Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

I am a broadcaster called Matthew Bannister. I have presented programmes on BBC Radios 1, 2, 4, 5Live, World Service and Local Radio, but in 2018 I finally designed my perfect job: the Folk on Foot podcast. In each episode I go walking and talking with a top UK or Irish folk musician in a landscape that has inspired them. And to make it even more beautiful, they sing and play on location. We’ve travelled the length and breadth of the country from Shetland and Orkney in the North to Faversham, Port Isaac and Dartmoor in the South and from Galway Bay in the West of Ireland to Robin Hood’s Bay and Spurn Point in the East of England. Our guests read like a Who’s Who of contemporary folk, ranging from Eliza Carthy, Seth Lakeman and the Unthanks to Johnny Flynn, Richard Thompson and Sandra Kerr, plus nature writers like Robert Macfarlane, Raynor Winn and Amy-Jane Beer.

Folk on Foot host Matthew Bannister

What’s the first podcast you ever listened to?

The Guilty Feminist. It taught me so much!

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

Podcasting is a wonderful way to test out an idea and see if an audience likes it. You don’t need to get commissioned and you can make the episodes as long or as short as they need to be. I didn’t have to convince anyone else that Folk on Foot was a good idea before we launched. I just put it out there. Fortunately lots of other people loved it as much as I do and we now have a wonderful supportive community of Folk on Foot members.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

I love Catherine Carr’s Where Are You Going? – she just accosts complete strangers and finds out their fascinating hidden stories with such charm. During lockdown I listened to The Stubborn Light of Things by the novelist and nature writer Melissa Harrison, who took us for immersive and enlightening walks in the countryside when we were confined to our homes. I’m delighted to say we’ve just recorded a Folk on Foot episode with Melissa and the composer and musician Laura Cannell walking, talking and playing in rural Suffolk. (You will hear nightingales singing in the background as Laura plays her bass recorder.) I was delighted recently to be a guest on The Plodcast with Fergus Collins which is always a great listen. We had a wonderful walk around the remains of a Roman settlement at Silchester. Anyone who needs more inspiration to get out and engage with the natural world should check out Liv Bolton’s brilliant The Outdoors Fix.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

I have already walked and talked with many of my heroes and heroines, including the Scottish singer, songwriter, storyteller and theatre maker Karine Polwart and the great guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson (founder of Fairport Convention). I have been a fan of his music since I was a teenager, so to walk around his old haunts in Muswell Hill and hear him play in the garden of the house called “Fairport” that gave the band its name was a dream come true. I have my sights set on persuading the wonderful Shetland fiddle player Aly Bain to record with us soon and if the amazing singer and musician Rhiannon Giddens is reading this, there’s a standing invitation to come for a walk with us.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

The biggest challenge isn’t making wonderful episodes – it’s the sheer continuous hard work you need to put in to make sure anyone notices they’re out there.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

There are over 70 episodes of Folk on Foot, so you could either begin at the beginning with the irrepressible trio called The Young’Uns taking us for a musical walk on the historic Hartlepool Headland – then work your way forward – or you could start with the latest episode featuring the singer and fiddle player Frankie Archer taking her 21st Century approach to folk using loop pedals, drum effects and samples out into the countryside around the town of Consett in County Durham where she grew up. Then work your way back. Either way there are so many treats in store!

Singer, fiddle player, and the latest guest on Folk on Foot, Frankie Archer.

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

At our website: www.folkonfoot.com or @folkonfoot on Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter and TikTok. Our episodes are available, as they say “wherever you get your podcasts”.

Listen to Folk on Foot on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other popular podcast apps >>

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WHY DO YOU LOVE PODCASTS?

So many reasons! Listening to a podcast, I definitely feel more connected to a world full of dissonance. We don’t all have to get along or agree but podcasts have opened me up to different perspectives and I realise we are not all that different. Ultimately though, I love the intimacy of listening to my favourite podcast. It always feels like you are wrapped up in a blanket talking to a friend about life.

WHAT WAS THE FIRST POD YOU EVER LISTENED TO?

The Moth. It was my introduction to podcasts and helped me realise what I prefer when listening to one. I loved how the personal stories were shared covering topics that were important to different people. I enjoy hearing people share their stories from their own point of view and in their own words. It helped me empathise as I heard more about the human experience and actually helped set me on the path I’m on today.

WHICH POD MAKES YOU LAUGH THE MOST?

Jesus & Jollof. Its two successful Nigerian women talking about their life interjected with lots of humour and honesty. It feels like you are listening to your sister circle give you encouraging and inspiring words to do better and be great. I am able to relate to so much of their conversation as an African woman and aspire to be just as fiery, fabulous and funny!

WHICH PODCAST HAS EDUCATED YOU THE MOST?

My own podcast, Dear Daughter! In hosting and co-producing the podcast, I have learnt to have more grace with others and myself. Listening to other people share their stories and trying to understand their perspectives is a step closer to me being more patient, forgiving and gentle with myself. It has been so enlightening to discover how many people experience life in a similar way and I have discovered a virtual support system in listening to others share their stories, it has been cathartic and quite honestly a life-changer.

CAN YOU RECOMMEND A SHOW OUR READERS MAY NOT HAVE HEARD OF YET?

Mantalk.ke. It’s a refreshing and candid take on the world around us. It’s hosted by two men so the commentary is from the male perspective but includes female guests to offer insight. They talk about everything from holding each other accountable to self-expression and I love the elevating conversation especially now that I am mother to a son.

Season Two of Dear Daughter is out now. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, BBC Sounds and other popular podcast apps >>

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Why did you decide that podcasting and audio was the best medium for this project?

Cast your mind back to 2020 when public life as we knew it ended, abruptly. Fear was rampant as an invisible and deadly virus swept the globe, claiming the lives of family and friends within days of developing a cough. Every day, a hapless Boris Johnson announced startling new death statistics of people who had ‘died before their time.’

What medium could give voice, power, and immediacy to the kind of catastrophic, widespread loss not seen in generations? In my mind, it could only be the most personal of mediums: podcasting. What could be more personal than losing a loved one to Covid 19 without warning, goodbye, or funeral and then dealing with grief in isolation? This is how the Stolen Goodbyes podcast came into being… remotely and via a laptop in lockdown. In the scariest and loneliest of times, this most intimate of podcasts empowered people to give voice to the incomprehensible loss of a loved one in these circumstances while enabling hundreds more to feel connected and accompanied in a grief like no other.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

I love a good story, happy or sad. As a journalist, I have spent my life listening to, investigating, and writing about stories so I tend to gravitate towards interview-based and story-led podcasts such as RedHanded. For audio design and innovation, it has to be George the Poet. The BlindBoy podcast is as funny as it is thought-provoking and as I’m a proper news junkie, I regularly opt into The News Agents. Given my Irish roots, I enjoy Mario Rosenstock’s take on the world.

Who do you hope listens to this podcast?

Other people who have experienced Covid grief.

Heather Hallett, chair of the public inquiry into the UK’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Politicians who made and broke the rules including Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock, among others.

Generations to come, be it in 2123 or 3023, as they will know what it was like to live through a pandemic and hopefully learn lessons. Thanks to the British Library, future generations will be able to do just that as the Stolen Goodbyes podcast forms part of the Covid 19 National Life Stories series.

Experts who can advise on how to unpack this most complicated, traumatic grief.

How has the project changed since the first season?

The first season was about capturing a historic event in real-time and giving a voice to the life, times, and unprecedented deaths of ordinary yet extraordinary people.

This latest season is about picking apart a troubling and as yet unexplored aspect of grief to Covid 19. I’ve called the season ‘Distorted Grief’ as we explore the manifestations of how losing someone to Covid 19 seems dreamlike and surreal like that special someone could walk through the door at any moment. The bereaved are experiencing this derealisation of reality because they were denied the rite of passage death rituals we took for granted such as saying goodbye, seeing and dressing the body of a loved one, and having a funeral.

This inability to confront death has produced some fascinating insights on the podcast, including one woman remarking: “I felt if I had stayed in lockdown, my dad might somehow come back again.” My guests join me in exploring the importance of sounds and voice recordings associated with loved ones, the joy of making unexpected connections, as well as sharing coping mechanisms, gratitude, and resilience in the face of adversity. We also examine our loved one’s legacies, including my own father who I lost in April last year.

Did you have to approach things differently with this season now that covid is less in the forefront?

I think that’s very much how here-today-gone-tomorrow politicians would like us to view Covid, as a thing of the past. We can’t afford to let moving on mean refusing to look back or to properly investigate what is happening now, in order to deliver a better, kinder, and better prepared tomorrow for the people who come after us. The reality is Covid 19 is unpredictable and will most likely remain a threat to our collective health for years to come.

The Covid 19 bereaved are still unable to close the circle of grief. They are stuck and need help to move on. The pandemic made an unequal society more unequal. However, the pandemic is also a once-in-a-generation chance to remake society and build a better future.

What you have personally learnt from podcasting?

Podcasting creates weird and wonderful connections and connections make life worth living. Listen…actively!

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

That’s a tough one as each guest brings unique and personal insights, experiences and stories. If I have to say, it would be: ‘Ten Months Without Our Husbands – Emma Charlesworth & Pamela Addison’. (Season one). I’ve chosen this episode because Covid 19 altered the trajectory of the lives of these two women when both their husbands died from the virus in their 40s. Despite being on opposite sides of the world, and in a sliding doors moment, they connected and became firm friends thanks to the Stolen Goodbyes podcast. It’s that thing about podcasting creating weird and wonderful connections!

There’s a lovely commonality and interplay between Emma and Pamela on the episode, where they share the (unexpected) highs and lows, the laughs and surrealness of suddenly navigating a life and parenthood without your other half.

You can follow Karen and Stolen Goodbyes on Twitter @Ricekmc, Instagram @StolenGoodbyes and Facebook @StolenGoodbyes. Listen to Stolen Goodbyes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps >>

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Arguably, there was no creative medium that was curtailed so much by Covid as much as theatre was. It’s not that surprising that theatre-makers pivoted to podcasts so successfully. Indeed, all three podcasts that placed in the Best Fiction category at the British Podcast Awards were created by (or in collaboration with) theatre makers. The winning show, Sound Worlds, uses the episode format to share a variety of standalone stories in all their forms – from the ones we tell our children the ones we tell ourselves.

Conceived and directed by Patrick Eakin Young, Sound Worlds was supported by Arts Council funding, which allowed Patrick to enlist collaborators from the world of theatre, literature and music. The result is a mixture of texts, music and sound design that Patrick aptly describes as ‘sonic theatre’.  As well as the creative aspect (the show also placed Silver in the Creativity Award category) I love the peak behind the curtain we get from Patrick at the end of episodes where he explains his inspiration. But I of course wanted to know more, and managed to catch up with Patrick via email to learn about the show…

Congratulations on the BPA win! How do you feel?

Thanks very much. I feel great! It was very unexpected, but very welcome! When you are making things that you think are good, it feels really nice to have that thought confirmed by others. Like: oh! Other people think this is good too! Amazing!

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

I’m old school (like, actually old, ha ha!) so my first podcast was This American Life. The OG podcast as it were. I was living in New York in 2006 and my roommate was really into it and so I started to listen. This American Life became a bit of a victim of its own success, and the format started to grow a little tired (not to mention every podcast after was trying to emulate it), but some of those early episodes were such amazing storytelling, and really affecting.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

I was a theatre director making music and sound-based theatre before the pandemic. But I was growing a bit unhappy with the space of theatre, or where I sat in it. The pandemic stopped all that anyways, and I thought: I’ll take this opportunity to try making sound-only work—ie. podcasts—which I always wanted to try but never had the time or space to do. Our first season was kind of a knee-jerk reaction, like “what can we do quickly?” The second season was about discovering the form, as in “what is possible and what do we think is good?” Our third season is going to be about going deeper!

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

I don’t hear a lot of podcasts like ours. But the podcast I admire the most (and which I hope we approach even in a small way) is Have You Heard George’s Podcast? By George the Poet. It is, hands down, the best podcast and everyone should listen to it, even if you don’t like podcasts. There are also some other great podcasts out there that are pushing the envelope in terms of storytelling which I like. Two of my favourites are Love and Radio by Nick van der Kolk , which is mostly interviews, but really beautifully done in the way they reveal information to the listener, and The Memory Palace by Nate DiMeo, which are creative essays about obscure American history, just beautiful writing and storytelling.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

We don’t have ‘guests’ per se. Each episode is a collaboration with a musician and a writer. I’d love to make episodes with top-level musicians like James Blake, Solange, Perfume Genius, Flying Lotus, Anohni… I mean my list goes on and on!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

Always use a pop-shield! Seriously, I’ve learnt a lot about storytelling. When you remove the visual, you really concentrate on the essentials of story and narrative, and that has taught me a lot.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

I love all our episodes, but I think ‘Town Is By The Sea‘, is a really good example of what our show is about. The mixture of story, sound design, and music by Anna Rheingans is kind of what I hope we can achieve more often than not. Also, I love our series of Raymond Carver short story adaptations What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, especially the episode entitled ‘Gazebo’.

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

You can check out our website www.soundworlds.org and sign up for our newsletter there for updates on the podcast. Also we’re on Instagram and Twitter @_soundworlds.

Listen to Sound Worlds now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

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Death is as much part of life as birth and breath but it’s the part that most people rarely want to talk about. Why did you feel it was important to start this podcast?

I wanted to shine a light on the people who work with death as they are so rarely ‘seen’. Like the people who collect bodies from rivers, or photograph stillborn babies, or work in the mortuaries preparing our dead. Basically, the people doing the jobs we hope someone else is doing.

So my intention with Dead Honest is to bridge people’s fear of the unknown with their curiosity to know more so they can see how extraordinary these people are.

Most of the guests you have on are problem solvers and are the people you want in the room when death has knocked whatever the circumstance. One of your recent guests, Robert Jensen, stated that “you don’t want my memories”. Why is it do you think that these people want so badly to help in such dire circumstances and often at a large cost to themselves?

All of my guests have one thing in common: a deep desire to help others at the worst of time of their lives. For most it’s less of a career, and more of a vocation. Of course, burnout is a risk, and it can take a terrible toll, but I’ve never met a group of professionals with a greater sense of job satisfaction.

The podcasts’ central theme is ‘speaking about death honestly’. I was expecting a macabre listen however I couldn’t help but feel very safe knowing that people like your guests exist in the world. I was surprised not only to feel that way but also I couldn’t stop listening. Has being the host of this podcast affected you in ways that maybe you weren’t expecting?

Yes, I am affected by some of the feedback I receive. One listener reached out to me after the recent suicide of her brother to thank me for speaking so plainly about suicide when others wouldn’t. That email meant more to me than any number of downloads, because I’m also vulnerable in these interviews. I sometimes feel I’m treading on thin ice and so to get that feedback was hugely reassuring.

I really like what you said about your guests not wanting to be misquoted or sensationalised and therefore you give them autonomy on the final edits of their stories. With such sensitive material being discussed, what are some other ways in which you conduct the podcast as to suit the guest as well as the listener?

I want my guests to listen back to their final edit and think, ’Yes, that sounds like me. That is what I wanted to say’. And central to that is building trust. If they know they are in control, they will be more candid. It also helps that I work with bereaved families, as it means we can discuss graphic issues without the fear I will be disturbed or offended.

For the listener, there’s an advantage that I’m not some generic ‘host’ or a ‘presenter’. My questions come from my own natural curiosity so hopefully I’m asking the questions they want to ask. I have been told the podcast can be a “difficult listen” and I accept it is not for everyone. But we do need to get braver about having conversations around death, if only out of respect to those we’ll meet when it eventually finds us.

Listen to Dead Honest on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

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The Tough Girl podcast has already collected a few credentials (it won the Shextreme Best Adventure Podcast Award in 2019, and the Women’s Sports Trust #BeAGameChanger National Award for Media Initiative of the Year 2018) and Tough Girl’s host, Sarah Williams, has her own impressive list of extreme achievements. From completing the intense Marathon des Sables (that’s 6 marathons in 6 days across the Sahara Desert!) to thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail (2,190 miles) solo and unsupported in 100 days, and gaining a Masters degree in Women & Gender Studies with dissertation focusing on “Women, Adventure and Fear”.

I wanted to know more about how this podcast came about, and find out just how Sarah does it all…

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

I wanted to share more women’s stories and I wanted to hear from women about their adventures and their physical challenges.

I also wanted to increase the amount of female role models in the media especially in relation to adventure and exploration.

I also believe it’s important for other women to see role models but to also know how someone got to where they are; what was their journey, what challenges did they overcome, how did they keep going, what are their top tips and advice. By hearing these stories I believed it would inspire women to make changes in their own lives and to step outside their comfort zone and take on new adventures and challenges.

You make content across platforms – would you say there’s something special about podcasting?

Podcasting is so personal. It’s hearing peoples voices when they tell a story. The tone of voice, the pauses, the emphasise, the tempo, the words used. It’s the power of personal story telling. You don’t get that from the written word.

Congratulations on your recent Sports Podcast Awards win! You’re not a stranger to podcast awards – what advice would you give to other budding award winners?

Thank you!!! It’s always an honour to win an award.

It’s great to get the recognition but for me it always comes back – to the tough girl mission. To increase the amount of female role models in the media. Hopefully by winning an award the TGP will get more publicity and exposure, which in turn will encourage more women and girls to listen to the TGP who will then be inspired to take on their own personal challenges and adventures.

For budding award winners – you have to be in it to win it – so enter the competitions, even if you are a small, niche podcast, it doesn’t matter. If you’re not in it, you can’t win it!!. Good Luck!!

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

I would love to speak with Sarah Marquis – Swiss adventurer and explorer. From 2010 to 2013, she walked 20,000 kilometres alone from Siberia to the Gobi Desert, into China, Laos, Thailand, and then across Australia. I would love to have her be a guest.

Which is harder – hiking the AT in 100 days or releasing at least a podcast episode every week?

Hiking the AT – without question!!! I’m getting so much more efficient at producing podcasts – I’ve actually been producing 2 podcasts a week for the past 2 years (every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time). But I will be going back to 1 a week in May. – every Tuesday at 7am.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

To trust in the journey – you are not going to see results overnight and so many people give up too soon. If you believe in your message and why you are doing it – stick with it.

I’ve always been very clear on my mission and goal for the Tough Girl Podcast – which is to increase the amount of female role models in the media. It’s not about the downloads it’s about the impact the podcast has had on people lives.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

It’s so difficult, with over 500+ episodes to choose from. So I’m going to say….Any – they are all fantastic! You will learn something new and be inspired. It’s a win win when you listen to the TGP!

Listen to the Tough Girl Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. 

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The podcast now has over 150 episodes – or mini-gigs – in its back-catalogue. The unique sound of the show has won it awards such as the Lovie ‘Best Arts and Entertainment Podcast’, the ‘Best Lockdown podcast’ at the British Podcast Awards, and ‘Best Music Producer’ at the 2019 Audio Production Awards. We caught up with Matthew to learn more about how this winning combination came together.

POD BIBLE: I’m interested to know, when you started the podcast, how did you explain the idea to potential guests? Did it take a while to convince them to strike up a tune on a walk?

MATTHEW: The first musicians we approached were really up for the idea of recording in the great outdoors. I think folk artists instinctively understand the close relationship between their music and the places that inspired it. Many of them love and write about the natural world. So, it wasn’t difficult to persuade them to sign up. Of course then we faced all sorts of logistical challenges, with the wind and weather making it especially hard to record sometimes. It’s such a credit to our amazing producers that the sound quality of our episodes is always brilliant (One of them, Natalie Steed, won the gold award for Best Music Producer at the Audio Production Awards). And musicians quickly learned that they can trust us to make their singing and playing sound great – even on top of a breezy cliff or with the crashing waves and cries of sea birds behind them.

The podcast does a great job of sharing new artists, as well as big names from the folk scene. Do you think that the podcast has also helped introduce people to the folk music genre?

Folk on Foot listeners often tell us that they’ve discovered new artists through listening to our episodes. People usually start by listening to a musician they already love, but then go on a journey through our back catalogue, finding new inspiration as they go. During lockdown we staged four online festivals which raised an amazing £327,000 to support musicians who had lost their livelihoods as gigs and tours were cancelled. These events lasted for over seven hours each and we had line ups mixing established and emerging artists. All of them saw big increases in social media engagement as well as CD and merch sales after taking part. And the Official Folk Albums Chart Show from Folk on Foot which counts down the 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums each month is a great way to discover new music.

Robert Macfarlane and Johnny Flynn at Wandlebury

And now the podcast is the official home of the Official Folk Albums Chart Show – how did that come about?

The Official Folk Albums Chart was commissioned by our friends at English Folk Expo, which is a not for profit organisation dedicated to raising the profile of folk music and artists. When I heard about it back in 2020, I thought it was a great idea and needed a show to bring the chart to life. So we launched the show which comes out on our podcast and on our YouTube channel on the first Tuesday of each calendar month. We’ve just celebrated the first anniversary of the chart with a Chart of the Year Show live streamed from Cecil Sharp House in London featuring live performances from some of the artists who made the chart in 2021, including the folk super group Spell Songs, Spiers and Boden, the Longest Johns sea shanty singers, the young singer/songwriter Katherine Priddy and the extraordinary guitarist Gwenifer Raymond. In the first year 113 of the 121 albums that made the chart were on independent or self-released labels, so it’s a place where you don’t need a major label deal to get noticed.

Why podcasting? What is it about the format that appeals to you?

I’ve worked in radio for over forty years and so seen a lot of change. But the arrival of podcasting is one of the most exciting developments. It makes the medium much more democratic – anyone can put out a podcast and see if they can attract an audience, no need to wait for a broadcaster to commission you. And unlike scheduled radio, there’s no rule about how long a podcast episode should be – we make our episodes the right length for the material, so they can be 43 minutes long or 55 minutes long or sometimes even over an hour (when Richard Thompson agrees to play six songs on the streets of London, you can hardly cut him short, can you?). You can also listen whenever and wherever you want – lots of Folk on Foot listeners put in their headphones and go for a walk themselves while listening to our journeys on foot. And the greatest thing about podcasting for me is that it is bringing big, new (and often younger) audiences to the magic of audio.

Which episode of your podcast means the most to you?

That’s like asking a parent to choose between their children. All the episodes are really special to me. I always have an amazing time listening to a private concert for one in spectacular landscapes and talking to fascinating people, so it’s hard to pick out a favourite. But perhaps one of the most memorable was walking four miles across the moors to Sandwood Bay on the very northern tip of Scotland with the fiddle player Duncan Chisholm who had been inspired by the white sand beach, rolling waves and craggy landscape to write a whole album of instrumental music. To stand alone on the beach and hear him play as the wind whistled around us was extraordinary.

Duncan Chishom and Matthew Bannister at Sandwood Bay

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

I have a long list of people I’d love to walk with in the future, but already some of my dreams have come true. When I started Folk on Foot the first list of artists had the Scottish singer, songwriter and storyteller Karine Polwart on it. She took me walking on Fala Moor near her home in Midlothian where the pink footed geese go to over winter. I also wanted to go into a Sussex wood in the middle of the night to record the Mercury Music Prize nominated singer Sam Lee performing a duet with a nightingale. And that amazing experience came true. Pretty high up the list was my hero, the guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson, so when he agreed to go back to his old school in North London with me, then play outside the house in Muswell Hill that gave his band Fairport Convention its name and sing my favourite song of his “Beeswing” in Highgate Woods, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.

Finally, what is your current favourite podcast you would recommend to readers?

I can’t get enough of Fortunately with Fi Glover and Jane Garvey. They’re so quick witted and spark off each other so brilliantly and they’re very naughty too. I had the pleasure of being a guest on the show and it was exhausting – but great fun – trying to keep up with them.

Listen to Folk on Foot on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or your podcast player.

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If you could go back to just before you recorded the first episode of your podcast and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Find a good editor. I love the free flowing nature of podcast conversations, but most of them can be improved with some judicial chopping. I get the appeal of a long unedited ramble with someone fascinating, but we can’t all be Joe Rogan or Terry Gross, and most hosts (myself very much included) aren’t good enough to sustain a good conversation/interview over one hour, let alone 2 or 3. Most people don’t have time to actually listen to a show that long anyway. I like something that’s been honed and presented with an appreciation for what can be done with audio.

What makes a great podcast guest?

Someone who is good at talking about themselves, enjoys a conversation and doesn’t care too much how people will respond to what they say. Kathy Burke springs to mind, or Louis Theroux. But I also like the occasional guest who is basically just telling a story or a series of stories and isn’t really interested in talking to me. If their stories are well told, it’s a nice change and I get to relax!

What makes a great podcast host?

I like podcasters who are genuinely interested in their guests and don’t just sit there waiting for the next opportunity to do a joke or talk about themselves. I have certainly been guilty of both those things. Sometimes I think it’s OK, as long as the guest is on board and is happy to go back and forth with you like that, but if you don’t know the person very well, it’s important to make it clear to them that you’re listening to what they have to say and that they can relax. The goal is to get a conversation flowing. If that starts happening then you can start cautiously lobbing in your own bullshit.

What’s been your worst podcast moment?

There have been some disappointments with guests who I thought I would get on well with but turned out to be guarded or just not in the mood for a conversation with me. I went to Los Angeles a couple of years back to do a few podcasts and some shows, but the impetus for the trip was the opportunity to talk to a musical hero of mine. However when I finally sat down with them, they just went off on a series of impenetrably esoteric monologues, then got annoyed when I tried to bring the conversation round to their music or anything more than 5 people might find interesting. That day was frustrating on so many levels, but I was mainly irritated with myself for failing. I’d seen that person do great interviews with other people but I failed to get the best out of them.

Unfortunately there are often times when I’m having an off day and do a lousy job of taking a conversation somewhere interesting or maybe the guest just isn’t in the mood. Often those episodes don’t come out. Now I try to warn guests that not every episode gets released so they don’t take it personally if theirs doesn’t end up appearing. The best podcasters are consistently good with all their guests. I’m not there yet.

What is it about podcasts that appeals to you?

I like hearing a conversation unfold. I like the tangents and the irrelevancies that you couldn’t get away with on TV or radio where everyone and everything tends to be boiled down to its most unambiguous version. The long form podcast conversation offers the possibility of hearing something more nuanced, messy and more true to real life than you’d get anywhere else. It’s a chance to get to know a stranger in quite a meaningful way. There’s something that feels good about that, especially in these strange times.

What is your podcast/podcaster pet peeve?

This is a very superficial peeve that I’m not proud of, but I don’t like the croaky voice some podcasters favour. This is a huge generalisation, but I’ve found it’s often younger people doing more journalistic pieces on American podcasts who tend to do the croaky voice most. It sounds contrived, as though they have, consciously or unconsciously, adopted that way of speaking because they think it somehow signifies intimacy and intelligence, so the listener will feel they’re in bed with an intellectual. There’s enough intellectuals in my bed already, thanks.

Personally I also find very long intros wearying. It’s a fine balance, because many listeners like hearing about the host/hosts and what they’ve been up to, but for someone who’s just downloaded an episode because they’re interested in the guest or the main topic, it can easily come off as offensively indulgent and boring. Sometimes I’ll do a longer intro if there are bits of the conversation I think need setting up with a little background info or if I have a particular story I want to tell that I think people might enjoy, but increasingly I try to put most of the more personal waffling at the end, for the hardcore!

Is there anything you found annoying as a podcast listener… but then understood when you started making your own?

Well, the long intro thing – if you don’t script your intros and you’re just freestyling, it’s VERY easy to talk for 10 or 15 minutes and tell yourself it’s all good stuff, but almost always it would be better if it was at least half as long. You also realise how hard it is to get guests who haven’t been on everybody else’s podcast, but I don’t think most people care about that too much any more.

Which one podcast episode of your own means the most to you?

That’s like asking me to pick a favourite child! OK, technically it’s not, because we’re talking about podcasts not children, but it’s still tough. All the episodes are quite different and it really depends what mood you’re in. Well of course the Scroobius Pip episode (EP.07) was particularly good! I really liked the Mae Martin one (EP.50) because I didn’t really know her before we sat down and over the course of the conversation I just liked her more and more, which hopefully comes across to the listener. I’d say the same about Diane Morgan too (EP.65) – a very different kind of personality but so surprising and funny. I mentioned Louis Theroux (EP.01, 29, 49, 81) and Kathy Burke (EP.15, 56) before, they’re always so entertaining and interesting. Zadie Smith (EP.40) was a thrill and I hope our conversation was a little different to most interviews she gives, and the same could be said for Paul Thomas Anderson (EP.63). Hassan Akkad’s story of coming to the UK from Syria as a refugee (EP.57) was fascinating and told brilliantly by him and it was very exciting to talk to David Sedaris (EP.79). And Brian Eno!

Shit… I can’t narrow it down to just one, but three of my favourites, which I’ve listened back to and felt really happy with were Romesh Ranganathan (EP.61) Tash Demetriou (EP. 32 & EP.82) and Tim Key (EP.77). Yes, I know that’s four.

Which one podcast episode not of your own means the most to you?

Some of Bob Mortimer’s ‘Gangs Of The EPL’ playlets on Athletico Mince have REALLY made me laugh and stayed with me. I think Bob likes a lot of the same things as me in comedy – weird accents, stupid songs and talking about mundane routines. When he’s on a roll I can’t think of too many people who are funnier.

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