When life gives you Lemonada, make a celebrity podcast
So, as widely advertised in last week’s newsletter, we have a guest-writer for this week’s newsletter. Our very own Clara Kavanagh !?But before we get into it, a gentle reminder to fill out our lovely big podcast survey if you haven't already. Everyone who enters will go into a prize draw to win some big bottles of prosecco and exclusive Fresh Air swag. Take it away Clara…?
Michaela, Neil and Rich are affectionately known in Fresh Air Towers as Mom, Dad and Dad. So, when two of the throuple set sail for NYC, I had visions of our office turning into the house party scene in Mrs Doubtfire with petting zoo animals eating cake and all of us dancing on our desks, and Rich at the helm in a sideways baseball cap.
Well, they’ll be glad to hear the house is safe, there have been no fires, no one’s got their head stuck between bannisters and we’ve yet to hear the (un)dulcet tones of House of Pain’s Jump Around.
They seem to be enjoying their trip to the Big Apple, from the pictures of their visit to New York’s oldest Irish bar to Neil's surprise joining of our weekly Monday morning catch up call at some ungodly East Coast hour.
Although Michaela’s marching orders might just be waiting in her pigeonhole when she returns. She was spotted brazenly eating rocket on a pizza - not the Fresh Air way. See page one, section 1 of the Fresh Air Employee Handbook, that clearly states ‘Must love dogs. Must hate rocket ESPECIALLY on a pizza’.
Lemonada Media goes fully X-Files
The talent-led podcast production company Lemonada already has Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Wiser Than Me was named Apple Podcast’s Show of The Year for 2023), Samantha Bee, and Sarah Silverman on its books. Last month they signed Meghan Markle and her podcast Archetypes. I look forward to hearing what the Sussexes will produce with Lemonada. Let’s hope it’s better than Harry’s idea with Spotify - an interview with Vladimir Putin about his childhood.
This week Lemonada announced they had scored podcast deals with X-Files star David Duchovny and even Gossip Girl herself Penn Badgley.
Duchovny must be a fan of the 20 seasons of Elizabeth Day’s ‘How To Fail’, as his podcast is called ‘Fail Better’, where he’ll be sharing his own personal and professional failures as well as his guests. On the line up already is Ben Stiller, Bette Midler, and ‘How To Fail’ favourite Gabor Maté, due for release in May. Time will tell whether Duchovny’s output will reach similar success.
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Corporate Content Awards 2024
We’re getting dolled up on Thursday for a night at Shakespeare’s Globe where we’ll be celebrating the Corporate Content Awards . We’re very proud that EIGHT of our podcasts are up for awards! Best of luck to The Robot Podcast by ABB, The Science Behind Your Salad by BASF, Upfront by Iress, The Civil Service Pensions Podcast by MyCSP, A Little Bit Richer by Legal & General and Hop on Board by Southeastern Trains.
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Podcast Show Returns
The Podcast Show returns to Islington’s Business Design Centre for its third year on 22nd and 23rd May. If you were there last year, amongst the 10,000 strong crowd of creators, brands, celebs and platforms, you may have noticed our ginormous pair of blue headphones that photobombed Sky News’ hourly bulletins, a personal highlight for me (and my mom watching at home).
Talking about the future of podcasting at this year’s festival are The News Agents, Fearne Cotton, Elizabeth Day, Grace Barry, Yasmin Evans and Gemma Atkinson. But the highlight for me will be behind the scenes of ‘The Traitors: Uncloaked’ with winner Harry Clark. As I’m sure you’re aware, The Traitors consumed our office chats and general company culture, with fierce speculation at dedicated daily discussion times.
‘Uncloaked’ was the BBC2 Traitors after show, hosted by Ed Gamble and celebrity guests, where they’d dissect moments from the show and chat to the murdered and banished Faithfuls and Traitors. An extended version was released as a podcast filled with bonus content.
I was very impressed by the way ‘Uncloaked’ blended podcast and TV show. It gave some great moments (who can forget Diane and Miles fizzy rosé iconic showdown “Ya wee shhhhite”) for fanatics, like me, who were gasping for more content when the TV show ended.
It was a creative way to loop in both TV and podcast audiences, that all fed into the Claudia Winkleman hysteria and I’m sure we’ll see this sidecar format replicated by other shows in future. Really looking forward to hearing from the genius producers behind it and a peak into the nuts and bolts of the process.
Eva Higginbotham's goes back a millennium...
Have you ever started listening to a podcast so good you wonder why you’ve been living under a rock for years? Because I have finally tuned into This Is History and it has blown my mind.?
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Head back in time with historian Dan Jones and learn about the ruthless rulers of England - and bits of what is now France - the Plantagenets. We’re talking Henry II, Richard the Lionhart, John the Bad King, and many others. It’s a simple idea executed brilliantly - Dan essentially tells you the story, with all the gory details and romantic escapades you could desire, with excellent scripting, story editing, and sound design to bring it to life.?
I have listened to all 3 seasons (and what is out of 4) in the last 2 weeks. I had to hush my partner when he started talking about history recently because I didn’t want the ending spoiled. Which considering it all happened 900 odd years ago, I think is a testament to the strength of the storytelling. Consider this scientist converted.
Jayne Morgan indulges herself...
You gotta kinda love the BBC. I mean, I’m sure there are things that you think they are getting horribly wrong (anyone here in local radio?), but their capacity and willingness to make programmes for the sheer joy and artistry of making them is still something to treasure. I remember on his very first visit to the UK, my now husband was completely bowled over by hearing a series announced on BBC R4 entitled The British Love of Lawns. I digress. ?
Lights Out (also on R4 as well as being a podcast – and not be confused with Lights Out from the US which is designed to scare the pants off you) is described as “Documentary adventures that encourage you to take a closer listen.” I mean – that is licence (pun intended). What results is a shimmeringly wonderful array of audio essays and soundscapes on topics that range from the prison experiences of the 80s Greenham Common women to someone taking herself off lithium and arriving in Cornwall just as the county starts mining it. It is, to say the least, eclectic in its subject matter.
What each beautifully crafted piece shares, though, is its celebration of the fact that nothing really comes close to well-made audio to travel down from our ears and sit somewhere in our souls. Perhaps because they have a connection with programme-making, my two favourites episodes so far include a documentary producer examining the ethics of extracting people’s personal stories as the raw material for her work and - especially this one - the heart-rending attempts of one young woman to capture the fleeting fragments of her mother’s memory. It’s a poignant and beautifully-made piece but it also involves a very frank account of the ultimate in production catastrophes which will have anyone who has ever done anything of this nature groaning out loud in shared anguish. Indulge yourself in sound. You’ll love it. ?
What we've been listening to this week
Any day of the week, month, year, you’ll usually find me chair dancing to Trevor Nelson’s Old Skool show on BBC 1Xtra. I’m from the generation of 00’s high school movies, the Save The Last Dance Generation, and Trevor’s tunes take me straight back to those teen discos of blue eye shadow, low-rise jeans, and Von Dutch hats.
So, I was only delighted when last Sunday, as part of 1Xtra’s R&B Weekender, Trev played 2 hours of his most played R&B tunes . For all those in need of some sleazy, groovy, vibey R&B, this is your fix.
What we've been listening to this week
Any day of the week, month, year, you’ll usually find me chair dancing to Trevor Nelson’s Old Skool show on BBC 1Xtra. I’m from the generation of 00’s high school movies, the Save The Last Dance Generation, and Trevor’s tunes take me straight back to those teen discos of blue eye shadow, low-rise jeans, and Von Dutch hats.
So, I was only delighted when last Sunday, as part of 1Xtra’s R&B Weekender, Trev played 2 hours of his most played R&B tunes . For all those in need of some sleazy, groovy, vibey R&B, this is your fix.
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What we've been doing?this week
There’s nothing quite like the anxiety of throwing a surprise party. The little lies, the deceit, the scheming and all the fake plans of organising a party behind someone’s back. I spent the whole week being sketchy, I swear my boyfriend Mick thought I was mad at him for some random reason.
A sense of direction was something my dear fella was born with, and this was the key to my success. I led him down a slightly different route and was able to get his orientation off kilter just enough. So I knew he was none the wiser when we trotted towards the twinkly lights, Mick proclaimed ‘Wow, I’ve always wanted to try this pub’… as we approached our local. We walked through the doors and with a gentle shove in the back, he was hurled toward a table of pals and I was able to dive into a pint of celebratory Guinness. PHEW!