Since their inception in 2016, The Receipts have grown a cult following due to their open & unfiltered approach, where no subject is off limits. We caught up with Audrey, Tolani & Milena to discuss the importance of authenticity, corrupted files and podcasting during a pandemic.

Audrey Indome, Milena Sanchez & Tolani Shoneye

Tell  us about your show! What’s your elevator pitch?

Audrey: The Receipts is a podcast hosted by three women from London made up of Nigerian, Ghanaian and Colombian descent, the show is made up of our lived experiences and no topic is off limits.

Tolani: It’s basically a group chat in podcast form, or that bit of a night out when you’re in the toilets and all the other girls are telling you how beautiful you are, how you deserve all of life’s good bits and that you don’t need your ex.

Milena: We’re very open and little too honest at times!

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

Audrey: I love the simplicity of the format, the fact you can go to a studio and just talk without all the theatrics. There’s something really cathartic about the process.

Tolani: It’s cheap and it’s also a platform that doesn’t need gatekeepers. There is no set formula, you just go and tell your story.

Milena: I didn’t know much about podcasts prior to starting one but I loved that it felt therapeutic and was an easy way to vent and share all of our experiences.

What’s the secret to being a good podcast host?

Audrey: I think being authentic. As a fan of podcasts you can tell what’s real and what’s not,
I think authenticity translates to your listeners.

Tolani: For me, I would say being a good storyteller, whether the story is theirs or someone else’s, can they tell it well?

Milena: I think just being yourself, only you can do an amazing job at being you! Do not try and be something you’re not because you think that’s what the listeners want.

How have you found podding during a pandemic?

Tolani: Technology is both our best and worst friend. It’s great because it means we can record remotely, but not everyone’s internet connection is good. But it’s been a great way to stay sane during it all. I feel very lucky to be able to do my job and keep making people happy during this time.

Milena: Totally agree! It’s definitely been frustrating but we always get through it, the lovely messages we receive makes it all worth it!

Audrey: At first it was a struggle as we’re so used to recording in the studio but it’s gotten easier as time has gone on.

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

Tolani: My piece of advice for myself would be to not let other podcasts influence what I am doing too much. I think we tried to do formulas and it took a few episodes to really find our voice. Also, I would have learnt more about the production side of podcasting.

Milena: I would definitely tell myself to maybe not talk about the people I was dating at that current moment as one week I was in love and then the next I had deleted their number! Though I’ll admit, some made great stories!

Audrey: I would tell myself not to give up too easily. I found that in the past if I tried my hand at something and didn’t see immediate success I would give up.

What’s been your worst podcast moment so far?

Tolani: Ooooh worst, so listening to the earlier episodes stresses me out because the sound on them is so bad. That is the worst for me, just how bad the quality was.

Milena: I think the most frustrating moment we’ve had so far is recording an amazing episode and then the file corrupting, meaning we have to start all over again! Super annoying!

Audrey: For me probably speaking on certain subjects we weren’t equipped to speak about, but it’s all been a learning experience.

Which episode of your podcast means the most to you?

Tolani: Episode 5 of the podcast will always stand out to me. It was the episode we did on Daddy Issues and I think for me it was the first time I really let my guard down and decided to be vulnerable on the podcast. I think that’s when we really started podding.

Milena: I have two episodes that I truly love. Just like Tolly, one is episode 5 but also episode 81 Mummy’s Girl where we all spoke on our different relationships with our Mothers.

Audrey: My favourite episodes are the ones where we have teachable moments but the one episode that means the most to me is episode 12 where we discussed our hair journeys.

Which podcast or podcast hosts inspire you?

Tolani: Modern Love and Passing Through. For me, both these podcasts have perfected storytelling. They manage to tell stories that make you feel like you were there, or that they are sat right in front of you telling it to you and only you.

Audrey: I love hosts that are unapologetically themselves which is why Amanda Seales’ Small Doses is one of my favourites and Chuckie Online from Halfcast too, he’s a great conversationalist.

Finally, what are your current favourite podcasts?

Tolani: Modern Love and The Joe Budden Podcast, both very different podcasts, but I like to diversify my listening.

Milena: I always listen to 90s Baby Show but currently I’ve just discovered a new podcast called Mama’s Code that talks on the realness of motherhood which I love!

Audrey: Amanda Seales Small Doses, Kelechi Okafor’s Say Your Mind and Halfcast.

Subscribe now on Acast, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow Audrey, Tolani and Milena on Twitter @Ghanasfinestx // @Tolly_T // @milenasanchezx

Read more Gospel According To… articles in the Pod Bible magazine, which you can read online or buy in our shop. 

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Our Voices in the NHS podcast shares the untold stories of doctors and nurses working in the NHS during these incredibly tough times. It’s a weekly podcast, with short episodes around 10 minutes long that combine first-hand monologues with beautiful sound design. We asked host Alex Melia to tell us how Our Voices came to be.

Where did the idea for Our Voices come from and why did you decide to do it as a podcast?

I’ve always been fascinated by the untold stories of real people. I think the kind of people who often feature in ‘reality’ TV shows for instance really don’t reflect real life. I felt that podcasting was the best format to enable these stories to be told and heard and for them to hopefully impact people in some way.

One of my sisters, as well as my father, work for the NHS, and I’ve heard some amazing stories from them so I was passionate about concentrating our efforts on medical professionals to begin with. This has turned out to be timely with so much positive sentiment for them right now when people want to get a real glimpse into their lives. Most of the NHS professionals are from overseas, enriching our country so much, and I wanted to bring attention to them.

What was the collaboration process like between yourself and the producers?

It’s been quite a long process, which has so far spanned around 4 months. We began by having strategy sessions where we talked about the values of the podcast and what we wanted to communicate to our audience, in addition to what sort of audience we were looking for.

Fascinate have worked day and night on this. It’s not uncommon for us to be exchanging messages at midnight, and I love the fact that they are as passionate about this as I am. Fascinate also have an excellent track record of producing podcasts which have gone out to tens of thousands of listeners, and the beautiful sound design is just one example that they know how to make this podcast the best that it could possibly be.

Sam and Rich from Fascinate, producers of the Our Voices podcast

The podcast is formatted as short stories. Why did you choose this rather than a Q&A or interview format?

As human beings, our lives are dictated by the stories we tell, both to ourselves and to others. This podcast is all about allowing people to share their stories so a Q&A just wouldn’t have done it justice. Also, this podcast is less about me and more about the guest. I wanted to be the facilitator of great stories rather than playing the ‘host’ in a traditional sense.

Personally most of the podcasts I love (and are the most meaningful) follow a narrative structure, and I think this is reflected in the general listener population. There’s a lot of Q&A style podcasts out there and we wanted to try something different. It’s great to be able to distil the story in the way we do which makes things more engaging, more concise and more accessible for the audience no matter where they are or what they’re doing whilst they’re listening.

It’s obviously much more of a time investment our end but we think it’s worth it!

Did you take inspiration from any other podcasts in particular?

I was particularly inspired by NPR and Gimlet, who both produce incredibly high-quality podcasts. There was a particular podcast on NPR’s ‘This American life’ called “24 Hours at the Golden Apple’, where people were interviewed in a diner and they talked about their everyday lives, which I found fascinating –both mundane and enlightening stories. There’s also a podcast made by Gimlet called “Heavyweight”, where the interviewee talks about a particular event which has happened to them in their lives, and they then provide their reflections afterwards.

We usually ask if you have a dream guest for the podcast, but I think in this instance it is more poignant to ask: do you have a dream listener? Who do you think needs to hear these stories?

I think my dream listener would be Peter Kay. I got the book ‘Dear NHS’ by Adam Kay who collected stories from 100 notable people from the world of entertainment where they spoke about their experiences with the NHS. One story from Peter Kay struck me where his character from the TV programme, ‘Car Share’ went into hospital to have a brain scan. As I read it, it struck me that he embodied the values we try to represent in this podcast: warmth, authenticity, humility, empathy and a small bit of humour thrown in for good measure. He’s from the same area that I’m from too! Even with success, he’s stayed true to himself and lives a very normal life in the area he grew up in.

Alex Melia, host of Our Voices – in the NHS

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far from making the podcast?

Well, as an interviewer I’d say: don’t try to fill the silence, as that’s often where the gold is. When you give someone space in those moments, sometimes they’ll recall something which even surprises themselves.

Is there a particular interview or story that has really stuck with you?

Yes. I spoke to a doctor from Libya who was working in her home country during the civil war and she found herself in the position of having to care for patients who were from the militia which had killed people from her own community. I was struck by the level of compassion and bravery that doing that must have taken, especially as she was threatened with her life as the militiamen all kept guns under their pillows. One of the militiamen warned her that if she failed to care for the men properly, she would be shot and killed immediately. There was no hint of anger or resentment when she told me this story which was staggering; she had this calm sense of acceptance about it all.

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

They can either go to our website: ourvoicespodcast.com or they can go to Apple, Spotify or whether they listen to their podcasts. Fascinate Productions can be contacted at www.fascinateproductions.co.uk.

Listen to Alex on episode #075 of the Pod Bible podcast.

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