep for the experience that will make them want more!
We combine dynamically instructed language models optimized with cultural contexts, which generate conversational interview scripts through agentic content selection and real-time adaptation. Our interactive approach gathers unique visitor insights, allowing us to create podcasts that perfectly match their interests and knowledge level.
Understand
Wondercast first learns about your cultural background and what you’d like to learn. This helps us create content that’s perfectly matched to your level – whether you’re new to classical music or already familiar with it.
Discover
Further, we explore what interests you most about the upcoming performance – from the emotional power of certain pieces to stories about the composers and musicians. As you share more, the system continuously refines its understanding of what would make the experience meaningful for you.
Personal preferences
You’re in control of how you want to learn. Choose how long you want your podcast to be, how many musical examples you’d like to hear, and what kind of tips would be most helpful. It’s like having a personal guide who adapts to your schedule and preferences.
Creating the podcast
This is where the magic happens: our AI technology transforms all your input into a natural, engaging conversation between hosts.. They weave in carefully selected musical fragments and insights, creating a listening experience that feels both informative and entertaining – as if it was crafted just for you.
Opening new doors
After listening to your personalized podcast, Wondercast helps you dig deeper by providing easy access to additional resources mentioned in your episode and suggests other performances you might enjoy, based on your interests.
Turn first timers into fans
For cultural institutions this new approach is a big deal. As Bergauer points out in Run it Like a Business, turning first-timers into repeat visitors is the most cost-effective way to grow an audience. At the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, 47% of visitors are first-timers each year, but 21% never return—often because they weren’t well-prepared for their visit. The key is: if people don’t feel comfortable or engaged during their first visit, they probably won’t come back. That’s why it’s crucial to help them feel prepared, welcomed, and ready to enjoy the experience from the start.
Wondercast offers our visitors a softer landing and a deeper cultural experience. We expect this to give a significant boost to repeat visits, and the first tests with the prototype are very promising!
Technical innovation
Wondercast represents a breakthrough in personalized content generation by combining multiple AI technologies. It’s built on dynamically instructed language models optimized with cultural contexts, which generate conversational interview scripts through agentic content selection and real-time adaptation. For audio, we use voice synthesis from ElevenLabs, bringing the scripts to life with natural and engaging speech. This layered approach ensures a seamless and personalized listening experience.
Impact and results
Wondercast began as an experimental prototype for the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, demonstrating the potential of AI to transform cultural engagement. The successful initial testing phase included 10 test users, revealing positive feedback from first-time concert visitors about feeling better prepared, alongside enthusiasm from cultural institutions about the potential to better serve diverse audiences. This early success has led to partnerships with two Dutch theaters interested in expanding beyond classical music, secured funding of €75,000 for full-scale pilot development, and plans for implementation with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in May.
Future vision
Wondercast is establishing a new approach to cultural preparation. With secured funding and expanding partnerships, we’re developing capabilities to scale to all 7 major theaters of the Netherlands (Theater Alliantie). The technology we’ve developed has implications beyond classical music, with potential applications in theater, museums, and other cultural spaces, representing a shift in how we prepare audiences for cultural experiences.
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