Peter Jackson didn’t make anything new for Get Back. He unbaked the cake. Nerm (Shiva Soundsystem) has been DJing since 1996 and is no fan of machine-made music, but he says extractive AI, which pulls the voices and instruments out of an old mix, is a different story. He plays the before-and-after of The Beatles,...

“Listen love, you’re trying ever so hard.” Nigel Farage’s line to Mishal Husain (Bloomberg) was voted the Radio Times Moment of the Year at the ARIAS. Mishal and Louisa Lewis (Executive Producer at Bloomberg) tell Elizabeth Day (Host of How To Fail) what was going on behind it. They cover building an interview around three...

One young presenter wanted to be a nuclear engineer a year ago. Now she wants to run her own radio station. Dom Chambers (CEO of Sound Vision) explains why independent and local audio is bursting with opportunity, and Stephanie Hirst (DJ and Broadcaster) puts three specialists in the Mastermind chair: John Dash (Co-founder of Independent...

To Generation Alpha, nostalgia can mean something from three years ago, and Michael Jackson is brand new music. Pete Maginn (Managing Director of Commercial Insight at Beano Brain) and Ben Younie (Group Director at Beano Brain) reveal who Gen Alpha are, what makes a brand cool to them and how they discover music, from family...

An 85-year-old who still listens to the radio in his car, a Melbourne breakfast show that turned listeners’ wheelie bins into billboards, and a horse race run by people in horse costumes: James Cridland (Editor at Podnews) makes the case that the future of radio is people powered. Drawing on research into why listeners tune...

He took the chatter of a BBC newsroom and turned it into Brexitcast, Newscast and 85 million downloads. Laura Kuenssberg (BBC) surprises Dino Sofos (Founder at Persephonica) with a recorded tribute as he becomes the Audio Academy’s newest Fellow. Laura looks back from Radio Sheffield to the launch of Persephonica, The News Agents and the...

When Fleetwood Mac were falling apart making Rumours, Mick Fleetwood told the band to play on. Steve Jones (President of Stingray Radio) thinks that’s a lesson for every leader. Steve, who oversees 97 radio stations from Toronto, argues that what made rock bands great is what people now want from their bosses: hope, trust, compassion...

A Patreon subscriber can be worth 100 to 200 times more than a regular listener, says Martin Bojtos (Co-founder and CEO of Podmasters). He joins Matt Deegan (Partner at Folder Media and Podcast Discovery) for a live recording of The Media Club, alongside Laura Fisher (Audio and Entertainment Analyst at MIDiA Research) on why young...

Almost half of podcast listeners have room for just two or three shows a week. So what makes yours worth making room for? Grace Jasper (Audience Research Manager at BBC) and Georgie Cavendish (Senior Audience Planner at BBC Audio) from BBC Audiences dig into the data. They look at the gender gap in listening, what...

Greg James (BBC Radio 1) would rather put a brilliant listener on air than a movie star, and after eight days on a tandem for Red Nose Day, he has the proof. In conversation with Jeremiah Asiamah (BBC Radio 1), Greg goes back to breakfast radio in his mum’s car, hospital radio and a slightly...

“Guess who’s holding their hand right now? The algorithm.” Bobby Friction (BBC Asian Network) makes the case for the John Peels of the future, while Michael Aldag (Singer-songwriter), who built 1.4 million TikTok followers, argues the algorithm can be democratic. Hosted by Dellessa James (Senior Artist Relations Manager at Amazon Music), with Danielle Perry (Absolute...

The first stand-up gig by Alfie Moore (Comedian and Broadcaster) was a dare from his wife. Now police training centres as far away as Canada buy his Radio 4 show to train their officers. He tells Jon Harvey (Comedian, Writer and Broadcaster) how It’s a Fair Cop went from a Portakabin at the Edinburgh Fringe...

Victoria Glover (Hits Radio) recorded almost every sound in her ARIAS Gold-winning series herself, from door slams to the hum of the television downstairs, so listeners would hear her story as she lived it. My Stalker Moved In Next Door is her own account of being cyberstalked by a stranger, and of the system that...

Some TikToks about the Diddy trial passed 20 million views, and some of what they claimed was never heard in court. Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty (Presenter at the BBC) tells Jane Mulkerrins (Associate Editor at The Times Magazine) how Fame Under Fire, Gold winner for Best Speech Entertainment at the 2026 ARIAS, fights back by being “loud...

Elis James (Co-founder of Significant Productions) has a 49% success rate at finding a mutual acquaintance with a Welsh stranger in 60 seconds, which he says puts him just below Roger Federer. He and Dave Masterman (Director at Significant Productions) explain how the Cymru Connection grew from a 20-second chat with a listener in Japan...

Steve Jones (President of Stingray Radio) admits it annoys him that anyone still asks whether radio matters. Simon Myciunka (CEO of Bauer Audio UK) points out that 87% of the UK still tunes in to live radio every week. Hosted by Sophie K (Presenter at Kerrang! Radio), the pair compare notes from the UK and...

Clive Dickens (Managing Partner at Meliora) declaring the end of AI slop, Greg James (BBC Radio 1) choosing listeners over megastars, and Elizabeth Day (Host of How To Fail) and Mishal Husain (Bloomberg) in a mutual appreciation society: Nick Pitts (Chair at the Audio Academy) runs through the moments that defined the Audio Academy Festival...

Hits Radio was given five minutes with Chris Martin (Coldplay). They charmed him into 20, then turned it into a Sunday special. Paul Gerrard (Content Director at Hits Radio) and Steph Hill (Head of Content at Hits Radio) tell Matt Deegan (Partner at Folder Media) how moments like that helped win UK Station of the...

“Find a story, find the people and ensure it will still be there in a hundred years’ time.” Gwyneth Williams (Former Controller of BBC Radio 4) presents an Audio Academy Fellowship to Dr Tony Phillips (Former Vice President at WNYC Studios), the man behind The Listening Project. She charts his career from actor to BBC...

There was even a hashtag for England fans listening in bed at 2am: go to bed with John Murray. Ade Oladipo (Broadcaster at talkSPORT and DAZN) asks Liam Fisher (Head of talkSPORT), Heidi Dawson (Controller of BBC Radio 5 Live) and Jon Gill (General Manager, Sport at Goalhanger) who really won the 2026 World Cup...

94% of people use the BBC every month, but only 80% of households pay the licence fee. Rhodri Talfan Davies (Deputy Director-General of the BBC) tells Katie Thistleton (BBC Radio 1) how that gap is shaping the corporation’s audio plans, from far more visualised audio to protecting the big live shows. He also explains why...

The Audio Academy Festival had a fifth stage, and it came with orange microphones. Neev Spencer (Presenter at Magic Radio) and Nick Bright (Presenter at KISS) open the day on the Festival Stage and hand over to the hosts running the rest of the building: Katie-Louise Buxton (Presenter and Music Journalist) on the Impact Stage,...

75% of viewers had gone within 12 seconds of the video promoting his MF DOOM documentary. That’s why Adam Batty (Journalist, Presenter and Producer) put this panel together. Steve Lamacq (Presenter at BBC Radio 6 Music), Katie-Louise Buxton (Presenter, Producer and Music Journalist), Niall Smith (Founder of The Culture Crypt) and Laura Fisher (Audio and...

She thought she was on her way to check the three o’clock session. Instead, Bobby Friction (BBC Asian Network) handed Perminder Khatkar (True Thought Productions) an Audio Academy Fellowship, the Academy’s highest honour. Bobby looks back on a career of investigative and documentary journalism across BBC local radio, the Asian Network, 5 Live and Radio...