BBC Sounds has created a new group of creators to turn their ideas into podcasts as part of its professional acceleration programme, the BBC Sounds Audio Lab.
Launched in 2022, the project will help up-and-coming audio creators develop their skills by improving their writing, recording, performance and promotion skills, whilst building confidence and connections.
Our graduates have been hugely successful, winning an ARIA Gold award for Best New Podcast as a result of our first Audio Lab, and receiving three nominations at this year's British Podcast Awards.
As part of the BBC Audio Lab, four emerging creators from under-represented backgrounds have been selected to turn their ideas into podcasts: Hugh Sheehan, Mia Thorton, Jay Berouzi Sneed and Meg Elliott.
Hugh Sheehan is an audio producer and musician/composer from Birmingham. Much of his work explores issues of gender and sexuality, desire and shame, assimilation and radicalism.
Hugh's podcast, in partnership with London Reduced Listening, will focus on lesser known contemporary court cases and legislation that impact the lives and rights of LGBTQ+ people in the U.K. He will document the legal proceedings and the events surrounding them, and explore how each became part of the struggle for queer liberation.
Meg Elliott is a writer, zine maker and mountain biker from Shropshire. She's fascinated by stories, folklore and the way memory resides in the landscape.
Producing partners Cardiff Overcoat Media will help Meg pull off a project that taps into a passionate revival of interest in ancient and folk traditions, how our identities are formed and how the landscape informs (in part) much of what makes us 'us'.
Mia Thornton is a Creative Producer currently based in Liverpool. Mia is driven by her passion for storytelling and her determination to amplify Black voices.
Working with Audio Lab's production partner Manchester Reform Radio, Mia's podcast will explore how Black culture has helped shape various musical genres, featuring archival content, key moments in history and their impact on the global music world, as well as interviews with industry experts, musicians and cultural critics.
Jay Behrouj Sneed is a Filipino-Iranian journalist from Liverpool who comes from a family with a passion for cooking that has been passed down for generations. Growing up as part of a multicultural expat family in the United Arab Emirates, recreating dishes from around the world at home was a big part of her growing up.
Jay is hoping to reconnect with his roots by working with production partners BBC Audio North to create a positive documentary about food science. In each episode he will explore different chemical principles, try out Filipino recipes and speak to guests to discuss the British and Filipino experience.
Selected from hundreds of applicants, the four successful candidates will begin the next step in their creative journey next month, with expert support from BBC Sounds and across the podcast industry.
“It's exciting to be back on the starting line with a new batch of talent ready for an unprecedented development experience,” said Khaliq Meer, Commissioning Executive at Audio Lab.
“It's been a great pleasure getting to know Meg, Mia, Hugh and Jay. We've teamed them up with some of the UK's best audio producers, mentoring and supporting them to realise their creative and ambitious ideas whilst developing their skills on the job.”
“We can't wait to play what they come up with. Good luck to all Audio Lab Class of 2024, you can do it!”
In addition to the four multi-episode projects, Audio Lab has partnered with Multitrack, a charity working to raise awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion in the audio industry, to sponsor an award-winning 12-week fellowship programme, supporting 14 full-time paid placements, creating an additional three part-time placements for producers outside London, and helping to fund two commissions for BBC Sounds.
