Shows
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#102 SB: Simultaneous Broadcasting... and Mary EnglishOn 29 August 1923, the BBC officially launched SB: Simultaneous Broadcasting.
They'd been testing SB for months, via crossed lines and cross conversations with the General Post Office. It would dramatically change the shape and big idea of what broadcasting was and could be. Using landlines, they linked stations - so a Covent Garden concert could be heard nationally for the first time, as other stations gave over the schedules to big concerts, or news bulletins, or... whatever London wanted. Generally speaking.
Yes, other stations could take over too - Birmingham or Glasgow might offer a concert o...2025-07-1649 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#101 The Sykes Report + Early Recordings Association
Episode 101 finds us in late August 1923...
The first government inquiry into the BBC has just finished four months of interviewing dozens of interested parties about what the Beeb should/would/could be. Should it have a competitor? How do you solve the licence problem? Did the BBC have a monopoly? And isn't it time 'listeners-in' were just called 'listeners'?
We give you a potted summary of Sir Frederick Sykes' inquiry, committee and report - somehow known as The Sykes Inquiry, The Sykes Committee and The Sykes Report.
And our special guest, talking about th...2025-06-2648 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#100 The Century! British Broadcasting's Story So Far, 1895-1923
It's The British Broadcasting Century's century!
Thanks if you've joined us for the story so far, from Morse and Marconi to Reith and the Pips (before Gladys Knight took over lead vocals).
This special 100th episode is for both the newcomer and the seasoned veteran - being the previous 99 episodes in summary form, BUT with lots of new bits.
So this is no best-of... (alright it's a bit of a best-of) ...this is packed with new things we didn't know, old things we hadn't found yet, new perspectives on the areas we've covered...2025-05-2953 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#099 Godfrey Isaacs - The Man Behind The BBC Idea
On the day of episode 99's release, it's exactly 100 years since the death on 17 April 1925 of Godfrey Isaacs - Managing Director of the Marconi Company.
More than that - new evidence shows that he came up with and championed the idea of the one BBC. For years, the British government (via the Post Office) has been credited with the plan for a singular British broadcaster. But lost meeting minutes have been rediscovered....
The academic who found these minutes - misplaced for decades - is David Prosser of the University of Bristol. He joins us to...2025-04-1756 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#098 Ireland's First Radio Station... and the BBC News theme album
14 August 1923: Ireland's first licensed radio station takes to the air...
Yes for one episode, The British Broadcasting Century leaves Britain to become The Irish Broadcasting Century. Well how could we not bring you the tale of Marconi setting up a (legal) radio station at the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, to broadcast to the Horse Show... only to be closed down a few days later because the government panicked - and especially in the company of the Irish broadcasting historian Eddie Bohan.
After Ireland in 1923, we return to Britain in the present-day for an i...2025-04-0544 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#097 Manchester, Birmingham, Gardening, Radio Circle + a Wireless Elephant: The BBC in August 1923
Episode 97 finds the BBC in August 1923...
There are two studio moves - 2ZY Manchester and 5IT Birmingham leave their old premises in style ('The Etude in K Sharp by Spotsoffski'... "The studio ghost looks round - burial forever of the carrier wave...") and find new city centre studios, including a heavy goods lift with a pulley that visitors need to pull themselves, so put down your briefcase or cello and get hoisting...
At the Birmingham station, we check in with Uncles Edgar and Thompson and their innovative Children's Hour, who now has a Radio Circle...2025-03-1334 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#096 Books on Broadcasting - and the Bodleian Library's 'Listen In' ExhibitionWe're back! Season 7 begins with a Books Special - plus a visit to a special exhibition at Oxford's magnificent Bodleian Library - 'Listen In: How Radio Changed the Home'.
It's curated by Beaty Rubens, who has also written a book of the same name. I joined her at the exhibition for a tour and an interview, recorded live at the Bodleian. Thanks to them for their hospitality - and for caring for countless artefacts, including the Marconi Archive.
And we have authors galore, all with different takes on broadcasting history - I think I count...2025-02-1749 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#095 Five Gold Airings: Vintage BBC Christmases 1922-42Episode 95 is our Christmas special for 2024 - looking back to five vintage BBC Christmases of 1922-42.
Well, I say 'five'. I mean nine. Christmas is a time for giving, so have four extra... Nine Gold Airings didn't sound as catchy.
You'll hear:
- 1922 – Rev John Mayo - the BBC's first religious broadcast for Christmas Eve
- 1926 – Christmas Overture by Coleridge-Taylor, The BBC Wireless Symphony Orchestra conducted by Percy Pitt
- 1926-34 - Bethlehem, the BBC's first on-location radio drama, live from St Hilary's church in west Cornwall
- 193...2024-12-1525 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#092 The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21Episode 92
The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21
Our moment-by-moment origin story of British broadcasting reaches 6th June 1923 - and what's sometimes thought to be the BBC's first sports broadcast: author Edgar Wallace giving his 'reflections on the Derby'...
...The trouble is, it wasn't the BBC's first sports broadcast.
But then... what is a sports broadcast? A live commentary? Or will a later summary do? Or how about a police radio transmission, where the Epsom Derby winner happens to be mentioned for anyone listening to hear?2024-09-2339 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#091 The Electrophone: The 1890s' Streaming DeviceEpisode 91 goes back over 130 years to the 'broadcasting' device that far predates radio broadcasting. But the same ideas were there: entertainment, religion, news even, brought to your home, sent one-to-many, live from West End churches and London's churches.
Meet the Electrophone!
Dr Natasha Kitcher is the Electrophone expert - she's a Research Fellow at the Science Museum, formerly PhD student to Loughborough University - and has spent years researching this unusual, largely unknown pre-radio cable streaming service, used by Queen Victoria and hundreds of homes in London and Bournemouth. Or you could visit the Electrophone H...2024-08-3040 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#090 The BBC's First Shakespeare (part 2) & John Henry: First Radio Comedy PersonalityIs this the first full-length Shakespeare on the BBC I see before me? Yes it is. And the first radio comedy personality, in John Henry.
We're in late May 1923 - 28th to 31st to be precise - and the BBC has suffering from a boycott of theatre producers. Performers are hard to come by, so the Beeb brings drama and comedy in-house.
The result? Cathleen Nesbitt (later from Upstairs Downstairs, An Affair to Remember and The Parent Trap) produces and stars in the first of many full-length Shakespeare plays, Twelfth Night on 28th May 1923. Prior t...2024-08-0736 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#089 A History of Election Night Specials: 28 in 102 YearsVote The British Broadcasting Century!
Episode 89 is our Election Night Special special, covering Britain's 28 general election results broadcasts over 102 years.
Broadcasting in both USA and UK have both launched were pretty much launched with election results.
On 2 November 1920, KDKA Pittsburgh launched regular commercial broadcasting with the presidential election results, giving listeners-in the latest at the same time as journalists. Revolutionary! On 15 November 1922, the BBC went national with London, Birmingham and Manchester announcing the election results and Bonar Law as PM.
Joining us to tell the tale from here, dropping in at eve...2024-06-2448 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#088 Boycotts, Bands and The Sunday Committee: May 1923 at the BBCOn episode 88, it's May 1923, and the six-month-old BBC is settling into its new home at Savoy Hill. But it's not all plain sailing.
This time, 2-24 May 1923 is retold via press cuttings (thanks to our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker), showing us that:
Some corners of the press were mounting an anti-BBC campaign, complaining it was offering "poor fare". A few days later, other articles refuted that claim.
Some corners of the government were eager to renegotiate the BBC agreement, with the Sykes Inquiry under way to look at licences and obligations.
S...2024-06-1038 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#087 The Cello and the Nightingale: A Centenary Celebration100 years ago the weekend of this podcast, the Cello and the Nightingale became one of the most cherished broadcasts in radio history.
It first took place on 19 May 1924, live from the Surrey garden of cellist Beatrice Harrison. In this centenary special, we celebrate the musician, the muse and the microphone that made this incredible feat possible: the first major outside broadcast of nature.
The renowned cellist petitioned the BBC for some time to broadcast this unusual duet, and while John Reith at first thought it wouldn't work, new microphones developed by Captain H.J. Round...2024-05-1738 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#085 The Earliest BBC Recording and The First Monarch On AirOn 23 April 1924, a landmark broadcast took place - the biggest so far. And on day of podcast release, it's the centenary!
100 years ago at time of writing, King George V opened the Empire Exhibition at Wembley, becoming the first monarch to broadcast.
It also stands as the oldest surviving recording of a BBC broadcast - and the only excerpt of the BBC from the 1920s.
The BBC couldn't record anything until 1932, when the Blattnerphone came along. So how did this 1924 broadcast manage to be retained?
For decades, it wasn't. A 1964 episode o...2024-04-2337 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#084 Women's Hour on the BBC: 1923-24When Dr Kate Murphy became a BBC's Woman's Hour producer in 1993, the received wisdom was that women's programming began in 1946, when Woman's Hour launched.
Kate did some digging in the archives, and discovered the long lost tale of the early BBC's Women's Hour (rather than Woman's Hour), which ran from 1923-24. Why so brief? What impact did it make? Which listeners did it cater for? She's here to tell us everything.
Hear the topics, the tales, some of the voices, how the regional stations nipped in first, how Men's Talk didn't last quite as long, a...2024-04-1030 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#083 The Launch of Savoy Hill: The BBC's New Home, 1 May 1923Welcome to the Savoy Hill era of the BBC!
Episode 83 opens the doors to the first permanent home of Auntie Beeb, with a grand launch night on 1 May 1923. I think it's one of the most crucial - and funniest - 24 hours in the BBC's history.
So we recreate as much as we can of that one day:
A last-minute dress code sees senior management in far-too-big suits...
John Reith's tee-total buffet goes terribly wrong....
The closing speaker goes missing - and is found, sozzled. Will Reith let the drunken lord on the air, and w...2024-03-2539 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#082 The BBC at Marconi House: 14-11-1922 to 30-04-1923
Welcome to season 6 of The British Broadcasting Century Podcast - and our 82nd episode.
Back in our podcast timeline, telling the moment-by-moment origin story of British broadcasting, we reach a bittersweet moment: the BBC moves out of its first studios, the temporary studio on the top floor of Marconi House.
We pay tribute with a look at the Beeb's final day at MH, 30 April 1923 - a broadcast promoting Women's Hour (by a man) and Hawaiian guitar music (hear it here!).
And we spend much of the episode re-examining Auntie's first day at Marconi...2024-03-0240 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#079 Three More Authors: Doctor Who | R4 Sunday | Radio 1+2Episode 79 is our second special of three authors - whose books you may wish to put on your Christmas wish list - especially if you're fans of Doctor Who, religion on radio, and/or ye olde Radio 1.
Last time we had three doctors; this time our first guest is definitely someone who's seen The Three Doctors...
PAUL HAYES' book is Pull to Open: 1962-1963: The Inside Story of How the BBC Created and Launched Doctor Who
https://tenacrefilms.bigcartel.com/product/pull-to-open-1962-1963
AMANDA HANCOX's book is Sunday: A History of Religious A...2023-12-1140 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#076 Radio Times at 100 - Part 2Episode 76:
On RT centenary day itself, part 2 of our back-story of back issues, as Radio Times turns 100.
Catch part 1 if you haven't already: https://pod.fo/e/1f20d1 - there we journeyed from 1923 to 1991, when the monopoly was ended and the British government opened up the TV listings market.
In part 2, we're joined again by today's Radio Times co-editor Shem Law and RT enthusiast, collector, historian and BBC Genome contributor Dr Steve Arnold - plus the author of The Radio Times Story Tony Currie.
How come part 2 covers just a f...2023-09-2829 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#075 (The) Radio Times at 100 - Part 1Happy 100th to (The) Radio Times!
(The 'the' vanished in 1937)
Britain's favourite magazine is a century old this very week, at time of recording.
So it's a bumper edition - not dissimilar to the fat two-weeker that lands on your doorstep or falls off supermarket shelves due to weight and gravity every festive season. This is a two-parter, paying tribute to a century of the 'Official Organ of the British Broadcasting Company' as it was once subtitled. If it's on, it's in, and it's in this podcast.
Part 1 brings us from 1923-19...2023-09-2632 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#074 The BBC and Music: from Percy Pitt to Johnny BeerlingThe genesis of music on the BBC for episode 74...
On 30 April 1923, celebrated conductor Percy Pitt joins the BBC as Musical Advisor/Director/Controller (his job keeps changing), bringing new scope and scale to the nation's favourite music provider. Symphonies! Dance bands! A violinist who's refused a taxi cos the driver doesn't like what he's heard!
In 1955, Johnny Beerling joins the BBC in a world of Housewive's Choice and needle time. In 1967, Johnny journeys to the pirate ships then helps bring Tony Blackburn to the airwaves for the launch of Radio 1. Johnny tells us all about i...2023-09-1443 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#073 Comedy on Air: Hysterical History from The Co-Optimists to BottomEpisode 73: Comedy tonight! And comedy back then, particularly 26 April 1923...
It's a royal wedding so the BBC celebrate in style, with a gala concert, sponsored by Harrods (yes, sponsorship on the BBC!), given by The Co-Optimists, the legendary interwar comedy troupe. The cast includes Stanley Holloway (later of My Fair Lady) and, weirdly, the ex of the prince getting married. Whoops.
We also explore a landmark pre-BBC broadcast by The Co-Optimists, in the summer of 1921. It's London's first broadcast, and pretty much the only legal broadcast of 1921. We'll explain why, and you'll hear them in full...2023-08-2649 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#071 Yesteryear in Parliament: The BBC vs The Government, April 1923Sometimes we get nerdy. Sometimes we get very nerdy.
This episode is one of those where media meets politics meets history - and we're giving you all the nit-picking details, because if we don't, who will?! We only pass this way once...
...And by 'this way', I mean April 16th-24th 1923.
On our previous episode, the five-month-old BBC was almost on its last legs, facing battles from the press (the Express) and the government (a feisty Postmaster General who doesn't feel generous with the licence fee).
Now episode 71 sees the BBC...2023-07-0744 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#070 The Press vs the BBC vs the Govt: 1923 + 2023Episode 70 is a biggie.
In April 1923, the five-month-old BBC faced a two-pronged attack.
The Daily Express ran an anti-BBC campaign, with front page stories questioning its existence, and even offering to take over broadcasting themselves. Over the course of one week, the Express applied to the government for a broadcast licence (and were turned down).
Meanwhile the Postmaster General's chance encounter with Reith in the street brought to a head 'the licence problem'. Reith wanted more £ for the BBC; the govt wanted more £ for themselves.
It's a hundred years' war that's st...2023-06-2340 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#062 Radio’s First Political Debate... and Reeta ChakrabartiOn 22 February 1923, the BBC tried something new: the first broadcast political debate. What could possibly go wrong? Let's find out!
And we chat to Reeta Chakrabarti - a mainstay of BBC news for over 30 years. She's anchored news from the studio, broadcast from Ukraine, and recently voiced radio pioneer Hilda Matheson on the BBC100 Prom. We talk about her career highlights and the place of BBC journalism in the world today.
Back in 1923, we're telling the origin story of British broadcasting, landmark moment by landmark moment, so this episode includes:
That first political debate: S...2023-02-2236 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#061 The BBC’s Listings Ban... and Gareth Gwynn’s Ministry of HappinessWelcome to Season 5!
Centenary specials behind us, we deep-dive back into mid-Feb 1923, in our moment-by-moment story of British broadcasting's birth.
On episode 61, we hear from:
GARETH GWYNN on his new sitcom on the launch of broadcasting in Wales, The Ministry of Happiness (catch it on BBC Sounds)...
ANDREW BARKER on the BBC listings ban...
and DAVID JERVIS on his grandfather 'The Tame Wizard', Capt H.J. Round. Hear an excerpt here, or the full section in David's recording on Youtube.
And some of the landmark moments we cover include:
Feb 13th: Cardiff 5...2023-02-1135 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#060 A History of Religious Broadcasting: 100 Years of God on the BeebIn the beginning... religious broadcasts were there ever since Marconi said, "Let there be sound!" (He never said that.)
Whether you're a faithful or heathen, you're very welcome here and I think you'll enjoy this whizz through a century of British broadcasting blessings (and some early US ones too) - including some very rare clips and new discoveries of old things/names/juicy geeky details.
From Reginald Fessenden's violin to Justin Welby's sermon to half the planet, via Dr Boon, Revs Dick Sheppard, W.H. Elliot, Bramwell Evens and many more, hear rare clips of...2023-01-2837 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#059 100 Years in 100 Minutes, part 3 (1988-2022)Episode 59 is the final part of our trilogy of info-dashes through the first British Broadcasting Century. Here we span 1988-2022: the digital years.
Enjoy hearing from experts, those who were there and contributions from you marvellous podcast listeners. (Part 1 was more archive-heavy - but rights issues get trickier as we get more recent - oh and do go back and listen to part 1 (1922-54) and part 2 (1955-87)).
Some excerpts are from longer interviews that you'll hear on the podcast soon (eg. ex Radio 1 boss Johnny Beerling, sitcom star Jeffrey Holland). Some are from previous episodes...2022-12-3033 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#058 100 Years in 100 Minutes, part 2 (1955-87)Part 2 of our mad dash through the British Broadcasting Century, spanning 1955-87 - the competition years.
Part 1 contained more archive; this contains more guests, as we creep nearer the present-day and rights issues become more prevalent.
YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO:
1950s:
John Reith, Fanny Cradock, Paul Hayes, Justin Webb, Dr Amy Holdsworth, my daughter, Alan Stafford, David Hamilton
1960s:
Michael Wakelin, Simon Dunn, Charles Huff, Gareth Jones, Johnny Beerling, Roger Moffat, David Dunhill, Emperor Rosko, Cindy Kent, James Cary, Jeffrey Holland, Reeta Chakrabarti, Alec Reid
1970s:
Maurice Blisson, Norman Green, Belinda Camp...2022-12-1133 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#054 The First Welsh Broadcast... and The Exhibitionists!Let Season 4 begin!
We pick up our timeline of the BBC origin story in February 1923 - and the launch of Cardiff 5WA, the first Welsh broadcast station.
Plus back in 2022: places you can go, museums, exhibitions and the like - from Bradford's National Science and Media Museum (and their Switched On exhibition) to St Bride's in London (and their A Kingdom of Cardboard exhibition). We chat to Lewis Pollard, curator of broadcasting at the first, and Bob Richardson, ex of BBC Presentation and Exhibitions departments, who's put together the latter.
They're great chats...2022-10-0347 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#045 2ZY Manchester and 5IT Birmingham Calling... with Jude MontagueEpisode 45 sees us still in January 1923, but on the move...
First BBC Director of Programmes Arthur Burrows visits 5IT Birmingham and 2ZY Manchester to see the 2nd and 3rd BBC stations in action - so here's a podcast snapshot of what broadcasting was like in their makeshift studios in British broadcasting's earliest days.
Our guest is Jude Montague, whose grandfather Sydney Wright was an early on-air musician in the 2ZY Wireless Trio. And you'll hear the voices of those who were there: Kenneth Wright, Victor Smythe, Percy Edgar, A.E. Thompson...
Hear of...2022-04-1441 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#043 The First Outside Broadcast: A Night at the Opera!On January 8th 1923, British broadcasting left the studio for the first time. William Crampton had the idea, Arthur Burrows seized on it, John Reith approved it, Cecil Lewis kept interrupting it with stage directions and synopses...
Hear all about it here on episode 43, with the voices of Peter Eckersley, Harold Bishop, Arthur Burrows, A.E. Thompson and Percy Edgar. Plus Dr Kate Murphy tells us about the first radio 'aunt', Aunt Sophie/Cecil Dixon. And what John Reith did for the first time on January 6th. You won't believe it...
This episode is drawn from...2022-03-0241 min
A Paul Kerensa PodcastCATCHING UP... with Rachel CreegerWhere have we been all this time?! After a 2mth gap, A Paul Kerensa Podcast returns with a fab new guest - Britain's only female orthodox Jewish comedian: Rachel Creeger.We talk interfaith, outerfaith, synagogue gigs, church gigs, humour in a crisis, Odessa's comedy heritage, and everything else that goes with it.She's a fab guest, and you can find her elsewhere on the internet at rachelcreeger.com, and her podcast is called Jew Talking To Me. Listen!Find this podcast on Facebook: Facebook.com/PaulKerensaPodcastAnd do try my other p...2022-02-2551 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#040 New Year 1923, Magnet House: ”Pandemonium Reigned!”Happy New Year, 1923! And Happy New Season: 3, that is, as we tell the story of the BBC's 3rd-6th months. Formative times at Auntie Beeb, as the staff grows from 4 in one room to a new premises at Savoy Hill.
Season 3 begins with this, episode 40 overall, on New Year's Day 1923. John Reith, Arthur Burrows, Cecil Lewis and Major Anderson begin work in the one-room BBC, like an Amish schoolhouse. Each day, the number of staff and visitors grow - and helpfully Reith, Burrows and Lewis all wrote vividly about the manic days of Magnet House - home...2022-01-0128 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#039 SPECIAL: The Twelve Airplays of Christmas (with Ben Baker)Hullo hullo-ho-ho! Welcome to 2021's Christmas special, unwrapping a dozen Christmas broadcasting presents, from the past, to see what makes a classic BBC Christmas schedule.
Our guest Ben Baker is a podcaster and author of festive books including the new Ben Baker's Christmas Box: 40 Years of the Best, Worst and Weirdest Christmas TV Ever (available on Amazon or Linktree). Like the Ghost of Broadcasting Past, he guides us through the Queen's Speech, Top of the Pops, Noel Edmonds, Christmas films, bizarre hospital visits, and ample more.
Your host Paul Kerensa is a Christmas cultural fanatic...2021-12-1843 min
A Paul Kerensa PodcastPK‘s Christmas Special 2021: The Top 10 Carols vs Festive Pop SongsThis festive fan/Xmas Xpert/Santologist couldn't POSSIBLY let Christmas go unpodcasted (just invented that word - I apologise).So in this guestless episode, Paul runs down the Top 5 Christmas carols AND the Top 5 festive pop songs.He's amalgamated several polls, surveys and charts (inc. Songs of Praise Favourite Carol, Classical Magazine's poll of experts, Classic FM's carol survey, global charts etc), weighted them accordingly, and presto! Some Christmas podding for you.From The Pogues to Postman Pat, Mendelssohn to Michael Buerk, Bing Crosby to two versions of In the Bleak Midwinter, we'll...2021-12-1509 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#038 SPECIAL: What Marconi Thought of Broadcasting... + 1920s adsMarconi may have invented wireless, and the wireless, but he didn't see broadcasting coming.
A special for episode 38, as we bring to life an interview with Guglielmo Marconi on what he made of broadcasting, two months into the BBC's existence.
Our source is Popular Wireless magazine, January 27th 1923 issue. Read along if you like (plus bits from December 1922) - thank you to WorldRadioHistory.com for housing this long lost magazine.
Needless to say, we don't claim any rights to the wonderful old magazine, and while we THINK it's either public domain or its...2021-12-0230 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#037 SPECIAL: The Prehistory of the BBC (extended cut)It's the BBC’s 99th birthday! Well it was on the day this episode landed. So for episode 37, here’s the podcast’s story so far...
Between season 2 (covering the BBC in 1922) and season 3 (the BBC in 1923), we’re on a run of specials. So here we summarise EVERYTHING we’ve learned so far. 36 episodes condensed into one.
Condensed, yet also extended - because we recorded a shorter version of this episode for The History of England Podcast. So to lure in folks who’ve heard that already, I’ve added a ton of new stuff, including some brand new bits. By which I...2021-11-1446 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#036 Out with the Old: The First BBC New Year’s Eve1922 (and season 2 of the podcast) closes with, you guessed it, New Year's Eve. But this one's special. For the first time, Brits don't need to go out to celebrate. They can stay home and listen to the wireless: concerts, dance music, no Big Ben's bongs yet (the only BBC New Year without them)... and a preach from Rev Archibald Fleming.
We bring you all this - including the voice of Rev Fleming himself, along with Reith, some newspaper cuttings of the day, and everything you never knew you needed to know about December 31st 1922 on the air.2021-10-3134 minA Paul Kerensa PodcastCATCHING UP... with American DaveThis time Paul is catching up with American Dave, his old buddy from student days. From Guildford to San Diego to your ears, we catch up about Trump, Covid, Brexit... and try and find some wisdom and optimism in amongst the craziness.We last met American Dave back in the days of The Heptagon Club (which you can find if you scroll waaaaay back on this A Paul Kerensa Podcast channel).Find this on Facebook: Facebook.com/PaulKerensaPodcastAnd do try Paul's other podcast on the origin story of the BBC: podfollow.com...2021-10-2156 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#035 Reith Begins!December 29th-30th 1922: General Manager John Reith begins work! The good ship Broadcasting finally gets its captain.
On Episode 35 of The British Broadcasting Century, we bring you the complete tale of not only Reith's first day - the liftsman, the lone office, the "Dr Livingstone, I presume" moment - but also his commute to work, from Scotland to London via Newcastle. Here he investigates/interviews/interrogates poor Tom Payne, director of Newcastle 5NO, a BBC station that's only five days old, temporarily running from the back of a lorry in a stable-yard.
We'll hear from R...2021-10-0738 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#034 Newcastle‘s Christmas Launch: Let It 5NO, Let It 5NO, Let It 5NO!It's Christmas! (Well not now, it's Sept 2021 as I write/record this, but it was Christmas, in 1922.) Time for a 4th BBC station... the first to be constructed from scratch under the BBC banner.
Hear the voices and the troubled tale of Newcastle 5NO's shaky start, on the back of a lorry in a stableyard. Plus we'll see what 5IT Birmingham and 2ZY Manchester looked like six weeks into the BBC's being. So we'll hear from original BBC pioneers like Percy Edgar, Victor Smythe and Tom Payne as they tell us all about it.
We've...2021-09-1532 minA Paul Kerensa PodcastCATCHING UP... with Rev Jon MarchMy guest this time is my old buddy from uni days, Rev "Random" Jon March. He's vicar of St Luke's, Kentish Town. You'll swiftly hear what earned him the nickname "Random".Hear how he accidentaly did a Theology degree due to at least two admin errors... his analysis of words like 'several'... how he grew a church from literally zero... and his thoughts on how to build back a church after something like, say, a pandemic.Jon's podcast The New Now, on leadership in changing times, is available here - and this episode has Paul...2021-09-0946 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#033 The First Couple of Marconi House: December 1922Our story of early British broadcasting reaches the week before Christmas 1922. The BBC staff of four have found Savoy Hill, made an offer, but for now have one room at GEC's Magnet House lined up for the first few months of 1923. But while Reith goes off on his hols, and Major Anderson the secretary puzzles out the new BBC accounts (see last episode), the other two head office staff won't wait for a Head Office, because they're still broadcasting down the road at Marconi House... Arthur Burrows as Uncle Arthur and Cecil Lewis as Uncle Caractacus.
Here...2021-08-2328 minA Paul Kerensa PodcastCATCHING UP... with Gareth JonesThis time, Paul chats to TV presenter, podcaster, technology enthusiast and man of at least two names, GARETH JONES!You may have known him as 'Gaz Top' on Saturday morning children's TV show Get Fresh, or you may have seen his 16-year stint fronting How 2 for CITV. He's presented Tomorrow's World, he's hosted the Gareth Jones on Speed podcast for 15 years (garethjones.tv/onspeed.html) - and we get into all of these things and more.If you've listened to my other podcast, The British Broadcasting Century, you may have heard bits of this chat. B...2021-08-1735 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#032 The Licence Fee Problem... of 1922December 22nd 1922: The Chairman of the Broadcasting Committee writes to the Postmaster General urging him to address the licence fee problem. "Listeners-in" are already dodging the tariffs... and John Reith hasn't even started yet!
Here on episode 32, aka season 2 episode 5, we look at the problems facing the pre-Reith BBC with regard to income. Gladly a hundred years later, the BBC has solved that licence fee problem... er... nearly.
And the return of radio reverend Cindy Kent, with tales of commercial radio, announcing celebrity deaths and the joys of pandemic Poirot.
Plus we have...2021-08-0632 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#031 The Hunt for BBC Premises, Burrows vs Marconi + Prof Gabriele BalbiSeason 2 Episode 4 (aka Episode 31 in total) flashes us back to Arthur Burrows' pre-BBC days, and brings us to December 17th-20th 1922, when 4/5 of the BBC workforce (ie. 4 people of the 5) tour central London searching for a building.
They can use Magnet House for now, on loan from General Electric, but after that, where? After deciding against a gold-flatting mill (now a Gym Box), they discover a nice little premises on Savoy Hill.
But before that, Arthur Burrows shows John Reith the ropes, via a chart, of everything this new BBC will need, from engineers to c...2021-07-2138 min
A Paul Kerensa PodcastCATCHING UP... with Ruth Valerio (Planet Protectors special!)This time, Paul's CATCHING UP with author, speaker, campaigner and all-round Planet Protector, RUTH VALERIO. Paul talks to her about her new fabulous children's book, Planet Protectors... which is very familiar to Paul... because he wrote it too!Ruth and Paul wrote it together and it's out now! It's published by SPCK, and the fab illustrations are by Fay Austin. Get your copy of Planet Protectors here - including information on bulk discounts, if you're part of a youth group, church group, school... or you just want 10 copies!Discover how children can change t...2021-07-0522 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#030 The First BBC Staff: Reith, Burrows, Lewis, Anderson, White (+ David Hamilton)"I had little idea what broadcasting was." So said John Reith after his job interview to become General Manager of the brand new BBC.
On this exciting episode, meet your first General Manager (Reith), Director of Programmes (Arthur Burrows v Cecil Lewis - who'll get the job?), Secretary (Major Anderson beats 245 others to it, but doesn't last six months) and Chief Engineer (R.H. White - nothing to do with the lemonade - he's appointed but doesn't last the weekend...).
Spanning December 7th-16th 1922, we've got the nerves, the prayers, the interviews, the winks, the...2021-06-3038 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#029 The First Listings: from Norman Long to Neville ChamberlainYellow highlighters at the ready - the listings have arrived! Except it's weeks 2 + 3 of the BBC, back in Nov/Dec 1922, and the Radio Times is nearly a year away. So how do we know what's on the wireless? And is it called radio yet?
A few trusty local newspapers printed a few listings - though watch this space, as they'll decide differently in a few episodes time. From The Pall Mall Gazette to The Derby Daily Telegraph, we've cobbled together the first BBC listings, thanks to our newspaper detective Andrew Barker.
Plus a few memos...2021-06-1042 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#028 The First BBC Entertainers... and Lee MackSeason 2 begins! So please welcome to the microphone: entertainment! The very first.
Journey back to November 16th 1922 - Day 3 of the BBC - to meet Auntie's first entertainers. But history being history, nothing's easy...
Discover why the BBC's first entertainers weren't the first after all, whether London, Birmingham or Manchester brought us the BBC's first entertainment concert - and why each of them has a claim to it.
Our fabulous guest is comedian, actor, writer and professional liar Lee Mack, with tales from Not Going Out, Would I Lie To You and his...2021-05-2436 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#027 Season 2 Trailer (aka Season 1 Recap)Ahead of season 2 (covering the first year and a bit of the BBC, from November 16th 1922 to December 31st 1923), here's a recap of season 1 - told by the people who were there: eleven broadcasting pioneers.
GUGLIELMO MARCONI: Inventor of 'wireless'
H.J. ROUND: First to send speech west across the Atlantic
PETER ECKERSLEY: First regular British radio broadcaster
WINIFRED SAYER: First woman on the radio, first professional radio performer
DAME NELLIE MELBA: First star broadcaster
ARTHUR BURROWS: First voice of the BBC
KENNETH W...2021-05-1503 min
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#026 Percy Edgar - BBC and the Midlands from Day 2 to 1948Percy Edgar was there right at the start of the BBC. One of the first voices, he booked the acts, managed the station, then became Director of the Midland Region. He was the most influential regional director from 1922 to 1948, far outlasting Reith and, well, every other early radio pioneer I can think of.
His grandson, the playwright David Edgar, has dusted down Percy's memoir and reads it for us on this our final special. Hear all about the foggy first night, the first children's programmes (including Susan the Blue Cat with Yellow Spots), the dancer who wouldn't...2021-04-2141 minA Paul Kerensa PodcastCATCHING UP... with Dai WoolridgeThis time, Paul is CATCHING UP with Dai Woolridge: poet, spoken word artist(e), man of faith, and all-round decent chap.We talk saucisson sec, the joys and sadness of lockdown music, creativity, green guilt, poetry, lament, community, Help Yourself boxes, the beautiful Welsh accent, and so much more.Dai's book God's Brilliantly Big Creation Story is available here.His website Spoken Truth is here.You can find him on Twitter @daiwoolridgeYou can find me on Twitter @paulkerensa This podcast is currently occupied by CATCHING UP...2021-03-2248 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#024 SPECIAL: Part 1 of 1922‘s Parliamentary Broadcasting DebatesWestminster, 1922: Parliament learns a new word, 'Broadcasting'. And they LOVE to argue about new words.
In this special, our cast of 20 brings to life EVERY broadcasting debate from 1922, no matter how big or small. No editing here. On our specials we outstay our welcome and we dig a little deeper. So approach this episode as if you're tuning into the BBC Parliament channel, only it's a century ago and they're deciding if and how there should be a BBC. Some parts may be an easier listen than others. You may need to tune your ears to their...2021-03-2227 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#023 Gertrude Donisthorpe: Britain‘s 1st DJ?A special minisode championing Gertrude Donisthorpe: one of the world's first female broadcasters and arguably Britain's first DJ. Yet she's hardly to be seen in any of the history books.
Google her now, go on. What do you find? Radio silence.
We mentioned her a couple of episodes ago but didn't even know her first name. So thanks to a tweet from Dr Elizabeth Bruton of the Science Museum, I now know what the history books and the internet at large couldn't tell me. So now I want to tell you.
Gertrude Donisthorpe...2021-03-1212 minA Paul Kerensa PodcastCATCHING UP... with Paul SavageA 2nd instalment of CATCHING UP - an occasional longform interview podcast. This time it's with comedian, comic book creator and boat owner Paul Savage. He talks about creativity in lockdown, pandemic childcare, comic book creation, the changing world of stand-up, plus a gig tale about aiding and abetting an escaped inmate.Paul's new comic book - 'But Doctor, I AM a Collection of Comic Strips by Paul Savage' - is available at https://www.savagecomic.comYou can find him on Twitter @comedysavageYou can find me on Twitter @paulkerensa Th...2021-03-0736 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#022 SPECIAL: Capt H.J. Round, a speech from Dec 1952Our first special stars radio pioneer Captain H.J. Round, in a true piece of history.
We're on a break between seasons, so here's the first of a few specials... about one of the last of a few, a genius cigar-chomping engineer who shaped the modern world.
We've mentioned Captain H.J. Round on season 1 of the podcast, but we've not heard from him till now - in fact few people have ever heard him. This recording, as far as we know, hasn't been publicly released in its entirety before.
Henry Joseph Round worked with Marconi since the turn of the...2021-02-171h 19A Paul Kerensa PodcastCATCHING UP... with Dan WillisHello stranger! It's been a while. It was at least one pandemic ago since we lost spoke. Or spoke here, at least.So welcome to a new thing. A new irregular thing.Appearing now and then, but specifically now: a random series of long-form unedited chats. Just catching up really.This is recorded mid-lockdown, and with comedians unable to perform, one or two have got in touch and said: Let's catch up! I said: Sure! But I'm going to record it.So Dan and I haven't chatted for about a decade...2021-02-031h 12The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#021 Loose Ends (with Gareth Jones)Ending season 1, here's episode 21 to tie up some loose ends, correct some clarifications and clarify some corrections from our previous 20 episodes on the prehistory of the BBC, radio and life as we know it.
There's also an exclusive wide-ranging interview with TV presenter (Get Fresh, How 2), podcaster (Gareth Jones on Speed) and science enthusiast Gareth Jones, known for a brief spell on children's TV as Gaz Top. Find more on his podcast via his website, or his clips 'n' films on Youtube.
Next episode we'll begin a run of 'specials' before we embark on season 2.2021-01-2245 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#020 The First BBC Christmas: From Carols to KingsMerry listening! Now, do you hear what I hear?
Join our sleigh ride back to Christmas 1922, and delve deep into our pod-sack to discover what the BBC was broadcasting in its first Christmas.
Includes: the first religious broadcast from Rev John Mayo, the first play written for radio in The Truth About Father Christmas, the BBC's first celebrity guest, the first radio talk ('Christmas among the Blind'), carols, Peter Pan, comedy from Fred Gibson and Helena Millais... and that's just from the London 2LO station.
Birmingham 5IT gives us Dickens, the Birmingham City...2020-12-1634 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#019 Day 2 of the BBC: Our Friends in the North...and the Midlands, as Birmingham and Manchester join the party. We revisit the second day of the BBC: November 15th 1922.
Also, how Manchester launched the first BBC children's programmes, how Birmingham had the BBC's first live music, and how London needed to tweak their microphone. All on election day, so just before the first Election Night Special.
You'll also hear of the bizarre Birmingham fog that delayed launch - and bizarrer still, how ANOTHER Birmingham fog delayed The Settlers from reaching a studio, 40 years later. From that band, Cindy Kent is our guest, recalling being a...2020-12-0736 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#018 The First BBC Broadcast: "Hullo, Hullo!""You know, this broadcasting is going to be jolly good fun."
...That adlib ended the very first BBC broadcast, given by Arthur Burrows on November 14th, 1922 - and re-enacted on this special birthday episode.
Yes we've made it! After 17 episodes building up to the big launch, the BBC is on air.
This episode lands on the Beeb's 98th birthday - and to celebrate, we've done something that we THINK is a first: a complete reconstruction of the very first BBC broadcast.
Well, not a complete reconstruction... because Arthur Burrows read the n...2020-11-1435 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#017 The Eve of the BBC: A Partly Political BroadcastWe're nearly there! Episode 17 zooms in on the pre-BBC fortnight. You'd have thought everything's in place by now, right?
Not quite - just the tiny non-controversial matters of the licence fee and allegations of bias to deal with first. Good job they're all sorted now...
We've got archive reminiscences from pioneer Peter Eckersley and the return of Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker, who also gives us an Airwave Memory (email a clip of yours for next season: paul@paulkerensa.com)
We mention CenturiesofSound.com - try their 1922 mix for starters.
We also...2020-11-0633 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#016 Live at the Apo2LO: Our 1st Broadcast ComedianThe first drama, the first comedian...
Journey with us to October 1922 for the rarely told tale radio's first play (Cyrano de Bergerac, courtesy of Peter Eckersley) and British broadcasting's first comedian.
Helena Millais played Cockney character Our Lizzie - and you'll even hear a bit of her act.
We'll look at the few before her too - entertainers and storytellers - and those who came after. Cultural historian and comedy writer Alan Stafford is your guide, and his fab books It's Friday, It's Crackerjack and Wilson, Keppel and Betty: Too Naked for the N...2020-10-2930 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#015 John Reith: MastermindFor ep 15, our story of broadcasting reaches one John Reith, who spots a job advertisement in the Morning Post. He's never heard of broadcasting.
But what led him to that point? Revisiting landmark moments of our story so far, we'll trace Reith's unusual, unorthodox, unexpected life. From son of the manse to voice of the nation, via love, friendship, war... and all three of those are somehow mixed up together in Reith's beloved: Charlie.
It's quite a story, and we're indebted to Ian McIntyre's The Expense of Glory, Garry Allighan's Sir John Reith, Marista Leishman's...2020-10-0933 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#014 1922's British Wireless Exhibition: Tomorrow's WorldWe're back, and we're a little muffled. (I'll be hitting my microphone with hammers, promise.)
As I struggle with 2020 tech, the Great British public were struggling with theirs, getting to know their first radio sets in Sept/Oct 1922, at the First All-British Wireless Exhibition and Convention (FABWEAC, for short).
So this time, hear the sights, smell the sounds and meet the artistes, such as singer and future radio boss Rex Faithful, first pianist of the BBC Maurice Cole and first broadcast royal, the Prince of Wales (before he regenerated into Edward VIII).
Oh...2020-09-2228 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#013 Inform, Educate, Entertain: Have I Got News For You?In episode 13, we're in August/Sept 1922, which means:
- Manchester's first broadcast concert
- The pre-BBC battles the printed press. Has the BBC got news for us? Erm... Not yet, and not easily.
- The Reithian values arrive - 'to inform, educate & entertain' - except somehow they're knocking about before John Reith's even heard of broadcasting.
Our guest is Andrew Barker, a former BBC producer and radio history enthusiast, who's been delving into the newspaper archives to bring us fascinating clippings from 1922.
Hear how the Manchester Guardian told its...2020-09-1029 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#012 The Pre-BBC 6/Music, part 2: 1 BBCPart 2 of the pre-BBC's summer of music covers June and July 1922.
As The Spice Girls once nearly sang, tonight (this episode) is the night (the episode) when 2 (BBCs) become 1 (BBC).
Hear the voices of those who weren't just there - they were pushing the buttons. This episode includes:
- How we got the licence fee!
- Garden party demonstrations
- Elstree
- the arrival of Cecil Lewis
Plus an Airwave Memory from Pete Hawkins (twitter.com/fictoids1) and Firsthand Memories from covering I'm Sorry I H...2020-08-3123 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#011 The Pre-BBC 6/Music, part 1: 2 BBCsTwo British Broadcasting Companies! That's the result of the negotiations of summer 1922.
Part one of this two-parter brings us two parallel storylines: boardroom debates (a la The Apprentice) and studio sing-songs (a la Top of the Pops).
In this exciting episode, hear the voices and reminiscences of John Reith, Peter Eckersley, Arthur Burrows, Lord Gainford - those who were there as the BBC finally got its name.
======
This podcast is unaffiliated to the mighty BBC. We just like talking about them, and how they came into being.
...So your...2020-08-2325 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#010 2ZY Manchester: Are You Sitting Comfortably? (with Chris Jarvis)In episode 10, we journey through the round window... 2ZY Manchester arrives in mid-May 1922, then children's broadcasting in mid-November: Kiddies Corner, as part of a night of General Election results. Weird.
Hear the voices that started children's broadcasting: Kenneth Wright (aka Uncle Humpty Dumpty) and Reginald Jordan (a 10-year-old radio announcer).
Back in the present day, CHRIS JARVIS (CBeebies, CBBC, Children's BBC, 'The Anorak', Show Me Show Me, Stargazing... etc etc etc) joins us for an exclusive chat about the role of children's TV and radio, right up to his brand new proj...2020-07-2928 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#009 2LO London CallingEpisode 9 brings us to the famous '2LO': London is calling the world, on our journey towards the BBC's birth. Hear the voices that launched broadcasting in the UK, plus rivalry and pranks, including Arthur Burrows and Peter Eckersley recreating a 1922 moment via clips from 1938 and 1960. (It looks weird written down, but trust me.)
This episode's 'AM' (Airwave Memories) comes from radio producer Chris Byland. Send yours by recording a 1-2min audio clip of you reminiscing about your earliest memories of radio/TV. Your 'FM' (First-hand Memories) are welcome too - a new feature of emailed-in...2020-07-2026 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#008 2MT Writtle: Radio ActiveFeb 14th, 1922: Britain finally gets a regular broadcast service. Only it's a little dry. Till Peter Eckersley gives his engineers gin and tonics (also dry), runs to the mic, and brings entertainment radio to the masses with jokes, songs, impressions and severe over-running.
Hear all about it - including archive clips aplenty - including more from broadcasting historian Tim Wander (buy his books here).
Plus an early broadcasting memory - now called 'AM' (Airwave Memories) from Jamie Dyer of the Watching the Wireless podcast.
We're nowt to do with the BBC - we...2020-07-1329 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#007 Peter Eckersley: 1922's Pre-Goon GoonThank Eckersley for the BBC! It's almost entirely down to him. Never heard of him? Then listen on, to the original PPE...
We chat to broadcasting historian Tim Wander (who knows more about Eckersley than anyone on the planet). Plus hear clips from Captain Eckersley himself, both in wild action on air, and looking back over his amazing career as first BBC Chief Engineer, first regular voice on British radio, and pioneer of air traffic control. Oh yes, he also built an airport. And he was a spy in WW2. What a tale!
It's all...2020-07-0629 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#006 William Le Queux: Power to the PeopleA minisode that somehow ends up longer than a normal episode... Instead of telling you all about 1922's pioneer extraordinaire P.P. Eckersley, we're putting him back a week. Well, the radio hams of the day had to wait 18 months - you can wait 7 days.
Before him, we bring a tale of William Le Queux, amateur broadcaster of 1921 - oh and he was a writer from Guildford. Like your host...
Plus a tale of hospital radio, and a TV memory from illustrator Rachel Berman.
Support the podcast:
- ko-fi.com/paulkerensa b...2020-06-2919 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#005 Arthur Burrows: 1920's All-Request Pirate (with Emperor Rosko)Meet the guv'nor: BBC's first newsreader, children's presenter, actor, Head of Programmes... but before all that Arthur Burrows was one of broadcasting's lone prophets, convincing journalists, ministers and future listeners-in that mass entertainment from a small box was A Good Thing.
Plus we exclusively hear from a pirate radio legend. Emperor Rosko tells us his journey from naval ship DJ to Radio Caroline, Radio Luxembourg and the first line-up of BBC Radio 1.
This podcast has nothing by the way to do with the BBC. We're talking about them, not with them... It's just a one-man...2020-06-2225 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#004 Happy 100th, Radio! Melba: The VoiceHip hip hurrah! Our centenary special, landing on the 100th birthday of professional public broadcast radio in Britain. Hear the best/only (possibly) re-enactment of the Melba Concert, sent from Chelmsford to the world on June 15th 1920 - exactly a century before this episode lands.
Relive the songs, the fire, a genuine joke, the panic when it goes off-air... and discover how an attempt at Daily Mail Radio sparked British broadcasting into being.
This podcast is here to inform, educate + entertain on the origins of the BBC, radio and life as we know it...2020-06-1520 minThe British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#003 Earlier... with Winifred SayerThe 1st woman on British radio! Radio's 1st professional artiste! The 1st listings! The 1st programme with a title!
Journey back to early 1920 for episode 3 of the story of pre-BBC broadcasting, and meet W.T. Ditcham, Captain H.J. Round and Winifred Sayer - the girl from the ball-bearings factory who brought song to our radio sets.
We're here to inform, educate + entertain on the origins of the BBC, radio and life as we know it. I say 'we'. It's just me.
Oh, and original music by Will Farmer
Oh, and our g...2020-06-1117 min
A Paul Kerensa PodcastMy new podcast: The British Broadcasting Century... Subscribe now!Been a while, podpals!This is a blatant plea to come and join my new podcast, The British Broadcasting Century. I'll be geeking out about the origins of the BBC, radio and life as we know it, for a dozen or so episodes (in series 1; then who knows how many thereafter).This is an extended trailer, with a few bonus clips just for being loyal podcastees here on A Paul Kerensa Podcast/The Heptagon Club.But to catch the new one, you'll need to subscribe to it, over at https://podcasts.apple.com/g...2020-06-0413 minA Paul Kerensa PodcastComedians With Books #3: Stevyn Colgan + James DowdeswellOne final Comedians With Books podcast... plus news of Paul's new Christmas podcast with Grace Dent, on Audible, which is out now!At the 3rd Comedians With Books live show, we welcomed ex-QI elf Stevyn Colgan and wine connoisseur/comedian James Dowdeswell. Hear their chat on publishing, pubs, whodunnits, Rick Wakeman, doggy day care, and much more.Their books:...STEVYN COLGAN: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Stevyn-Colgan/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AStevyn%20ColganJAMES DOWDESWELL: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pub-Manifesto-Comedian-stands-pubs/dp/1852493550/ ...Plus amp...2019-11-2848 min
A Paul Kerensa PodcastComedians With Books #2: James Cary, Pierre Hollins, Dan EvansComedians With Books returns! With live show #3 around the corner, here's live show #2 for your ears - or at least the book panel second half, recorded live at The Guildhall at Guildford Fringe Festival.CWB is an occasional hybrid comedy-night-meets-book-festival, on this episode welcoming funny authors James Cary, Pierre Hollins and Dan Evans, hosted by Paul Kerensa (this is A Paul Kerensa Podcast after all). We get stuck into self-publishing v trad v Unbound, writing for radio, the future of the book industry, and much much more.Also PK's requests for beta readers for new...2019-09-1842 min
A Paul Kerensa PodcastComedians With Books #1: Rosie Wilby, Matt Parker, Aidan GoatleyA one-off (or at least very occasional) pop-up podcast with an excerpt from a recent Comedians With Books show, recorded live at The Star Inn with Guildford Fringe. It's a new thrice-yearly hybrid comedy night meets book festival. This panel discussion features anecdotalist Aidan Goatley, relationship ponderer Rosie Wilby & stand-up mathematician Matt Parker, hosted by El Capitan Paul Kerensa.Come see the next Comedians With Books live! Mon 8th July 2019 at Guildford's Guildhall, with James Cary, Pierre Hollins & Dan Evans, hosted again by PK. https://guildfordfringefestival.com/sessions/comedians-with-books/The next night, Tue 9th July 2019, n...2019-06-0848 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast26 Steve Chalke & co - Beyond the RedgraveCan it be? Our final episode? Yes. Yes it is. Stay subscribed for the future podcast that's currently percolating, due to replace this within the year. But for now enjoy 7 final conversational titbits from everyone's favourite 7-sided chat bunker...- Charity mastermind STEVE CHALKE on his world-record-breaking feud with Sir Steve Redgrave- BGT semi-finalist NOEL JAMES on televising 'the frog joke'- Beatboxing champ GAV TYTE on teaches Paul to beatbox using a bag of cabbage- Nomadic funnyman TONY VINO on Fijian language problems- Vicar, author & prop-maker CRIS ROGERS on Butlins' secret swimming pool- Presenting guru LEE JACKSON on why...2019-01-1648 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast25 Christmas Special 2018 - The Nonagon Club!Ho ho whoa! 9 guests?! In a tribute to the 9 Lessons & Carols, Paul our Host of Christmas Past flies his sleigh back through festive history. There are no live guests a-guesting - instead for our penultimate show, Paul has a voice-changer. It's not a great voice-changer, but it means we drop in on influential Christmassy words from:- Astronaut TOM STAFFORD on pranking NASA - Private HENRY WILLIAMSON on sharing tobacco- Writer CHARLES DICKENS on humbuggery- Writer WASHINGTON IRVING on Christmas the English way- Devonian clergyman RICHARD S...2018-12-1122 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast24 Paul Kerensa & co - We're Not Here Right Now...A stopgap podcast, to report on our temporary absence (due to a busy month), then our permanent absence (to follow early next year after a two-episode send-off). A couple more episodes will follow, then, well, the future's bright - but it may, alas, not be heptagon-shaped.An update is contained herein, plus snippets of guests from our fnar-fnale to come in January.Like us on FB: www.facebook.com/heptagonclubAmazon Guests List - our authors' books: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/LIDR28M9I9BY/Paul's new book: https://www.eden.co.uk/shop/wh...2018-11-2107 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast23 Noel James & co - Rhodes? Where we're going...Britain's Got Talent, Storm Troopers, beatboxing, comedy, Rhodes... Welcome to October's pod-party. Mingle with the likes of this lot... - Comedian NOEL JAMES- Other comedian TONY VINO- Other other comedian NATHAN RAMSDEN-LOCK- Storm Trooper/Vicar CRIS ROGERS- Ship of Fools founder SIMON JENKINS- Beatboxing tutor GAV TYTE- Songster & biscuit fiend PAUL BELL ...Your 'Bring A Bottle' contribution is to visit their websites, so seek 'em out online, and while you're there... Like us on FB: www.facebook.com/heptagonclubAmazon Guests List - our authors' books: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/LIDR28M9I9BY/Paul's new book: https://www.ede...2018-10-1533 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast22 Rob Parsons & co - Happy Creative New Year!It's Creative New Year! Time for new projects and new products, including books, CDs, beatboxing tutorials and just good advice from these 7 wonders of the world... - Care For The Family head honcho and author ROB PARSONS, OBE- As oh-so-recently seen on This Morning, beatboxing vicar GAV TYTE- Author and parenting guru KATHARINE HILL- Songster & biscuit fiend PAUL BELL- Comedian NATHAN RAMSDEN-LOCK- Presenting expert LEE JACKSON- Car Share writer, creator and creative genius TIM REID Like us on FB: www.facebook.com/heptagonclubAmazon Guests List - our authors' books: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/LIDR28M9I9BY/Paul...2018-09-1428 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast20 Pippa Evans & co - Temper Temperance4 comedians + 3 authors = a heatwave of guests. This magnificent 7 are: - Radio 4 songstress and improvxpert PIPPA EVANS- Jewelsh comedian BENNETT ARRON- Nomadic funnyman TONY VINO- Comedy magician and mag editor STEVE LEGG- Mega-author ROB PARSONS- Parenting guru KATHARINE HILL- Pro speaker trainer chap LEE JACKSON My very-soon Christmas-in-July play: https://guildfordfringefestival.com/sessions/three-wise-men-a-christmas-play-by-paul-kerensa/Donate to the podcast here and fund our future: www.heptagonclub.co.ukAmazon Guests List - our authors' books: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/LIDR28M9I9BY/Music by Rob Halligan: www.robhalligan.co.uk Like us on FB: www.facebook.com/heptagonclubRate us on iTunes...2018-07-0234 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast19 Greatest Story Ever Toured special minisodeA sort of advertourial one-off minisode opens season 3 - because I'm plugging my own tour: The Greatest Story Ever Toured. This time all 7 guests are from the show that we're taking around the land, skilfully unlocking, awkwardly rapping and generally tinkering with bits of Bible. Our 7 guests are: - Theologian and daddy of The Bible Course, Dr ANDREW- CATH, the Welshest person ever & glorious leader of a cappella troupe Sound of Wales- Sound of Wales man, MATT- Sound of Wales intern AMY- Sound of Wales non-intern non-man MEG - Tour producer and all-round good egg ROB- + Bible Society Head of Comms...2018-06-0517 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast17 St Nicholas & co - Once in Royal Gotham CityMerry Cristes Maesse! Our 2nd Christmas special features 2 more live guests + 5 festive historical wonders who changed Christmas for the... well for that whatever you think of it now. This episode: - Xmas Xpert JAMES COOPER from WhyChristmas.com- My 3yr old DAUGHTER playing Father Christmas plus tales of these festives ledges:- ST NICK and his 5:2 plan- WASHINGTON IRVING, the man behind Gotham City, knickers and the modern Christmas- CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE, poet and champion of what to do when you've left it too late for a present- BISHOP BENSON, inventor of Nine Lessons & Carols and a classic Christmas ghost story- ROLAND HUSSEY...2017-12-1834 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast16 Charles Dickens & co - Jingle Bells WhiskyMerry Advent! The 1st of 2 Christmas specials features not 7 guests-a-guesting, but, well 2. Plus 5 honorary historical Christmas stars who helped sculpt the Christmas we now know. So that means we get properly Dickensian with: - Star of The Man Who Invented Christmas, Paddington 2 & The Death of Stalin, JUSTIN EDWARDS (we think he's the star)- Mr WhyChristmas.com, JAMES COOPERplus places set at the table for:- CHARLES DICKENS- PRINCE ALBERT- OLIVER CROMWELL- ST FRANCIS OF ASSISIand of course- The baby JESUS James' Christmas site is www.whychristmas.comPaul's Yule blog is www.kneeldownstandup.wordpress.comPaul's Christmas book is Hark! The Bio...2017-12-0428 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast15 John Archer & co - Derren, Daniels, Dawkins + debatesMagic's in the air as we meet the first person to fool Penn & Teller on their 'Fool Us' TV show, plus others tell of Paul Daniels making an elephant disappear and debating Derren Brown. Plus tales of stand-up philosophy, sit-down theology, refugees and referees. And your Bring A Bottle moment is to get hold of/post a review of this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hark-Biography-Christmas-Paul-Kerensa/dp/0745980171 - Thanks! On this episode: - The Magic Circle's top comedy magician, BAFTA-winning JOHN ARCHER- Comedian & writer ANDY KIND on his first gig and his latest job- Home for Good's KRISH KANDIAH on the refugee c...2017-11-0758 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast14 Tony Law & co - Surgical Silk GownHospitals! House-buying! Football training! Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning comedians, storytellers and a radio producer bring us our customary cocktail of chat, this time with a frequent medical skew. Bits of our live show mingle with returning guests and fresh blood (and it does include blood). Plus your host does a fairly consistent amount of plugging for live events from Liverpool Comedy Festival to London book launches. On this episode: - Canadian tale-weaver TONY LAW on the Silk Road and rhythmic gymnastics- Chortle Comedian of the Year CARL DONNELLY on stage attire- Financial guru DOMINIC FRISBY on why young people can’t buy house...2017-09-1946 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast13 Peter Buckley Hill & co - Edinburgh special!A fringetastic Edinburgh speciale! Recorded (alright, edited) live in Edinburgh, with Fringe-bound comedians, actors, a writer and, well, this lot: - Free Fringe founder PETER BUCKLEY HILL on the early days of alternative comedy...- Last year’s Mr Best Joke of the Fringe MASAI GRAHAM on his two types of joke…- Actors ANNA NICHOLSON, ANNA NEWCOME and CAMERON POTTS on bringing the Reformation to the Fringe, and spare pairs of pants…- Writer JAMES CARY on wrong audiences and best sitcoms…- And a sneak peek of next episode’s star guest TONY LAW - and he’s wearing pyjam...2017-08-0243 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast12 Liz Earle & co - Business, Bacteria + Bones Beneath EscalatorsBusiness! Beauty! Bacteria! Bath-based creativity!This month's magnificent 7 talk all things business, from starting a wholesome men's magazine to starting a healthy living magazine, from how to run one of the UK's biggest charities to where stand-up comedy meets archaeology. Our most eclectic bunch yet are:- Beauty empiress LIZ EARLE on goodness, guts and GMTV- Founder of the Oasis charity STEVE CHALKE on running a hairdressers', a library, a cafe... and basically it's like Sim City.- Peter Kay's Car Share co-creator TIM REID on what businesses can learn from...2017-06-2855 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast10 Robin Ince & co - Outliving the Brontes (& Pension Advice Thereafter)Excerpts from our live show mix with regular guests to bring you 7 excellent individuals from comedy, media, my street, and anyone else who dares to cross my path thinking they can get away without being stopped for a chitchat. Fresh from our live show, we get a bit more performative than usual, with two visits to Poetry Corner, as well as, well, this lot:- Poetic gloating from Radio 4's ROBIN INCE, on those he's overtaken age-wise- Genuinely useful financial tips from moneyman DOMINIC FRISBY- 'Being A Comic' by someone who is v...2017-05-0434 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast07 Revs Kate Bottley 'n' Richard Coles & co - The Butlers Did ItOur last of this series welcomes 3 comedians, 2 TV vicars, an acclaimed Muslim broadcaster and a robo-butler. As ever the guests are from comedy, entertainment, and my general (moveable) surroundings. Before we break for a wee while, let's enjoy tales of the comedy circuit and behind-the-scenes access to Radio 2's 'Pause For Thought' slot from 4 whole Pause-For-Thoughters, including...- Ex-Communard REV RICHARD COLES on his life ban with Hertz Car Rental- Journalist ABDUL-REHMAN MALIK on encountering Genesis (the band)- Musicomic ROSIE WILBY on Britpop and Brexit - the comedy circuit version- G...2017-02-0738 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast05 Jimmy Cricket & co - Roxette Around the Christmas TreeIt's Christmas! Tis the season to... lose the podcast you've just edited. So this is take 2 - and therefore forgive if it's a little bumpy & less polished. But it's still a festive cracker - taking in retro comedy from Blackadder to The Two Ronnies, via inside scoops from QI and The Apprentice... and a comedy legend in person:- JIMMY CRICKET on his wellie-boot-filled career- Comedian DAVE THOMPSON on being at the recording of Blackadder II- A festive song from GAV MILNTHORPE- QI elf STEVYN COLGAN's favourite fact...2016-12-1948 min
A Paul Kerensa Podcast01 Milton Jones & co - Elementary Guinea Pigs7 famous/unfamous/infamous guests chew over the following...- top comic MILTON JONES on ad companies having 'similar' jokes to him- Gogglebox's Rev KATE BOTTLEY on TV and vicardom- 2015's The Apprentice bronze runner-up RICHARD WOODS on Lord Sugar of Amstrad- moviemistakes.com's JON SANDYS on redundant keyboard keys- chum RUSS ANDERSON on the anti-helium- guerilla gardener RICHARD REYNOLDS on, well, guerrilla gardening- my 5yr old SON hears my most embarrassing moment everEnjoy/Listen/Rate/Thanks! www.heptagonclub.co.uk paul@paulkerensa.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.2016-09-2636 min