The BBC Academy Podcast

The backstage technical wizardry that brings your podcast to your ear

How to talk about politics – and entertain as well

Eli Sessions talks to Louise Kattenhorn, commissioning executive for the BBC pop hub network, Lloyd Shepherd, Head of Product at BBC Sounds, and Emmanuella Kwenorty, who develops podcasts for BBC Sounds. Where do they think the world of podcasts is heading, and how is technology changing the way we listen?

In this episode Eli Sessions finds out how to keep conversations natural, with Hannah Hufford, producer of No Country for Young Women, and Sally Heaven, who produces Evil Genius.

In this episode Eli Sessions looks at those beautifully crafted podcasts that tell dramatic stories in depth. He speaks to Rami Tzaber, the editor behind 13 Minutes to the Moon – which told the story of the moon landing in intimate detail – and the commissioner who made it happen, Jon Manel, the BBC World Service’s commissioning editor for podcasts.

In the first of a five-part series on podcasting, Miranda explains: - what makes podcasts distinct from radio programmes - how the role of the presenter is different from that on radio - the typical situation of the listener – on a commute, listening through headphones - how to create a different relationship between listener and programme-maker

In part two of our podcasting series, hear from Jason Phipps, commissioning editor for podcasts at the BBC, and Louise Kattenhorn, commissioning editor for BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra.

Georgia Catt is a producer in BBC radio documentaries, who has made an award-winning podcast, Missing, for the Untold series. She also produced Fortunately with Fi Glover and Jane Garvey. Emma Conneely is a producer in the BBC’s podcast team, responsible for getting podcasts published and promoted. Georgia says that although she hates poor sound quality on a podcast, you can still get a good recor...

Promoting a podcast can mean anything from creating an audiogram – a clip from the podcast to promote on social media - to making other digital assets such as quizzes or articles to place online and draw attention to the podcast. According to Rhian, promotion at the start of other podcasts “really delivers figures”. But it depends on “generosity” between podcast producers who are willing to help e...

This episode of the Podcastology series includes a discussion about You, Me and the Big C. We recorded it before the death of Rachael Bland. Although the first podcast featured in this episode is about sports – but ranges much wider than that – and the second is about cancer, for Mike, what unites the two ideas is that the relationship between the presenters is the key. With Andrew Flintoff and hi...

What production kit should you take when producing radio content in the field? Join BBC Academy trainer Sam Upton and newsgathering field producer Tom Quinn as they talk about what sort of equipment you need for radio production in the field. In this podcast you’ll find everything from: - what type of kit bag to use - which digital recorder and microphones works best - which apps and audio editing...

BBC Three's new comedy Man Like Mobeen has made a big impact through social media. BBC Birmingham director Joe Godwin spoke to executive producer Ben Cavey, as well as star and co-writer Guz Khan, to find out about the making of the programme. Man Like Mobeen is set in Small Heath, Birmingham. The production team felt it was important to film in, and cast from, the local community to give the show...

The BBC Two drama The Boy with the Topknot was based on a true story. That made the jobs of its writer, producer and director all the more complicated as they worked with actors, commissioners and those who are represented on screen. The 90 minute film the Boy with the Topknot, shown on BBC Two, was eight years in the making. It was adapted from a memoir by the journalist Sathnam Sanghera about hi...

It's been running continuously since 1951, comes in 12 and a half minute episodes and was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk". It's sandwiched between bursts of the unforgettable Barwick Green theme (dum de dum de dum de dum; dum de dum de dum dum). The Archers is a national institution. BBC Birmingham, where it's produced, recently held an Archers weekend, so that fans could...

Daytime television was once thought of as the nursery slopes of a TV career. Today its complex formats and production requirements are seen by many as more challenging than peak-time programming. “You will learn more making a daytime show than any other.”– Rachel Innes-Lumsden Smaller teams, smaller budgets and tighter schedules mean there’s little room for error. That makes a daytime production t...

In an era where fake news is fashionable, data can help distinguish the facts from the fiction. But how do you interrogate a spreadsheet and hold the data to account? And how can journalists use data to find stories? The BBC has placed the "interrogation of data" at the heart of its annual plan for 2017/18 and subsequent three-year strategy. Around 12 new staff are being recruited, including data...

With more and more cyber-attacks in the headlines, including this year's NHS attack, BBC Information security specialist Andrea Walker and BBC News technology broadcast journalist Chris Foxx cut through the jargon to show you how to defend yourself against online threats. "We have to keep our information safe so we're not letting other people know where our children are, or our bank details, or wh...

The BBC wants more women to apply for engineering jobs but the advice given at a recent BBC Design & Engineering event could be useful to everyone. In this podcast you’ll hear: - what it’s like to work at the BBC - tips on how to approach a job application - thoughts about changing career direction and goals - specific advice for women The question-and-answer session was chaired by Rebecca Sal...

Virtual reality (VR) and 360 video are the new cool kids on the media block but how will this impact media organisations? Over the past couple of years, projects have been produced on a wide range of subjects, such as Notes on blindness, The Arctic and even one filmed from the International Space Station. The BBC has produced its own VR content too. There's no doubt that VR and 360 both give the u...

The Radio 1 breakfast show with Nick Grimshaw achieves more than five million listeners a week, thriving on a diet of the latest music releases, news and guests. The BBC Academy's Roxy Ebrahim-Khan spoke to producer Will Foster, assistant producer Fiona Hanlon and Nick Grimshaw himself to find out what it takes to work on this fast-paced show. In this podcast you'll learn about: - the different re...

Billions of people are using chat apps. Can brand owners and broadcasters make themselves part of these private conversations? And should they? The BBC World Service, the Weather Company USA and youth-led creative network Livity have been exploring ways to engage with these hard-to-reach audiences. This podcast explores how organisations are using short animated images such as gifs as well as chat...

Editing an hour-long factual film can take a couple of months. The editor and director work closely to make the most of what’s been shot and to tell the story as clearly and engagingly as possible. This week’s podcast goes into the cutting room to examine this intense and creative process with two experienced professionals. Sam Billinge is a factual film editor who has worked on a wide range of do...

BBC Three won this year's Royal Television Society Channel of the Year award despite no longer being on television. But how have its commissioning and production processes changed? The BBC Academy's Jas Rao spoke to controller Damian Kavanagh and assistant producers Poppy Begum and Catriona White. "There’s an opportunity in this world about really listening to your audiences and trying to tell sto...

You can use sound to tell stories in different ways - whether that's a soundtrack, a character's voice or sound effects for a radio drama. A recent Producers’ Forum session at the BBC studio used by The Archers and Home Front saw a lively debate about the range of skills required in sound production. BBC Academy director Joe Godwin spoke to Neil Hillman, an award-winning sound designer and editor,...

In this era of data journalism and interactive online content, what else can people trained in writing and broadcasting do to tell their stories and reach wider audiences? Coding is one answer. BBC data journalist Daniel Wainwright spoke to BBC News Labs engagement producer Allison Shultes, software engineer turned journalist Niko Kommenda and assistant professor in information and communication s...