Transmissions
Don’t Think About The White Polar Bear: Season 3, Ep 1 of The Family Tree
Dave Pickering (2019)
Produced by David Pickering & Adam Thwaite (UK 2019)
54 min
When podcast producer Dave Pickering is approached by his dad with a mystery from the life of a long-forgotten friend, he decides to investigate it in the only way he knows how: by having conversations. Mark Sullivan, who went missing 15 years ago, has been found dead. His body still has the arm he should have lost in a car accident and seems to have died eight years before he disappeared.
Here we are deep into the series but it’s a good place to suspend disbelief and get a taste for this bizarre story and to meet some of the characters. This should peak your curiosity to go back to the beginning where Dave speaks to his dad and brother and decides to investigate this mystery.
Written and produced by Dave Pickering and Adam Thwaite
Listen to the whole series
The Confidential Briefing
Fari Bradley (UK 2017)
Produced by Fari Bradley (UK 2017)
49 min
The third episode of ‘The Far Becomes Near‘ series examines the social and political history of early radio in the United Arab Emirates. It comes as a cassette tape, handed to you, a member of the British diplomatic core, as you board a chartered jumbo jet for the emirate of Sharjah in the UAE. Set in 1978, the scenario imagines that as you settle down in your seat, heed the ‘permission to smoke’ announcement, you put the headphones of your Sony Walkman on. The cassette is background information in preparation for the International Telecommunications Expo to which you are headed, taking place in Abu Dhabi.
You can also hear Fari Bradley on her weekly with Six Pillars radio show on
Resonance 104.4fm
Producer: Fari Bradley
Commissioned by the Sharjah Art Foundation
A brief Eulogy for a commercial radio station (The Memory Palace)
Nate DiMeo (US 2017)
Produced by Nate DiMeo (US 2017)
10 min / Episode 115 of 190
A Eulogy for a very American experience of commercial radio from Nate DiMeo, however the rest of the world can relate through the Hollywood export of the importance of those songs the car radio throws up on road trips.
Written, narrated and recorded by Nate DiMeo,
Follow the series
XMTR Radio Hour Ep15
Social Broadcasts (UK 2021)
Produced by Social Broadcasts (UK 2021)
60 min / Episode 15 of 15
The next hour will be showcasing some audio works featured on xmtr.fm as well as some works produced by Social Broadcasts over the past year. The first piece you’ll hear is from a series of Audio Postcards commissioned for the Wild Eye Project by Invisible Dust in Scarborough who work with artists to explore the environment and climate change. Here are some sounds sent from the North Sea. Produced by Lucia Scazzocchio with sound design by Silvia Malnati.
Next, we travel down south to London and more specifically Hackney’s Ridley Road market where May Robson meets the local traders who are struggling with the imminent changes and inevitable gentrification.
Produced by May Robson with Tamara Stoll who is working on the save Ridley Road campaign. It was broadcast as part of the online magazine The History Workshop
Now, close your eyes and get ready to experience something a little more ethereal as we enter the cosmos through a rich tapestry of sound by Belgian artist Adrien Pinet. This is just one of the many sound works you can hear on xmtr.fm’s Francophone cousin, Radiola.be. It’s an amazing resource.
Our final selection of this hour is from an oral history project Lily’s Legacy, celebrating the life Lily Montagu a magistrate, social worker, writer and co-founder of the Liberal Jewish movement in the UK. Here are some memories of Lily. Project produced by Liberal Judaism with the National Heritage Lottery Fund. There is plenty more to listen to and watch on lilyslegacyproject.com
Follow the series
Ridley Road
May Robson - History Workshop (UK 2021)
May Robson (UK 2021)
19 min
Ridley Road Market has been around for almost 140 years and has been described as a “hub of connection, interconnections and social interaction”. Historically and today, the market is run by and for diverse communities and forms a public space which is political. Like many markets, however, Ridley Road is at risk from "regeneration", gentrification, and social cleansing.
May Robson works with Tamara Stoll a photographer and oral historian n who works in Ridley Road Market and is part of the Save Ridley Road campaign to speak to local residents' memories of Ridley Road's anti-fascist history and about the struggles that market traders face today - from gentrification to lockdown.
Produced by May Robson for The History Workshop
Riskland: Ep1 Tragedy
Aubrey Calaway (US 2021)
Produced by Aubrey Calaway (US 2021)
27 min / Episode 1 of 3
Riskland is a three part podcast documenting the impact of climate change on a small community in Pucayacu in Ecuador. Cyclical flooding from a nearby river means that they are on the edge of disaster.
In this episode the community of Pucayacu must play the game of disaster. A prophecy is foretold, a family uncovers an invisible threat, and a local leader recounts a multigenerational story of unfulfilled promises.
Written and hosted by Aubrey Calaway for Earth Refuge
The Lost Carnival Ep 1 : A Present From The Past
Geoff Bird (UK 2015)
Geoff Bird (UK 2015)
23 min Episode 1 of 5
Arthur Bird a radio documentary maker (Geoff Bird), discovers a mysterious parcel that leads him to investigate the incredible story of a carnival lost in time.
This series was the clever audio accompaniment to real live circus performances in Dunham Massey known for its historical links to the mystery and magic of the circus.
Produced by Geoff Bird with Wild Rumpus
Listen to the series
Kitchens Ep6: A Bigger Table
Lecker -Lucy Dearlove (UK 2021)
Lecker - Lucy Dearlove (UK 2021)
42 min / Episode 6 of 6
The final episode of the Lecker six part mini-series about Kitchens
In this episode Lucy meets Betul, a Turkish asylum seeker who recently spent almost six months living in a hotel room with no kitchen, and Jo, co-founder and director of the organisation who explains the importance of people being allowed to cook for themselves and others. As Lucy explains eating together isn’t just about food, it’s a vital part of being human and when this is not possible and we can’t sit around a table and share a meal, so much is lost.
Written and produced by Lucy Dearlove
With contributors Betul Piyade and Joanne MacInnes at West London Welcome, and Marsha Smith.
Follow the series
I Love You, Odysseus
Cristina Marras (IT 2020)
Produced by Cristina Marras (IT 2020)
5 min
As part of the Cities of Memories project marking the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death, over 80 artists from around the world created their vision of Hell as depicted in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Christina Marras takes the character of Odysseus, but describes his heroic story through the eyes of a woman in love, following her hero to hell.
Written and produced by Cristina Marras
Listen to the whole project
XMTR Radio Hour Ep14 Phonurgia 2021 Selection
Social Broadcasts (UK 2021)
Produced by Social Broadcasts (UK 2021)
60 min / Episode 14 of 14
The next hour showcases some winning and shortlisted English language or no language works from the Phonurgia Nova Awards - a celebration of radiophonic creation.
Winner of the Field Recording category Tom Fisher aka Action Pyramid captures the Suffolk countryside with ‘Hoverflies, Reed Pipes, Cockchafers and Bullroearers’, there’s surreal interrogation with 'Daisy Daisy' by Phoebe McIndoe, ‘Loss in Translation’ speech prize winner up by Lucia Scazzocchio and Sasha Edye-Lindner, captures loss and grief during lockdown and ’The Floating Exchange’ by Pierre Costard transports to the troubled waters of Lake Nokoue in Benin.
Follow the series