This was the first time I’ve attended, so I thought I’d give a little overview of my experience as a first-timer for others who might not be familiar with the event.

Production Company of the Year – Reduced Listening – courtesy of Audio UK

This is the twelfth year of the awards, presented by Audio UK, and the event is a true awards-ceremony atmosphere. Fizzy wine and mocktails were available at the entrance. The space for mingling had a bar, DJ and lights that certainly made for a party-feeling, but did make it difficult to speak to people. Walking through the space, groups of people were excitedly catching up. Attending by myself, there was the slight panic of being in a crowd I did not know.

Luckily, Pod Bible has given me enough connections to recognise a few faces (shout out to Naomi from The International Women’s Podcast Awards, and Imriel from Content is Queen in particular!) and a few other people I know from freelancing. This event would have been very overwhelming if I was completely new to audio. For any solo or indy podcasters thinking of attending next year, I would suggest trying to connect with people before the event.

A highlight of the evening was Lily Ames and Laura Blake’s acceptance speech for the Audio UK Award. Hearing more about how Lily set-up the UK Audio Network (UKAN) was so interesting (UKAN has been so valuable for me personally pivoting to the audio industry from a very different background.) But they also used the speech to highlight the anti-trans podcast being nominated at the 2022 ARIAS.

AudioUK Award. – Lily Ames, UKAN, Laura Blake – courtesy of Audio UK

The need for greater action on inclusion, diversity and safeguarding was an aspect picked-up at a few points. The winners of the Production Company of the Year, Reduced Listening, also used their speech for this, and I noted a few winners mentioning going freelance so that they could create the work they couldn’t create in established media giants.

But it is also great to see the successes from grassroots initiatives working in the DEI space – Sarah Myles’ RISE & SHINE was mentioned more than once, and the winner of Best Entertainment Producer (and Pod Bible columnist!) Meera Kumar thanked the Multitrack Fellowship for her break into the industry.

Best Entertainment Producer – Meera Kumar – courtesy of Audio UK

Carousel Radio were the winners of the Grassroots Production award, and used their acceptance speech to talk about the importance of having media for and by people with learning disabilities. And I loved seeing Best Narrator go to Tracy Wiles for her work on Fits and Starts by Franziska Thomas for my own reasons.

The Audio Production Awards were such a good insight to audio production as an industry – both as it is now, and how it could be in the future. Congratulations to all the winners!

The Winners:

Best Arts & Culture Producer

GOLD – Geoff Bird (Freelance)
SILVER – Steven Rajam (Overcoat Media)
BRONZE – Lyndsay Fenner & Victoria Lloyd (Storyglass)

Nominees

Hannah Dean (Falling Tree Productions)
Hannah Hufford (BBC Audio)
Victoria Ferran  (Just Radio)

Best News & Current Affairs Producer

GOLD – James Shield (The Times and The Sunday Times)
SILVER – Taryn Siegel (The Times and The Sunday Times)
BRONZE – Ruth Abrahams (Freelance / The Guardian)

Nominees

Ant Adeane (Freelance)
Daniel Rosney (BBC Newsbeat)
Edward Drummond (The Times and The Sunday Times)

Best Entertainment Producer

GOLD – Meera Kumar – (Freelance)
SILVER – Adem Waterman (Absolute Radio)
BRONZE – Lorna Skingley (7digital)

Nominees

Lucy Dearlove (Storyglass)
Ore Olukoga (TBI Media)
Victoria Ferran (Just Radio)

Best New Producer sponsored by BBC Sounds

GOLD – Redzi Bernard (Falling Tree Productions)
SILVER – Julian Maclurg (Freelance)
BRONZE – Pippa Smith (Novel)
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Talia Augustidis (Message Heard)

Nominees

Charlotte North (Whistledown)
Rufaro Faith Mazarura (Audio Always)

Best Presenter sponsored by The Podcast Show

GOLD – Danny Robins (Bafflegab Productions)
SILVER – John Sweeney (Chalk and Blade)
BRONZE – Claudia Winkleman (TBI Media)

Nominees

Axel Kacoutié (Falling Tree Productions)
Elis James and John Robins (Audio Always)
Rob Beckett (TBI Media)

Best Factual Producer sponsored by In:Quality

GOLD – Axel Kacoutié
SILVER – Joshua Kelly (The Guardian)
BRONZE – Eva Krysiak (Freelance)

Nominees

Kate Taylor (Audible)
Redzi Bernard (Falling Tree Productions)
Russell Finch (Wondery)

Best Sports Producer

GOLD – Chessie Bent (TBI Media)
SILVER – Olly Clink (talkSPORT)
BRONZE – Joel Grove (Guardian News and Media)
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Isabel Minter (talkSPORT)

Nominees

Adonis Pratsides (The Athletic)
Christian Hewgill (BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat)

Gethin Thomas Award for Best Comedy Producer

GOLD – Matt Thomas (Audio Always)
SILVER – Gus Beattie (Gusman Productions)
BRONZE – David Tyler (Pozzitive)

Nominees

Ed Morrish (Lead Mojo Productions)
Gwyn Rhys Davies (BBC Studios)
Kurt Brookes (Made In Manchester)

Best Music Producer

GOLD – Arthur Hagues (Prison Radio Association)
SILVER – Jack Howson
BRONZE – Katie Callin (Reduced Listening)

Nominees

Helen Weatherhead (Audio Always)
Keana Bernard (BBC Audio)
Nate Goodman (We Are Grape)

Best Audiobook Producer

GOLD – Laura-Leigh Smith (String and Tins for Audible)
SILVER – Chris Thompson (Penguin Random House)
BRONZE – David Beck (Wireless Theatre for Audible)
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Lily Ridett (Freelance)

Nominees

Kathleen Moroney (Red Apple Creative for Audible)
Tanya Hougham (HarperCollins Publishers)

Best Narrator

GOLD – Tracy Wiles (Almost Tangible)
SILVER – Julie Hesmondhalgh (HarperCollins)
BRONZE – Tom Alexander (HarperCollins)
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Minnie Driver (Bonnier Books UK)

Nominees

Andy Serkis (HarperCollins)
Kristin Atherton (Penguin Random House)

Best Lifestyle & Society Producer (NEW) sponsored by BetterHelp

GOLD – Lina Prestwood (Scenery Studios)
SILVER – Sangeeta Pillai (Soul Sutras)
BRONZE – Andrew Gold (On the Edge with Andrew Gold)

Nominees

Anouszka Tate (Freelance)
Selina Ream (Somethin’ Else)
Sylvie Carlos (Unedited)

Best Ensemble Cast

GOLD – Joelah, Keke & DJ Silk (1Xtra’s Throwback Party)
SILVER – Kat Anderson & Natalia Anderson (Expat Immigrant Podcast)
BRONZE – Helen Brown, Terri Sweeney, Emma Goswell & Beena Khetani (Effin Hormones)

Nominees

Elis James &. John Robins (Audio Always)
Kim Davis & Raffaella Coleman (The Scene)
William Hanson & Jordan North (Audio Always)

Best New Voice sponsored by BBC Sounds

GOLD – Lianne Sanderson (talkSPORT)
SILVER – Cara McGoogan (The Telegraph)
BRONZE – Talia Augustidis (Message Heard)

Nominees

Afrodeutsche (Reform Radio)
Lily Baldwin (Audible)
Peter Waring (Whistledown)

Best Branded Sound Producer

GOLD – Luke Berry (BBC Popular Music Station Sound)
SILVER – Adam Venton (Little Monster Media)
BRONZE – Chris Nicoll (WIZZFX)

Nominees

Ali Rezakhani (BBC Sounds)
Kenny Southavy (ReelWorld)
Sam Parker (WIZZFX)

Best Sound Design Producer

GOLD – Axel Kacoutié (Freelance)
SILVER – Benbrick
BRONZE – Kit Milsom (Mags Creative)

Nominees

Hannah Dean (Falling Tree Productions)
John Wakefield (Audible)
Steve Urquhart (Freelance)

Best Drama & Fiction Producer

GOLD – Andrew Mark Sewell (B7 Media)
SILVER – Barnaby Eaton-Jones & Ian Haig (Idea Hat Productions)
BRONZE – Melanie Harris (Sparklab Productions)

Nominees

Celia de Wolff (Pier Productions)
Jacqueline Rayner (Big Finish Productions)
Nicolas Jackson (Afonica)

AudioUK Award

UK Audio Network (UKAN)

Grassroots Production Awards sponsored by The Podcasting Seriously Awards Fund

GOLD – Carousel
SILVER – Vic Elizabeth Turnbull (MIC Media)
BRONZE – Modus Arts (Tape Letters)

Nominees

Boz Temple
Morris & Fin Kennedy (The Waves)
Miranda Rae (Afrikan Queens)
Steve Urquhart (Doing Bird)

The Sustainability Award (NEW)

GOLD – The Long Time Academy (Scenery Studios 8)
SILVER – Lucia Scazzocchio (Wild Eye)
BRONZE – Resonance FM

Nominees

Jo Kennedy & Cathy Shaw (Nature Tripping)
Loftus Media (Funghi: The New Frontier)

Reform Radio Producer of the Year (NEW)

GOLD – Steve Urquhart (Freelance)
SILVER – Hana Walker-Brown (Broccoli Productions / Freelance)
BRONZE – Jon Holmes (unusual)
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Jack Howson

Nominees

Hannah Dean (Falling Tree Productions)
Victoria Ferran (Just Radio)

Publisher or Network of the Year (NEW)

GOLD – Resonance FM
SILVER – Mags Creative
BRONZE – Fun Kids

Nominees

Crowd Network
Sky News
talkSPORT

Production Company of the Year sponsored by Radiocentre

GOLD – Reduced Listening
SILVER – Unedited
BRONZE – Whistledown

Nominees

Holy Mountain
TBI Media
We Are Grape

The post The Audio Production Awards 2022 – The Winners appeared first on POD BIBLE.

I think it is safe to say that the 2021 podcast game has been strong: across ten ‘New This Month’ articles, I’ve written about more than 108 new podcasts, and 36 new seasons of classic pods and we’ve sent over 50 newsletters with recommendations of new, classic and indy podcasts. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface!

I’ve been able to sample plenty of new podcasts as soon as they came out, but there were still many podcasts missing from those articles (a couple even made it into my favourites for the year).

We now know that the rise of the celebrity podcast wasn’t confined to the first lockdown of 2020: this year has had more celebrity podcasts than we can shake a mic-stand at. On the Pod Bible website alone, we’ve covered podcasts from Alan Cumming, Hayley Hasselhoff, French and Saunders, Oti Mabuse, Dominic Monaghan, Clive Anderson, Rob Brydon, and many more!

Let’s not forget the classic podcasts we’ve seen go from strength to strength. As well as the podcasters that have launched books and live shows, we’ve seen the return of podcast events like the London Podcast Festival, milestones of 100, 200 and 400 episodes, and big news from companies like Spotify, Apple and Acast.

But from a listener point of view, all this means content that is getting better all the time. So, without further ado, these are some of 2021’s best podcasts you need to listen to right now!

Human Resources

If you listen to one podcast on this list, make it this one! The short way I would describe this Broccoli Productions show is “a British 1619”. More accurately, Human Resources explores the British involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, and how the trade has influenced every part of modern Britain (my mind was blown thinking about how Isaac Newton relied on data gathered from slave routes.) Read our interview with the host, Moya Lothian-McLean, to find out more. Listen now on your app >>

The Log Books

The Log Books first launched in 2019, and looks at the LGBTQ+ history of the UK. Now, I’m sad to say it’s in its final series. I love the use of the notes from the log books, alongside interviews with Switchboard volunteers. As a straight, cis woman, I’m finding that the current series from 1992-2003 is teaching me about a world that runs parallel to my own memories. Listen now on your app >>

You’re Dead To Me

Firstly – I love a podcast with a pun in the title. Secondly, You’re Dead To Me is the perfect mix of learning and fun (with a bit of rudeness and innuendo for good measure). I love how keen the comedians are to learn, and how the historians are passionate about their subject without being precious about it. The show has covered a lot of historical periods now, and it looks at countries from around the world so there really is something for everyone! Listen now on your app >>

Unobscured

Unobscured “looks at parts of history we think we know” but the fourth season was about the Romanovs and Rasputin, which I actually knew very little about. I feel like I know more now! (although I do have Boney M. on near-constant repeat in my head…) This show is one of the non-fiction offerings from Aaron Mankhe’s Grim & Mild, and as such, there is a great storytelling element to the narration. Listen now on your app >>

Cancelled

Broccoli Content has been one of the most prolific and innovative production companies in the UK this year, so it’s no surprise that a second show of theirs made it onto my list. I think the style of Cancelled is really interesting – each episode is a monologue about a high-profile ‘cancellation’ in recent years (Piers Morgan, Doja Cat and Nike are some examples) written by different authors but all narrated by Cameron Bernard Jones. The music is fun and Jones is hilarious as the narrator. Listen now on your app >>

Women Vs Hollywood

This film podcast takes a look at the history of cinema, and women’s role in it – including some of the triumphs that women have had at different points in film history. Hosted by Empire journalist Helen O’Hara and based on her book of the same name, the episode about the Silent Era was the biggest surprise – I went away from the podcast and watched The Hazards of Helen! (NB this podcast was part of a limited series on the same feed as Helen’s other podcast, Bah Humbug, so you’ll have to scroll to get to it!) Listen now on your app >>

Windfall from Outside/In

Offshore wind farming could invest tens of billions of dollars in America’s economy, reshape their coastal communities, and be a green energy solution in the fight against climate change. So why is it taking so long to get them built? This miniseries from Outside/In looked at the politics, history, economics and more of wind turbines in the USA. It was a really great insight into something that seems like a simple solution. I also found the disclosure about journalistic integrity refreshing. Listen now on your app >>

Unearthed

Unearthed is unique on this list because it is the only podcast that we haven’t covered in Pod Bible – print or digital. But we really should have! Ryan Latto’s podcast unearths the truth about Scottish history, folklore and myths by speaking to people whose lives are still connected to them. This series looked at Scots in America and I was going to pick a favourite episode, but honestly I loved them all! As a journalist and tour guide, Latto has great storytelling and attention to detail. But he also enjoys the freedom of the podcast format with updates on his return to nursing during the vaccine push, and bonus episodes countering opinions he thinks are dangerous. Listen now on your app >>

The Town That Knew Too Much

I like podcasts that make me want to go away and look things up. The Town That Knew Too Much made me do this a lot (and I am particularly pleased I found out what the golden hare from Episode 4 looked like). This is the second series from journalist Nick Hilton that focuses on the idiosyncrasies and histories of towns in the UK (this series was about Cheltenham). Hilton was Broadcast Editor at the Spectator before leaving to create his company Podot, so the production is top notch. Listen now on your app >>

Stuff The British Stole

This Australian podcast is also the only podcast on this list not from the UK or USA. I enjoy this history podcast for the true-crime twist it puts on the genre. This year, Stuff The British Stole has looked at some famous stuff (‘Losing Your Marbles’) and heartbreaking stuff (‘Not Your Venus’). Sometimes the items are returned, and sometimes they are not.  The British Empire really took a lot of stuff, but it should mean there are several more seasons of this to come! Listen now on your app >>

Whistle Through The Shamrocks

It’s a celebrity making a podcast! And this is especially amusing considering this tweet from one of the creators last year. But Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls) and Camilla Whitehill are really levelling up the celebrity-podcast. The sleepy Irish village of Ballysnavougherenn is the scene for an epic audio drama about foul winds, potato farming, and evil English lords. But in the framing of the drama, we hear Coughlan and Whitehill directing the play. This is actually the only fiction podcast on my list (and does it count as fiction if Coughlan is playing a form of herself..?) Listen now on your app >>

Blind Landing

In the summer of 2021, there were a number of Olympic and Paralympic themed podcasts that came out around the time of the Tokyo games. But whilst most were celebrating sports, Blind Landing ran an investigation into a catastrophic mistake during the gymnastics at the 2000 Games in Sydney. This is a pretty specific topic, and the podcast is a passion project, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t got universal appeal. Listen now on your app >>

Storytime with Seth Rogan

It’s another celebrity making a podcast! But as the description says, this is “not a typical comedian-hosted chat show!”. Episodes are short and sweet, and we hear a guest’s story interspersed with Seth’s monologues, conversations with people who know the storyteller and music breaks from all genres. The first episode, Glorious Basterds, has Seth talking to a Jehovah’s witness-turned-comic about her journey to comedy, which involves a Quentin Tarentino film and Paul Rudd. But does Paul Rudd remember..?! Listen now on your app >>

Coiled

One thing I’ve noticed more of this year is professional producers dropping epic passion projects for us to enjoy. Coiled is a great example of this. Producer Leanne Ali works in Podcast Commissioning at the BBC, but her own podcast with Sylvie Carlos explores black afro hair in society and history, framed with a personal journey as Leanne transitions back to her natural hair. They go so deep into topic, there’s something for all listeners. Listen now on your app >>

Pieces Of Britney

Britney is free! In November 2021, Britney Spears was legally released from a 13 years conservatorship that curtailed a lot of her human rights. I found this BBC Radio 4 podcast a great way to begin to understand how it got to that stage. Pandora Sykes takes us through Britney’s life using a mix of documentary, archive audio and interviews. The dramatic interpretation woven through the episodes (written by playwright Katie Hims) could have been melodramatic, but instead really helped to humanise the megastar. Listen now on your app >>

Finding Natasha

Arguably, every family’s myths are worthy of a podcast. But when you throw in Soviet Russia, the world-renowned Mariinsky Ballet school and a daring escape from a locked hospital, you have the makings of a great investigative podcast. Read my full review of Finding Natasha or listen now on your app >>

Aberfan: Tip Number 7

For those who are old enough, the name of this small Welsh town is well known, but for me, this was almost entirely new. In 1966, 150,000 tonnes of coal waste slid down a hillside, killing 116 children and 28 adults in the village of Aberfan. This BBC podcast goes into how and why this happened. The interviews from those affected by the disaster – survivors, their family and rescuers – are sobering and the sound design is harrowing. Listen now on your app >>

Off Menu

Okay, so I know Off Menu is in many people’s favourite podcast list already. BUT one of the main reasons I wanted to include it is the centenary episode we were treated to back in June. We finally got to hear James and Ed’s own dream menus and restaurants. And some of it surprised even themselves. If you’re new to Off Menu and not sure where to dive in, be sure to read this Point Of Entry article by super-fan Twitter account @nocontxtoffmenu to get started. Listen now on your app >>

Sweet Bobby

From the amount of ‘end of year’ lists Sweet Bobby is on, it may be as popular as Off Menu (in fact, it’s currently #3 in the Apple Podcast charts). And for good reason – the subject of the series is just astonishing. British woman Kirat Assi befriended a man on Facebook called ‘Bobby’, and got reeled into an epic catfish scam that lasted over a decade. To give you an idea of the scale, host Alexi Mostrous was actually researching for another show when he came across Kirat’s story, and decided there was so much to this story it could be a whole series itself. Listen now on your app >>

Harsh Reality

A last-minute entry, I only started listening to Harsh Reality this week, but I’ve already caught up with the 5 episodes available. It investigates a shocking example of the ‘cruel reality TV’ that thrived in the noughties. Miriam Rivera was already a model and star of the ballroom scene, but saw a new dating show as her chance to become a superstar. Instead, There’s Something About Miriam chose to surprise the men she dated with the fact that she was trans. The fact there are several content warnings at the start of the episodes tells you a lot: this is a gripping and heart-breaking listen. Listen now on your app >>

The post 20 of the best podcasts to listen to right now! appeared first on POD BIBLE.

The podcast in question, Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division & New Order, takes listeners on a journey through the life and times of two of my personal favorite things to ever come from Manchester. But a question worth asking before diving into Transmissions is – when tales of both of these bands exist already in books and films, do we really need a podcast?

During lockdown, I’ve spent my time as many music fans have – watching all the documentaries I could get my eyes. One that I thoroughly enjoyed, New Order: Decades, should have satiated my desire for content around one of the greatest new wave bands of all time. And yet, when Transmissions fell into my lap, I dove right in and was wowed with what I found.

Narrated by the absolutely brilliant Maxine Peake, the eight-part series spins a long and winding tale about the creation, demise, and rebirth of some of the most truly iconic music. Not only are we treated to newly-recorded interviews with Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert and Peter Hook, but we also get the experience of hearing the impact of Joy Division and New Order’s music on the likes of Bono and Thurston Moore. Nothing is taboo – the episode in which they discuss the tragic death of Ian Curtis is heart wrenching (and at episode 4, is a good spot for a break.)

As an aforementioned Factory Records fan (with a Tony Wilson tattoo, if you’ll forgive me) the early episode about the birth of the label and, later, the definitive role of The Haçienda in shaping the direction of dance music is a powerful acknowledgement of the roles of Wilson, Alan Erasmus and Rob Gretton on the scene and sound we as fans so adore. And for the most dedicated music fans, you will not be let down by the deep-dive in episode eight into the best-selling 12-inch single of all time, “Blue Monday”. The band’s exploration of how the seven-and-a-half minute synth-pop masterpiece was created (and a brilliant note from Bernard about vinyl vs. digital for dance music) makes the final episode of the series 37 minutes of pure joy.

Will there be a second season? Knowing that the last album discussed on the show, “Power, Corruption and Lies”, is only the second album in New Order’s ten-album history to date, one can only hope so. There is far more story yet to be told, and thus we find the answer to our earlier question: do we really need a Joy Division/New Order podcast? From fans around the world comes a resounding yes, and we desperately need season two.

Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division & New Order is produced by Cup and Nuzzle and available on ACAST and everywhere you listen to podcasts.

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