The Audio Academy Podcast

Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James has become known for its big summer stunts. From hiding its presenter and making listeners and find him, to trapping him in an escape room, to locking him in a caravan! Its not easy being Greg James, you know. This year's event sounds simple enough - a giant jigsaw with pieces hidden all over the UK. But organising that was quite a mission. Talking to Christian He...

Christian Hewgill takes the reins of The Radio Academy Podcast, and kicks things off by talking to Darren Coventry from the BFBS podcast Tea & Medals. It proudly shines a light on stories of "valour, courage and bravery" and sees Darren, himself a former solider, hear from men and women who've received the highest honours the military has to offer.  In this episode Darren shares his story - go...

This week’s episode is a masterclass in escaping through audio, as Roisin talks to the producer behind BBC Radio 3’s Slow Radio episode, A Day in the Life of Honey the Dog.  Faith Waddell from Tandem Productions lovingly gathered Honey’s soundtrack, from waking up in the morning all the way through to her daily walk and dinner time. She shares her tips for working with animals, finding the right e...

Highlights of Roisin’s recent conversation with broadcasting legend Simon Mayo, recorded at our recent summer social to launch the ReelWorld Radio Academy 30 Under 30. Simon talks about his move from BBC to commercial radio, sharing his experiences in the industry through the years, and reflects on 18 months hosting the Greatest Hits Radio drivetime show. Roisin is joined by co-host Christian Hewg...

Until the end of August, Virgin Radio has a pop-up station to champion the LGBTQ+ community called 'Virgin Radio Pride'. It's the second time the station has been on air, having initially broadcast last summer.  In this week's episode Roisin is joined by co-host Christian Hewgill who has been making sports documentaries for the station, and speaks to Shivani Dave who presents an evening show.   Th...

Radio Academy MD Sam Bailey speaks to UK radio veteran Tim Blackmore, who has recently learnt that he as an inoperable brain tumour, and that he likely has a few weeks left to live. Tim is one of the founding parents of British pop music radio. He helped launch Radio 1 in 1967, helped reboot Capital in 1977, and practically invented the independent audio sector with his company Unique in the 1980s...

How could we not talk about the biggest live music event on the planet… especially when it has its very own volunteer-run, community radio station on site!?  The team at Worthy FM have been covering Glastonbury festival since 2007, with everything on-air from Guinness World Record attempts to spontaneous cabaret performances.  In this episode, Roisin chats to presenter Gez Smith about what it’s li...

What makes an award-winning Station of the Year? Fresh from their ARIAS Gold win, we sat down with the team behind Hits Radio for an online Radio Academy event. For this week's podcast, we’ve taken some of the highlights from that discussion, focusing particularly on the Breakfast Show content, and the thought that went into putting togethertheir stand-out entry. Programme Director Paul Gerrard an...

This week’s episode features Edith Bowman in conversation with fellow ARIA-winner Abbie McCarthy, about her hugely successful podcast Soundtracking.  We didn’t want you to miss out on this live chat they did for the Radio Academy at The Podcast Show 2022 - so we’ve selected all the best bits for you to listen to.  Edith explains how she combined her passion for music and film to get the idea start...

Eurovision fans - standby to meet the man with your dream job!  This week's episode is all about turning your personal passion into a major podcast from scratch.   Following years of experience as a music journalist at Radio 1, Steve Holden's started a brand new adventure… making the official Eurovision Song Contest podcast. Roisin talks to Steve about using his geeky knowledge of Eurovision to se...

Last week saw The Podcast Show hit London, with more than a hundred talks from podcasting greats across two days.  Our episode this week is highlights from one of the Radio Academy sessions we held at the show - a fascinating talk between broadcasting greats Jane Garvey, Fi Glover and Annie Macmanus.  They talk about their respective hit podcasts Fortunately and Changes, and answer questions from...

If you’re grafting to make it as a radio presenter then this episode is for you! Roisin speaks to to Nicola Lashley - the new signing to the Viking FM breakfast show - and her co-host Alex Duffy. Nicola spent years volunteering at community radio (while holding down a day job) before her demo was picked up by Bauer.  Roisin spoke to the duo a couple of weeks after their first official show togethe...

This is definitely our most technical episode of the Radio Academy Podcast so far, as Roisin goes in-depth on station imaging. As one of our guests puts it, imaging is basically ‘everything you hear that isn’t a song or a presenter’. Inspired by the new beds that Roisin started using in her day job at Newsbeat, and the reaction they got from listeners, this episode features Matt Fisher and Liam Ha...

It's the second half of the ARIAS show, with all the action from on stage, and some special backstage interviews with Roisin. In this section, you can hear: Best Music Entertainment Show Best Marketing Campaign  The Impact Award The Grassroots Award  Best Fictional Storytelling Best Commercial Partnership Best Station Sound The Creative Innovation Award The Pioneer Award, for Janice Long Best Loca...

An ARIAS special this week, as Roisin reports from backstage at the Adelphi Theatre, and we bring you highlights of the first half of the show.  This episode is Part 1, including the following awards: Best New Presenter Best New Show Best Speech Breakfast Show Best Speech Presenter Best Independent Podcast Best News Coverage Best Sports Show Best Specialist Music Show Best Coverage of an Event  Be...

In his words, Jeremy Vine’s Radio 2 show is an eclectic mix of content that ‘doesn’t work until you hear it’. From discussing the day’s big stories… to cooking a dolphin live on air.  In this week’s podcast, we’ve got some of the behind-the-scenes highlights shared by Jeremy, his editor Tim Collins and producers Tim Johns and Alison McGarragh after they sat down with Radio Sheffield's Paulette Edw...

In this week's episode, Roisin digs into BBC Radio 3's Diverse Composers project, which aims to uncover the stories of seven composers overlooked by history.   She speaks to researcher Michael Harper, producer Amelia Parker, and Radio 3’s Controller Alan Davey about how they told the composers' stories, and how each piece of research led to a set of new live recordings that become part of the stat...

The day that Russia invaded Ukraine, BBC News launched Ukrainecast - a daily podcast, providing detail and insight about the conflict. Six weeks on, Roisin speaks to the team that make the programme, about its challenges and revelations. This episode is a summary of a Radio Academy online event, in which Roisin spoke to presenter Victoria Derbyshire, Senior Editor Jonathan Aspinwall and regular co...

Roisin speaks to Emma B and Audio Always Producer Ailsa Rochester, about the month-long focus on the menopause that Magic ran throughout Magic. The Audio Content Fund supported project aimed to have an open, frank and fun conversation covering diagnosis, support, and how menopause effects family and work for everybody.   Emma and Ailsa talk about how they approached it, what they learnt, and the t...

This week Roisin chats to the team behind Jordan North’s epic rowing challenge for Comic Relief on Radio 1.  Jenny Keogh and Louis Chadwick talk us through the planning and thinking-on-your-feet involved in getting this week-long project on air, which saw Jordan row 100 miles along canals from London to his home town of Burnley. Blood, sweat and tears went into telling this story which raised over...

This week Roisin finds out what it's like making an improvised comedy show for the radio.  Folder Media Producer and improv performer Lloydie James Lloyd combined his two passions to come up with the idea for the Union Jack Radio podcast Dead British.  It features a group of performers, including Katy Schutte, who play historical figures without any advance notice of who their character is going t...

A special episode this week - highlights of a brilliant event that The Radio Academy held to mark International Women's Day.  We brought together three women who have pushed the boundaries in broadcasting - transforming what’s talked about across the country over the last 50 years. Radio legend Anna Raeburn , podcaster Sangeeta Pillai and our host Emma B - spoke about breaking the mould and changi...

Following the tragic death of Jamal Edwards a few weeks ago, this episode looks at how such a big loss to the music industry was reflected on BBC Radio 1Xtra.  Roisin is joined by Nadia Jae and her producer Adele Cross from the 1Xtra Breakfast Show to discuss how they reacted to the news on a deeply personal level, but also how it was covered throughout the day across the station and beyond.  You...

An 'out of this world' episode this week, as Roisin speaks to Fun Kids producer Adam Stoner, about Mission Transmission - a project to broadcast children's messages from the Royal Observatory Greenwich to deepest outer space! It's the first radio programme to have been sent in to deep space (with a Guinness World Record to prove it) and Roisin spoke to Adam about how the project came about, what t...

In this week’s episode Roisin speaks to one of the most recognisable voices in British radio, Ken Bruce, and meets some of the team behind BBC Radio 2’s Piano Room Month. Throughout February, they’ve been teaming up artists like Clean Bandit, Will Young and Ed Sheeran with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the famous Maida Vale studios to deliver unforgettable live radio. As well as going behind the sc...