Amateur budding twitchers and nature lovers alike are invited to join Matt Spracklen, AKA the Rock ‘n Roll Birder, on a weekly birdwatching walk and talk by tuning into series two of the Rock ‘n Roll Birder podcast which returns on the 24th of July.

In each episode of the new series, Matt will be out in the elements visiting beauty spots and nature reserves across the UK where the birds are always the stars of the show. As well as being joined by his wife, producer Sarah Spracklen, this series he will also be joined by expert guests including Jack Baddams, BBC Springwatch’s wildlife researcher; Jon Carter who works for the British Trust for Ornithology; Naomi Johns from The Bird of Prey Project; James Cook (@WildlifeWithCookie), and Paul Bennett from RSPB Coombes Valley and Consall Woods.

His contemporary perspective on birdwatching has seen Matt’s Instagram page, @RocknRollBirder, amass 69,000 followers since launch in January. With famous names including Jim Moir, Emma Freud, Sarah Millican and Tom Chaplin listening in to catch a bird song or two.

Matt says: “Whether you’re a birding novice or a seasoned twitcher there’s something for everyone on the podcast. I love talking about birds but I would also love that this could somehow be a gateway for young people to get more passionate about the things they can do to protect and conserve our wildlife and nature.”

Throughout the series, Matt interviews guests who have turned their love of birds and wildlife into their profession. When he isn’t joined by a guest, Matt and his producer and wife, Sarah, who is new to birding, go on a birdwatching walk of their own.

At the start of each episode, Matt also answers ‘Birding Questions’ sent in from the Rock ‘n Roll Birder community.

Sarah is a radio and podcast producer. She has spent the last ten years at Absolute Radio producing The Frank Skinner Show and is the producer of the critically acclaimed Frank Skinner’s Poetry Podcast. Sarah also spent many years at Virgin Radio working with radio greats including Edith Bowman. Sarah and Matt first met when she produced his very first radio show back in 2016 and they are loving working together again.

As for Matt, he has loved birdwatching since he was young. He said: “My mum used to let me be late for school because I was so fascinated watching the birds in the garden. My teachers got me to engage with reading work using bird books, so that’s how I learnt to read. I collected bird encyclopedias and had a real passion for birdwatching as a child.”

In recent years Matt reignited his love of birdwatching and photography after spending his 20s living a high-octane life touring in a punk band and working in the music industry.

He rediscovered the mindful mental health benefits of birdwatching during the 2020 lockdowns when feeding the garden birds became a relaxing pastime and pleasure. Matt started to take pictures of different species, cataloging them and taking walks to see how many varieties he could capture. It was on one of these walks that the Rock ‘n Roll Birder podcast was born.

Matt said: “At first, when Sarah and I talked about recording a podcast about birds I was reluctant. Music is my other passion and that is also my work so part of me wanted to keep birding separate but the format of the podcast is so relaxed and natural it doesn’t feel like work.

These are walks and conversations we would be having anyway and sharing them as a podcast feels like we are allowing people to join us – expanding our own community and enjoyment. As well as facts and information we share lots of laughs and like to keep it light and easy listening.

Hearing from listeners who say we have inspired them to buy a bird feeder or to take a walk to listen to birdsong and see what they have learned is so rewarding.”

Alongside his work on the podcast, Matt is a presenter on CountryLine Radio and an ambassador for brands such as Hard Rock Cafe and Captain Fawcett. This podcast series is sponsored by Eco Bird Food and Green Feathers.

Series one, which featured 12 episodes recorded across the UK and from Sarah and Matt’s home studio in Surrey, is available to listen back on now.

This series, Matt is visiting RSPB Otmoor in Oxfordshire, Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, British Trust of Ornithology HQ in Norfolk and other various birding hotspots in the Peak District and Lake District.

Listen to Rock ‘n Roll Birder on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps >>

Article wording adapted from Rock ‘n Roll Birder press release

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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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When the first season came to a very satisfying conclusion, I was sad to think I wouldn’t hear from the show again. So you can imagine how excited I was to see season 2 come out this month. And I jumped at the chance to ask host Andrew Steven (a fellow “amateur explorer, expert coffee drinker, and podcast maker…”) all about the new series…

The first season of Trail Weight felt like a satisfying conclusion to one story, can you give us a taste of what Season 2 has in store for listeners?

I think of Season 2 of Trail Weight as an emotional sequel. Season 1 was my story, and most of my guests on the show listened and reacted to my personal journey. In the new season, I’m discovering another’s story, and the listeners get to hear my reaction this time. You get to listen to me wrestle with questions and weigh the complexity and nuance of what it means to be someone who loves nature and worries about my effect on the outdoors. Plus, I genuinely think the story I tripped into (in Season 2)—the story of Walt Disney’s attempt to build a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada Mountains—is fascinating, and I wish more people knew about it.

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

It’s almost cliché to say this now, but audio is more intimate than many other forms of media. For example, not many people watch Netflix on the way to work, on a walk through the neighborhood, and as they fall asleep. And audio is similar to books in that they invite you to use your imagination to fill in the gaps. But that can be tricky with a travel story that takes you across the U.S. (and the globe), to high in the mountains, and drops you into a magical pine forest in California. And so that becomes the challenge, inviting the listener to these places and having them feel like they’re there with me.

If you could go back to before you started out and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Even for a planner like me, I always wish I had more time. I have a writer friend who says his books are only ever finished because they’re sent off to the printers. Similarly, Lorne Michaels famously says SNL goes on air, not because it is ready, but because it’s Saturday. But in all seriousness, I wish I would record and catalog and archive more audio (but this would add more work and take much longer, and I just said I wish I had more time). Trail Weight is written like a book, so hopefully, I can always write my way out of bad tape, but I wish I had more audio from the actual moments I get into, even if only for brief glimpses.

Which episode of your podcast means the most to you?

I always like episode one’s. For a show like Trail Weight, which is very much narrative and told in specific episode order, there’s something special about a good episode one. Hopefully, ours are interesting enough to provide someone with an entertaining and informative listen while piquing their interest to stick around for the rest of the season.

Which podcasts inspire you most?

I’m a big fan of the super-produced, well-developed, audiobook-esq style podcast and two people sitting around a table and talking for a couple of hours into microphones podcasts. Some of the first shows I listened to were comedians talking to other comedians, as well as This American Life and Radiolab. I’ve made both types of podcasts, and as a listener and a producer, I’m always looking for ways to merge the two styles together.

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

Recently, I’ve been enjoying Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out, Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air, Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra, and Threedom with Scott Aukerman, Lauren Lapkus, and Paul F. Tompkins.

Listen to Trail Weight on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

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POD BIBLE: Can you give us a little bit of an insight to the National Trust podcast?

SEAN: I like to say it’s the podcast that immerses you in art, history and adventure. And it really does all the things that you would get if you came to a National Trust property. One day we could be talking about an obscure artefact that lives in an archive in one of our buildings, the next we could be on paddleboards, paddleboarding through The Menai Strait in Wales, or the next week, we could be on the back of mountain bikes going bikepacking. So it’s really varied, but if you like adventure, if you like history and heritage, it’s a podcast that packages all of that stuff into one.

But I think the thing that most people like about our podcast is it’s really immersive. And one of the things we try to do is to make the listener feel like they’re there. And especially during lockdown, we really became one of the only ports that people could go to those places, so we’ve come up with lots of techniques that really immerse people within the podcast, and often people say “I felt like I was there” or “I can’t wait to get my walking boots on because you inspired me to go on a walk.”

POD BIBLE: You mentioned it very briefly there, how was that transition into recording and creating things during the lockdown period?

SEAN: Not easy, because probably 99.9% of our podcasts are recorded on location. So that really put a spanner in the works for what we were doing. But it gave us opportunities to be creative, and it gave us opportunities to tell stories that we couldn’t or wouldn’t have told before. So one of my favourites was an episode called ‘Meet the Silver Surfers’. It was about these people in their 70s and 80s, who had been in these groups where they were really active and then suddenly, they were plunged into this world where they had to learn technology. Even with my mum, you know, she never really embraced her smartphone. And then I was getting text messages and the emojis and all of this stuff. And so it was how these kinds of people, these grandmothers embraced Facebook to be able to see their friends. But we ended up looking at a group of people in their 60s and 70s, who would go on these virtual tours around Cuba and the Mediterranean, and because they needed exercise, they all walk in front of their TVs. So that was that was a really nice story that we told.

I think the other thing that we did, that has now become a kind of staple of our podcast, is what I call the microphone distribution network. We started sending microphones out to get those interviews that normally we would rock up with our microphones and record in people’s homes or offices. And that’s really freed us up to take the podcast global you know, so we can have interviews in America, we can have interviews in Australia with experts that really help enhance the knowledge that we have within the National Trust. So the pandemic gave us some difficulties that we had to overcome, but it’s really enhanced what we do and really pushed forward the storytelling we’re able to do now.

POD BIBLE: The show is very much geared towards being outdoors and being in the properties in quite adventurous ways. Is that something that you’ve learned to do from being the producer, or were you already in that world?

SEAN: A bit of both really. Before I did the National Trust podcast, I have a podcast called The Codpast and one of the episodes I did was about a guy who had ADHD and to deal with it, he decided he was going to walk round the coast of New Zealand, I think it took him three years. And The Codpast was an interview based podcast, but that one I did in a very narrative style. And that kind of sparked my interest in doing narrative podcasts. And when I got to the National Trust, I decided to really utilise some of the skill set that I learned from working in television, because my background is television. Rather than using shotgun mics and things, we started hiring DPA mics, so the head-worn mics that Madonna would wear. And we put all of our presenters on radio mics. So if they wanted to climb a tree, they could. It really gave the presenters freedom to really explore rather than waiting for a Producer with a microphone to point it in their direction before they spoke.

And I think when I first started [The National Trust] were doing walks, literature, authors, homes, and gardens. And I started to think, how do I how do I turn a walk into a podcast? Do I just replace the studio with the outdoors? And I didn’t want to do that. So we worked out ways of how we could really embrace and engage the listener. So one of the things is we do a recce before we record, so we know exactly what’s coming in, where things are going to happen and where the best sounds are. And where a presenter will walk over the crest of the hill and, and see a beautiful view. And then we’ll add corresponding music that does that.

But we also have two scripts: we have a script for the Producers, and the script for the Presenters. And the Presenters kind of look at this and start to get hives because there’s massive blank spaces in their script, where there’s stuff that we know as Producers, but they don’t know. So we really want our Presenters to be experiencing things for the first time on microphone. And I always say, the best way to get a sense of a place is to listen to someone’s experience in that place, rather than them knowing everything and asking questions that they already know. So that’s how we did it.

And then it just expanded really. We started small, and then, you know, we’ve started doing these quite epic episodes every year. So last year, it was ‘A beginner’s guide to bike packing’, where we do a 36 mile journey – which is not far for bikepacking, but when you are carrying your recording kit, you’ve got the Producers, you’ve got the Presenters, you’ve got the Soundman, and we’re all on bikes, travelling along 30 degree inclines…. it’s quite a feat!

POD BIBLE: For the most part, you do standalone episodes. So how do you create a show that feels very unified, but each episode is quite unique at the same time?

SEAN: That’s an interesting question, because sometimes people do go “none of the episodes are the same, what you know, how would we create a synergy?” And I think, you know, all of the all of the episodes are about the National Trust. But what I like to do is look outside the Trust. So a lot of the time, ideas will come from an article that I’ve read and I think “okay, so is that something we do within the Trust is that something we can tap into?” So, our epic episode this year has been a beginner’s guide to paddle boarding. Paddleboarding is really big, you go down the middle aisle of your local supermarket, and you’ll see a blow up paddleboard. It’s something that’s really taken off, and it is something that is done at Trust places. But also, you know, one of the things we look at is carbon neutral transport to our places. Our places can be quite far away and the logical thing for a lot of people would be to go by car. But you could hike to our places, you could run to our places, you could cycle. And there’s lots of places we’ve got electric vehicles, but we thought, why not create an episode where we paddleboard to a National Trust property. So we still incorporated some of the art and history, but actually, we incorporated that adventure into the process of getting to the property.

I think everything we do is rooted in the National Trust. But we just find ways that we can utilise things that are quite zeitgeist, but also engaging new audiences. Because I think sometimes the National Trust does have an image of, you know, cream, teas and country homes. That is what we do, we do it really well. But there’s a lot more to the National Trust and the adventure side of what we do in the outdoorsy side of what the Trust does really appeals to a wider audience. So as often as we can we really try and tap into that.

POD BIBLE: Is there something that you still really want to do with the podcast, which you haven’t yet managed?

SEAN: I’ve talked about our epic episodes – we have done a wild swimming episode, we’ve done a backpacking episode, we’ve done a paddleboard in episode. So we’ve done land and sea, we haven’t done air yet. So that’s the next one. There is one episode that we’ve been trying to do for a while, which is called the jetpack paramedic. So there is a company called Gravity that makes jetpacks and there was a test with the Yorkshire air ambulance, where they use jetpacks for mountain rescue. I think they got to someone in 90 seconds, where if the mountain crew had to climb up, it would have taken them half an hour. And that was done on National Trust land. So that’s a story we’ve been trying to do for a while. That was scuppered by lockdown, we weren’t able to finish off doing that. But yeah, something to do with air travel, whether it’s jetpacks or paragliding or hang gliding. That’s an episode that I’d really like to do…

POD BIBLE: And what is the most interesting thing that you’ve learned from doing the podcast so far?

SEAN: I mean, I think that I’ve learned a lot about myself, to be honest, in doing the podcast. I think, an episode that I did last year for Black History Month was called ‘Black hiking’. I am someone who comes from London, and I went to Cornwall as a kid, but I’ve never really embraced the outdoors until I started working for the National Trust. And I remember one of my first recces that I did, I found myself halfway up a mountain in the Peak District. And it was completely silent. And that completely freaked me out. You know, being from London, if everything’s completely silent, something badly wrong has happened. So it was very interesting to try and get used to being in the outdoors. And I remember I met a guy and I said “this is really freaky. It’s too quiet” and he was saying, “Oh, no I couldn’t hack it in London because it’s too noisy.” And my love for the outdoors has grown with the National Trust and it’s probably reflected in a lot of the episodes that we do. But I think that’s probably the thing that I’ve learned the most.

But I think, from a production point of view is just how engaged in podcasts can be and how immersive, you can get with podcasts. And my boss at the National Trust had never listened to a podcast before I came. And I got her to listen to a podcast and she was like, “Oh, this is amazing. It’s this brave new world that I’ve never heard of before.” So I think it’s just the power of podcasting, and how you can really touch people with it, and really help people transport themselves to new places, if it’s done in the right way.

POD BIBLE: And it also goes the other way, the National Trust is such a big organisation, to have so many fantastic podcasts that you do, it really does just help to elevate podcasting, which we’re always going to be happy about!

SEAN: Yeah, and I think one of the great things about the podcast is we do tell stories that you potentially wouldn’t hear elsewhere in the Trust. We do dig deep and we do podcasts that are sometimes challenging, we do pick up on challenging topics. And I think it’s a great way just to show the breadth of the organisation because you could just see the National Trust as cream teas, and in country piles, but there’s so much breadth to it, The people that we work with are absolutely incredible, super passionate, super knowledgeable, and to be able to share all of that knowledge with the listeners, and just share some of these beautiful places with listeners is a really great thing to be able to do in a way that you can’t really do with video, and you can’t really do with copy.

I always say that podcasting is halfway between reading a book and watching a film: you give people just a little bit of a clue of what something looks like or sounds like, and then their imagination does the rest. So the places that people go to in our podcast are probably even more incredible than the actual places that we record them because their imagination’s doing all the work!

POD BIBLE: We do try to give people a ‘point of entry’ into podcasts, particularly when there’s a big back catalogue like yours. You’ve mentioned a couple of good episodes in there already. But is there one particular episode that you think people should absolutely go and listen to?

SEAN: I think ‘Operation Hillside’ is a really good episode, because it is the kind of thing that we like to do: really dig deep into the subject matter and tell stories that are really surprising about the National Trust. It’s one that I can’t tell you too much about, because that will be a big spoiler. But it’s a really interesting story. And it’s a story about something that you probably know, but in a very different way. And I think, you know, one of the producers that I worked with, went to some really deep depths to find archive material and things. And so it’s just a really rich listen to that’s probably a really great one for people to start with.

Listen to Sean talk about the National Trust podcast on the Pod Bible Podcast episode #114.

Listen to the National Trust Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

The post Sean Douglas: Senior Podcast Producer for the National Trust appeared first on POD BIBLE.

After a short hiatus, I was happy to see the show return earlier this year. I caught up with Faith and Addie to talk about where the idea for the show came from, how they’ve found podcasting and the shows that influenced them.

Pod Bible: Can you give us an introduction to yourselves and The Trail Ahead?

Faith: Addie and I met trail running. We were both living in Portland, Oregon at the time and friends introduced us and it was a pretty fast friendship. And we basically realised that we wanted to talk about serious things most of the time, and we started having all of these conversations around the intersection of race, environment, history, culture and the outdoors. So basically The Trail Ahead is an extension of that. Whether it’s narcissism or not, we thought that the conversations we were having should reach a larger audience and so we created a podcast to do that.

How much preparation do you do before episodes are recorded?

Addie: A lot of preparation! Well, a lot and a little. It’s funny, we’ve gone through a transformation over the past year. We used to be much more planned in our questions and we had, like, 30 questions to ask each guest and we really had a prescribed flow of the conversation and how we wanted it to go etc. And this new round of episodes, we’ve been trying to be much more conversational – or as conversational as possible with our guests. We do a lot of background research on them, but oftentimes we’re just writing down themes and things we want to touch on with them and going from there. We’ve had incredible episodes, we’ve recorded a few conversations in the past few weeks that have gone in a completely different direction than I would have initially thought. But if we kept our 30 questions, we might not have gone there. I think that what’s been really cool is we both prepare a lot for these conversations.

We also have a visual component to the podcast, which most people are surprised by – we make short one-minute films on each of our guests because we feel that not only does representation matter in the outdoors, but visual representation matters. One of our guests said that if you can see it, you can be it. So what we’re hoping is that folks listen in, and watch and are able to see themselves outside.

What’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learned from doing the podcast so far?

Faith: I’m not sure if I can answer the biggest lesson that we’ve learned. I just go back to how lucky Addie and I feel, all the time with all of these guests that we get to speak with. Social media asks you to be really, really egotistical and you get kudos and likes for focusing on yourself. But I think the creation of a podcast was really all about amplifying other voices. So the big learning for me is how to shift the attention and how beneficial that is to everyone when it’s not about you and what you have to say, but it’s more about how you can – as one of our guests, José González says – share power with other people. That has been so mutually beneficial in all these ways. I don’t even think Addie and I have begun to quantify yet.

Addie and Faith. Photo by Fred Goris

What do you think the secret is to being a good podcast interviewer?

Faith: I think like Addie said, not being tied to what you thought you were going to make or not being tied to the conversation you thought you were gonna have. I think our first season we had these questions and we felt we had to get through them and you can actually hear it. I think you can hear at some point we’re switching tones just to get to our next question versus really letting it be okay to talk about half the things you thought you were going to talk about. Or realising you’re not telling anyone’s whole life story just where they are now. I think that’s been huge for us in terms of shifting how we host and realising that you don’t have to check a bunch of boxes in the episode.

Addie: Absolutely. And I think you can hear it in the conversation, we’re both much more engaged in what we’re talking about and what they said. Initially I was so rigid and “okay great, they just answered this question” and then I would realise that I hadn’t even heard what the answer was because I was thinking about the next question. I’m so impressed with interviewers who are just so seamless in this when they do have a list that they’re going through.

Now hopefully there’s just more natural flow and hopefully that increases the ability for us to create a safe space for our guests. I absolutely thought we were telling people’s life stories, I thought that was the point. I was like okay, we have two hours, we need to cover everything about this person. That has been such an unlock to be able to let that go and to really come in with “what do you want to talk about today? What do you want to say to the world?” and then go from there.

Faith: And that’s specific to ours too. I think there are some people who you go to that podcast and you expect and want to hear those six answers, right? We both love, how am I forgetting your celebrity crush’s name suddenly?

Addie: Oh, Brett Goldstein!

Faith: Right? So listening to Brett Goldstein’s podcast – if a certain guest didn’t answer one of the specific movie questions he asked, I’d be like, “I’m sitting here and not knowing their answer” because I expect to hear these six questions answered. So it totally depends on the podcast. I think allowing for flow is really important for ours, but it just depends on how you’ve structured yours.

Were there any podcasts that inspired you before you were making yours?

Addie: So we’re both big fans of Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson who used to co-host How To Save A Planet with Alex Blumberg. Now she no longer hosts the podcast, but I listened to that every week and I was so excited when a new episode came out. When your favourite podcast comes out with the episodes, it’s like Christmas morning or something, it feels very exciting. Faith put me onto On Being.

Faith: Yeah, I’m like a long, long term On Being devotee. I think Krista Tippett is goals in so many ways and I just feel like that podcast has changed my life. I think the depth of those conversations was really important for us, just to say you can have really deeply important conversations via this medium. And then How To Save A Planet, the co-host structure – I think those two things really influenced our desire to do one, our belief in the medium and the way that we came together to do it.

If you could go back to before you started out and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Addie: I don’t even think it’s advice, it would just be read up and learn more about what the industry is, because I’ve been so fascinated to learn from folks like yourselves, Arielle [Nissenblatt], we work with a wonderful podcasting producer Ona Oghogho. There’s been so many people in our lives, who have helped us along the journey.

Faith: Jen Chein. I don’t know what we would’ve done without Jen, oh my gosh, explaining even “this is how you do an introduction” you know? Yeah, we definitely learned in time. I’m very grateful to those folks.

Is there a particular episode you’d like to highlight or you’re particularly proud of?

Faith: Oh man, I’ve been kind of loving Noël’s recently. Noël Russell we just did a couple of weeks ago and one of the things that she says is “contentment leads to confidence”. But she just talks a lot about being okay with yourself and not feeling like you have to do what everyone else is doing. Certainly we’ve heard things like this before, but the way she says it just makes it all feel so okay. I’ve loved that one. I think while we were editing it, we were obsessed while we’re having the conversation. And then the day it came out, I was like ‘play’ as if I haven’t heard it so many times. And I can be shy about telling the people that are closest to me in my life to listen to my podcast because it feels really silly to do. But even my partner I’ve been like, “have you listened yet? You need to listen to this episode. This is my podcast, you know?” Maybe this influenced me more than I realised. It was like reading Chicken Soup for the Soul. It’s like a real feel good one.

Where can readers find out more about you?

You can find out more, listen to episodes and watch the mini videos on our website trailaheadpodcast.com, and you can follow the podcast on Instagram @trailahead_podcast. We’re @faithevebee and @adelinemthompson.

Listen to The Trail Ahead now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

The post The Trail Ahead: Conversations at the intersection of race, environment, history and culture appeared first on POD BIBLE.

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.

The post Exclusive interview with Matthew Bannister from Folk on Foot appeared first on POD BIBLE.

Adam is here to walk you through the weeks podcast proceedings, with guests including the people behind On The Outside, The MMA Fan Podcast and 90 Minutes Or Less Film Fest!

THIS WEEKS GUESTS

On The Outside • Online • Apple Podcasts

The MMA Fan Podcast • Acast • Spotify

90 Minutes Or Less Film Fest • Apple Podcasts • Spotify

THIS WEEKS RECOMMENDATIONS

Star Calls • Apple Podcasts • Spotify

Imaginary Worlds • Acast • Spotify

PODBIBLE LINKS

Pod Bible Magazine

Pod Bible Twitter

Pod Bible Instagram

Pod Bible Facebook

Pod Bible Email

The post #097 • On The Outside • MMA Fan Podcast • 90 Minutes Or Less Film Fest appeared first on POD BIBLE.