Meet the Mancunian Podcast: social impact stories from Manchester

In the Season 12 finale of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Mike Whittaker, a BMX volunteer and racer at Bruntwood Park BMX Club in Cheadle. Mike shares how BMX filled the community gap he felt after leaving the police, leading him to volunteer on track repairs and later head up maintenance, while also returning to racing himself. After breaking his T12 verte...

In episode eleven of Season 12 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Luke-Matthew Iveson, a community sewing teacher and Season 10 winner of the BBC’s The Great British Sewing Bee. Luke shares how learning to sew from their grandma and working as a corporate diversity and inclusion consultant led to a shift into community-based workshops after the show gave him...

In the tenth episode of Season 12 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Marie-Anne Eckersall, Fundraising and Communications Co-ordinator at Transport for Sick Children, a small charity founded in 1977 that provides volunteer-led transport to children’s hospital appointments. Marie-Anne shares how volunteering on her children’s school PTA sparked her move from...

Host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe introduces the ninth episode of Season 12 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast and speaks with Kerry Tottingham, co-director of A Brilliant Thing, about supporting healthier, more sustainable work cultures in charities and purpose-led organisations. Kerry shares her route into Manchester’s social impact space through volunteering, arts work, charity management, and collabo...

Host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe introduces the eighth episode of Season 12 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast featuring Isobel Lepist, a neurodiversity coach and ADHD advocate. Isobel shares her shift from 25+ years in corporate HR to founding At The Millpond after a late diagnosis, including creating a workplace neurodivergent employee support group and training as an ADHD coach. She explains how coac...

Host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe welcomes listeners to the seventh episode of Season 12 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast with Sean Chaplin, co-founder of Rehab Fitness. Sean shares how, after 30 years of addiction and 42 prison sentences, support from Acorn Recovery Services helped him rebuild his life in Manchester, motivating him to give back. He explains how he and his co-founders Kate and Liz crea...

Host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe introduces the sixth episode of Season 12 of Meet the Mancunian and speaks with Chrissy Carr, co-founder of Mums in Recovery, about supporting mothers recovering from addiction and rebuilding family life. Chrissy shares how her lived experience and NA fellowship inspired her to help women who feel stuck, and how the group began after supporting a mother whose baby was t...

In episode five of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Charlie Baker, founder of Your Home Better, about making existing homes greener, warmer and healthier through retrofit. Charlie shares how becoming aparent and a belief in creating a future shaped his purpose,and explains why improving current housing can avoid major construction emissions.   He outlines ret...

In the fourth episode of Season 12 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Alun Morris, creator of the Red Lane Growing Project in Bolton and a community engagement worker with Bolton at Home. Alunshares how moving from Buckinghamshire led him into outdoor volunteering and conservation, and how a derelict former playground became a secure community growing space....

Host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Norton Robinson, director of Fungall CIC, about tackling food insecurity sustainably through community mushroom farming. Nortonshares how his interest began at university and through exploring “speculative futures,” leading to a bedroom mushroom lab and then community-based projects. Fungall builds local mushroom farms that transform waste—especially brewing...

In the second episode of Season 12 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Seb Linares, Development Manager at Farm Urban, about using sustainable, hydroponic urban farming to improve health and reducebarriers to fresh food access. Seb shares how his early interest in fixing the food system led to joining Farm Urban, a social enterprise transforming towns and cit...

Host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe interviews Nicky Wake, founder of the Widowed Collective in the first episode. Nicky shares her lifelong passion for building community, and recounts the personal tragedy that led to her mission. After finding support through Widowed and Young, she identified a gap for widowed people over 51 and launched the Widowed Collective as a free, inclusive, donation- and grant-f...

Host Deepa Thomas- Sutcliffe welcomes listeners to Season 12 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester. Across 12 episodes, the series will feature conversations with people shaping the city, from community champions to leaders driving meaningful change, exploring courage, creativity, commitment and the impact individuals can make in their communities. New episodes r...

In the season finale of Season 11 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe engages in a heartfelt conversation with Wardeh Al Nasir, Director of Community Thriving Together and nominee for Volunteer of the Year at the Spirit of Manchester Awards. Wardeh shares her inspiring journey of using her own experiences of isolation and language barriers to build a supportive community...

In this episode, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe spotlights the inspirational journey of Nathaniel Yates, a train safety access campaigner whose personal experience with inaccessible train stations in Manchester spurred them into action. After a fall in 2013 and subsequent investigation into the city's train station accessibility, Nathaniel started a petition and raised awareness through videos an...

In this episode of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe interviews Tahera Khanam, founder of Better We and nominee for Volunteer of the Year at the Spirit of Manchester Awards. Tahera shares her journey of creating clubs and training programs to support and empower women and youth in the Manchester community.   Through personal stories and experiences, she highlights the imp...

In this episode of the Meet the Mancunian podcast,host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Idowu Morafa, Founder of Across Ummah and nominee for Volunteer of the Year and Social Economy Champion at the Spirit of Manchester Awards. Idowu shares her passion for tackling substance abuse,reducing health disparities, and empowering communities through a variety of life-changing projects. She discusses t...

In this episode of 'Meet the Mancunian' hosted by Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe, Francis Duncan, Community Engagement Manager at Irish Community Care, shares insights into how the organisation supports the Irish and Irish travelling communities in Manchester. Francis discusses his journey into community work, the challenges faced by the Irish travelling community, common misconceptions, and the i...

In the first episode of Season 11 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe interviews Jillian Alexander, the founder of the Unbound Programme and anominee for the Spirit of Manchester Awards in the Inspiring Campaign category. Jillian discusses her journey in tackling modern slavery, from volunteering as a young girl to her impactful work as a first responder for modern slave...

In Season 11 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe partners with the Spirit of Manchester Awards to highlight the incredible nominees making social impact in Manchester. The season explores the personal journeys of community champions, their motivations, challenges, and purpose. Episodes are released every Tuesday starting October 14, 2025. Listen to the podcast to discove...

In the season 10 finale of Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Sophie Jones, Community Engagement Lead at In Our Nature about taking climate action in communities across GreaterManchester. Sophie shares her lifelong passion for environmentalism, her journey from being a school recycling monitor to studying zoology and working with the Manchester Climate Change Agenc...

In the 11th episode of Season 10 of the Meet the Mancunianpodcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe interviews Chris Marsh, an ambassador for Forever Manchester. Chris shares his journey of becoming involved with the charity through his passion for running and discusses the various community initiatives supported by Forever Manchester.   From supporting local disability groups to knitting collectives,C...

In the 10th episode of Season 10 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe interviews Zoe Marlow, Food Bank Manager at Dandelion Community Church. They discuss Zoe's personal journey from seeking help to becoming a community leader, the operations and challenges of running a food bank, and the importance of treating individuals with compassion and respect.   Zoe shares ins...

In the ninth episode of Season 10 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speakswith Ghada Soliman, Founder, of Sustainable Threads. They discuss Ghada's journey from overcoming a serious health condition to her passion for volunteering and helping marginalised communities. Ghada shares how Sustainable Threads reuses old fabrics to create new products, aiming tosupport v...

In the eighth episode of Season 10 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Niki Banks, co-founder of One World Together. Niki shares herjourney from her academic background in global development to launching a social enterprise aimed at providing flexible funding directly to communities.   She highlights the challenges faced by small charities and community group...