Launched in 2022, BBC Sounds’ Audio lab, returns for its third incarnation. The project has been designed to help support up-and-coming audio creatives, with the aim of advancing their creative development through building confidence and connection whilst enhancing their writing, recording, performance, and promotional skills.

Former alumni have seen great success, with an ARIA Gold award for Best New Podcast forged from the inaugural Audio Lab, and three nominations at this year’s British Podcast Awards. Black Gold is nominated for Best Climate podcast and there were two nominations for Sacred Money in the Business and Editor’s Choice ‘Specialist Award’ category.

Now four new creators from under-represented backgrounds – Hugh Sheehan, Mia Thornton, Jay Behrouzi-Sneade, and Meg Elliot – have been chosen to turn their ideas into podcasts.

As part of a collaborative paid programme, the four successful applicants will receive advice and guidance from industry professionals, access to tailored resources, and tools and experiences to connect and collaborate.

Hugh Sheehan is an audio producer and musician/composer originally from Birmingham. Much of his work explores questions around gender and sexuality, desire and shame, assimilation, and radicalism. In 2020 he was commissioned as a New Creative by BBC Arts and Arts Council England to make Lost Time – an audio short contemplating LGBTQ+ people’s experiences in getting to live life on their own terms.

Working with Reduced Listening, Hugh’s podcast will focus on lesser-known modern legal cases or pieces of legislation that concern the lives and rights of LGBTQ+ people in the UK. It will chronicle the legal proceedings and the events surrounding them and explore how each have become a part of the struggle for queer liberation. As well as the specifics of the cases, each episode will act as a lens to explore more broadly the criminalisation of queerness and its societal ramifications.

Meg Elliot is a writer, zine-maker, and mountain biker from Shropshire. She is fascinated by story, folklore, and the way memory lives in landscapes. Meg co-creates a zine exploring nature through art and writing and is one half of The InBetween Collective, an international creative group sharing stories of culture, resistance and celebration. She has also worked on heritage projects across the UK investigating the social impact of environmental projects.

Production partner, Overcoat Media, will help facilitate Meg’s successful pitch, which hooks into the resurgence of a cult fascination with the ancient past and folk traditions; how our identities are formed – both as individuals and as communities, and how landscapes (and the communities held by them) inform – in part – a lot of what makes us ‘us’. The podcast will look at how we have largely lost celebrated connections to the landscapes we’ve grown up in – many ritual festivals have been lost, and the stories once collectively remembered have begun to fade. Meg will delve into the stories that remain waiting to be rediscovered, and this podcast will work as a larger project of remembering, of celebration and community-strengthening, grounded in connections to the physical landscape.

Mia Thornton is a creative producer currently based in Liverpool. Mia is driven by a passion for storytelling and a commitment to amplifying Black voices. She has worked on a wide range of creative projects for both global brands and community-based initiatives, showcasing her talent and versatility.

Working with Audio Lab’s production partner, Manchester Reform Radio, Mia’s successful podcast pitch will delve into how black culture has helped shape different music genres. Featuring archival content, covering pivotal moments in history, the impact on the global music landscape, as well as interviews with industry experts, musicians and cultural commentators. The podcast will offer an immersive journey through music history, with black voices at its core. From the soulful melodies of jazz to the defiant spirit of punk, and the innovative beats of techno, the podcast will showcase the resilience, creativity and influence of black musicians across genres, celebrating the rich tapestry of black musical heritage, whilst challenging stereotypes and amplifying underrepresented voices in the music industry.

Jay Behrouzi-Sneade is a Filipino-Iranian journalist from Liverpool hailing from a long line of passionate cooks! Replicating global cuisine at home was a big part of her upbringing as a part of her multi-heritage expat family in the United Arab Emirates.

Working with production partner, BBC Audio North, Filipino-Iranian immigrant Jay is hoping to reconnect with her heritage, by creating a positive, food-science documentary. Jay seeks to understand the chemistry of cooking. Each episode will explore a different chemical principle, experimenting with Filipino recipes, talking to guests, and discussing the British-Filipino experience. With the help of food-chemists, Jay hopes to understand the science behind a ‘dash of this and a sprinkle of that’ and how it works together to create the food she loves.

Khaliq Meer, Audio Lab Commissioning Executive says: “It’s thrilling [to] be at the starting line again with a new cohort of fresh talent – poised for a development experience like no other. It’s been a joy getting to know Meg, Mia, Hugh and Jay. We’ve teamed them up with some of the UK’s very best audio producers so they can be led and supported to realise their creatively ambitious ideas whilst growing their skillsets on-the-job. I can’t wait to press play on what they dream up. Best of luck Audio Lab Class of 2024 – you’ve got this!”

In addition to four multi-episode projects, Audio Lab is partnering with Multitrack, a charity working to raise awareness around diversity, equity and inclusion in the audio industry, by sponsoring its award winning 12-week Fellowship programme, supporting fourteen full-time paid placements, creating three additional part-time placements for producers outside of London, and helping fund two commissions for BBC Sounds.

Pod Bible echoes Khaliq Meer’s words: “Best of luck Audio Lab Class of 2024 – you’ve got this!”

To find out more about BBC Sounds’ Audio Lab, readers can go to the website or follow BBC Sounds on Instagram and Twitter/X. 

Article wording adapted from BBC press release

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Tomi Dixon – Colouring In Britain

What was your introduction to podcasting as a listener?

My introduction to podcasts was through conversational podcasts where hosts and guests would keep me engaged for hours on my daily commute. The podcasts I listened to early on were 90s Baby Show and HCPod Original as they were extremely entertaining and relatable. They inspired the format of how I wanted to create my own content; that invites people into thought provoking conversations keeping listeners entertained all the way through.

Why was audio the right medium for you project?

Audio was the right medium for the project because I think podcasts have a unique ability to deliver powerful narratives that feel extremely personal. I wanted to drop people into each of these stories by combining the different components of drama, interviews and storytelling to create an immersive experience. I think it would have be difficult to deliver all of that in a media format other than audio.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned from making the podcast?

It takes time! Especially if you want to get something right. Sometimes it takes a little longer to get the right wording or create the right sounds/feel. Especially if you want to deliver the story to the listener in the way you intended. The idea for the podcast seemed straight forward, but when I got into it I realised it was really ambitious! I had to take everything step by step in the project and eventually everything became manageable. So I also learned I’m capable of achieving things when I put my mind to it.

What would you like to see more of in the podcast space?

I would like to see more programmes like Audiolab because this programme gave me the platform to share stories that might not get told otherwise. It was a fantastic opportunity to share the lives and impact of 4 really significant black Britons. People that I think the country should definitely know more about. It would be great to see more opportunities like this for people to tell important stories that don’t get major exposure.

Listen to Colouring In Britain now on BBC Sounds and other popular podcast apps.

Don’t forget to check out the other interviews in this series.

The post BBC Sounds Audio Lab: Tomi Dixon – Colouring In Britain appeared first on POD BIBLE.

What was your introduction to podcasting as a listener?

I’m a veteran of sorts, back in the Ricky Gervais Guardian days I became hooked, for me I could see at that time a democratisation of media production and platforming both for audio and video on the horizon. Serial (S1) of course took the storytelling aspect to another level but the weekly pods like Football Weekly have always been mainstays.

Why was audio the right medium for your project?

I’ve listened to loads of documentary podcasts and what I always envied of the storytellers was the freedom of length that the format allowed. Some are an hour others 20 minutes, some carry on for 15 episodes and others just five. So far I’ve been able to give focus to some parts of Michael’s story and themes that wouldn’t have had space in a traditional TV documentary.

I’m used to recording video and what’s great about audio is the access and freedom it allows. You don’t need to worry about permits for tripods, the shot being backlit or huge amounts of kit. The interviewee also relaxes without a camera in their face.

What the biggest thing you’ve learned from making the podcast?

I’ve never voiced anything before so it was really daunting, but my mentor Clare Walker has been instrumental in helping me to develop a performance for the mic, I’ve learnt that all that talking takes effort and skill!

What would you like to see more of in the podcast space?

I think Audio Lab and other programs like it are trying to rectify the gap that I see in the podcast world. Podcast makers that don’t have the necessary experience or backing from production companies and the like, but do have great stories and content to put out there. During the infancy of podcasting this wasn’t such an issue due to the size of the industry, but now with huge conglomerates and celebrities involved, there needs to be more ways for creators to have a voice.

Listen to Who Was Michael X? now on BBC Sounds and other popular podcast apps.

Don’t forget to check out the other interviews in this series.

The post BBC Sounds Audio Lab: Hamza Salmi – Who Was Michael X? appeared first on POD BIBLE.

What was your introduction to podcasting as a listener?

I started listening to podcasts a few years ago when I was in my final year of uni. I was feeling lost and unsure of what to do next so I turned to podcasts to help me find my way. I would listen to podcasts, like Oprah’s ‘Super Soul Sundays’, that would interview people who have done amazing things in life to motivate me. After a while I learnt that just like any other medium there are so many different genres in the podcasting world! I started listening to dramas and audio documentaries and I’ve been listening ever since!

Why was audio the right medium for your project?

Audio was the only way this project could come to life. It allowed me to mix the dramatisations with expert interviews without taking away from the seriousness of the topics. Audio also gives the listener freedom to visualise the worlds described in a very personalised way and I think that’s important for a series like this one that is so reliant on the imagination.

What the biggest thing you’ve learned from making the podcast?

On a personal level I learnt just how much I really love storytelling! This was the first project that I worked on where I had all the creative licence and it was just so much fun trying different forms of storytelling. I also learnt the importance of having a great team around you! My AP, Researcher and drama writer made the experience so enjoyable and the long hours less painful!

What would you like to see more of in the podcast space?

More diverse voices. And not diverse in order to tick a box but podcasts that allow people from all walks of life to tell stories that are authentic to them. I think The Digital Sisterhood podcast does a great job of this! The host interviews Muslim women from all walks of life and allows them to speak candidly about subject matters that are close to them. We hear so many discussions about Muslim women but we rarely hear them speak for themselves and this podcast does that beautifully.

Listen to The Museum of Bad Vibes now on BBC Sounds and other popular podcast apps.

Don’t forget to check out the other interviews in this series.

The post BBC Sounds Audio Lab: Hanna Adan – The Museum of Bad Vibes appeared first on POD BIBLE.

What was your introduction to podcasting as a listener?

One of the first podcasts I really got hooked on was Making Gay History. Each episode starts with the clicking sound of the cassette tapes that carry the voices out of the archives. Transitioning from this into what was then the exciting new digital medium of podcasts was a real thrill. Next came the calm, tender, thoughtful voice of host Eric Marcus, leading us back into history, into the sound recordings he made decades before. And then: the voices of our queer elders themselves. Their horrors and their wisdom. Wow. Making Gay History was a huge influence on a podcast I eventually co-produced, called The Log Books, and now I’ve continued to pursue a creative use of archive in The Film We Can’t See.

Why was audio the right medium for your project?

Yeah, the fact that it’s a podcast is a bit of a surprise — it’s a project about cinema! But when I researched the stories and the themes of early experimental (queer) films in the 1920s, I realised that the project is about a film that doesn’t exist. We don’t have the images. Even if the film had been made, it would have been burnt by the Nazis, as so many were. So audio is the perfect medium, no? It allows me to ask the audience to join me in imagining the images. Your visuals will be different from mine, because your mind is different. I love how audio offers that fluidity. On top of all that, I also wanted to experiment with sound more than I’d been able to do with The Log Books — using music like a score, and sound design that plays with what’s real or not.

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from making the podcast?

There’s so much potential in the form that people aren’t using. I’m thrilled that podcasting is huge now, but I do think the industry is dominated by interview or chatty podcasts. And even documentary podcasts can be pretty formulaic (I guess their success depends on the story, not the format). Fiction podcasts are often like radio dramas with extra sound effects and studio cleanness. So I set up The Film We Can’t See so that I could learn how to make something that sounded very different, to challenge myself as much as the industry. The series takes a hybrid form, merging documentary and imagination, it was recorded on location, uses music like a film does, and references the fact that the listener will be imagining what’s happening in a way that only a podcast can.

What would you like to see more of in the podcast space?

Two things. First, in terms of content: forget the awards categories, mix them up, produce hybrid forms, play with what’s real and what’s not, create space for the listener to visualise along with you, do something more with sound design than just swells and swooshes. Second, courageous investment and commissioning, as with BBC Audio Lab. I’m an indie producer with a small company, Aunt Nell. Indies like us need gatekeepers to take risks and help us to create the next wave of podcasts.

Listen to The Film We Can’t See now on BBC Sounds and other popular podcast apps. 

Don’t forget to check out the interview with Talia Randal about Blossom Trees and Burnt Out Cars. Next time, we’re hearing about The Museum Of Bad Vibes by Hanna Adan.

The post BBC Sounds Audio Lab: Adam Zmith – The Film We Can’t See appeared first on POD BIBLE.

BBC Sounds AudioLabs – Talia Randall

Pod Bible: What was your introduction to podcasting as a listener?

Talia Randall: It was probably one of the big guns at NPR that first got my attention. I also loved Two Dope Queens. Recently the shows I’ve been addicted to are Harsh Reality, Wild Boys and The Trojan Horse Affair. I think an investigative podcast works best when the host really inserts themselves into the topic and doesn’t pretend to be neutral. I also enjoy The Polyester Podcast. It’s a self-published, intersectional feminist and culture show. I think the seriousness they give to seemingly throwaway or ‘bad taste’ subjects is really refreshing

In terms of audio more broadly I was very briefly involved in pirate radio quite some time ago and before that, the first thing that properly had me as a listener was Blue Jam by Chris Morris. I’d be scared to listen back to it, I can’t tell you how much that twisted my melon.

PB: Why was audio the right medium for your project?

TR: We all know that a good podcast is an intimate experience. As a listener I really enjoy the feeling of someone inviting me into a corner to have a natter about some random, interesting topic. It’s a bit like having a gossip in the smokers section of club. You hear a revelation, inhale sharply and then rush to share the secret with someone else.

Obviosity my podcast is less gossip and more feelings about nature but I want that mood to be present; a one-on-one chat with a stranger, before you know it, you’re getting to know each other really well; you’re sharing revelations with each other.

There’s also that vibe when you’re on a walk – how your mind can wonder with your feet. Spending time alone in nature is a joy and a privilege and there was something about the meandering thoughts you have on a walk that chimed with the style of the podcast.

PB: What the biggest thing you’ve learned from making the podcast?

TR: Honestly, that I can do it! I was learning everything as I went (which is usually the case for me but certainly not on a platform this big). Learning how to edit, to sound design, putting the whole thing together. I mean every time I opened my laptop was a crash course in learning a new skill with a hefty deadline looming over me. I’m neurodivergent too so holding that all in my head was messy and complex

I also learnt that I can take on the subject matter. This last time year if you’d have told me I was gonna make a nature show I would’ve howled with laughter, yet here we are! Check in with me next year, maybe I’ll be making something about another subject that will surprise me. (I’m currently open to commissions babes)

PB: What would you like to see more of in the podcast space?

TR: We need a much broader range of audio makers and stories. I think this is true of arts and culture in general. I’ve had a few comp tickets to award and industry events via the Audio Lab scheme and although there’s been lots of great things and I’ve learnt loads, there is so much more than needs to be done to make more audio creatives (and listeners) feel like they belong. For example, I might be misremembering but I don’t remember any wheelchair access at many of these events. I think there needs to be a conversation about transcripts and captions for podcasts. I’d like to see more genuine risks on lesser known talent and, honestly, we need to talk more about cash. Money and the arts are so opaque and until we stop expecting people to work for little money (or no money) we just won’t have more perspectives.

Listen to Blossom Trees and Burnt Out Cars now on BBC Sounds and other popular podcast apps. 

Come back next week, when Adam Zmith will be talking about The Film We Can’t See. Check out the other interviews in the series here.

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