Working audio makers explain how their podcasts get built
Terry Lee, Senior Tutor in Radio and Audio at the University of Bedfordshire, interviews the people behind podcasts about football, boxing, fantasy football and audio drama. The conversations stay practical: how to plan a narrative, what changes when a show joins a network, and why one producer replays every upload at double speed.
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Fantastic Noise is made for the University of Bedfordshire's radio team, and Terry Lee, the university's Senior Tutor in Radio and Audio, introduces each guest. He describes the series as a way to bring industry voices to his students and to anyone else curious about how audio gets made. The guests make audio themselves, and the questions stay close to the work. Nicky Anderson, head of narrative at Stak, says narrative podcasting is always a balance between truth and a compelling story. She compares it to plaiting hair, with three strands woven through the whole piece: context, tension and character. She also describes laying a story out visually so the team could literally see its shape and move parts around. Luke Moore, Stak's co-founder and COO, joins her for that conversation. Ryan Dilks, a University of Bedfordshire graduate who co-hosts the championship football podcast Second Tier, explains what changed when the show became part of the Stak network. He says it now sounds more professional, gives more room to the banter between him and Justin, and has cut his workload. Asked whether he felt he had given up control of the brand, he said no. Sonny Madden took a different route: he was a YouTube content creator and now talks boxing with two friends on The Propa Podcast. He says their arguments are a big part of what makes people laugh. Terry Lee contrasts the trio with boxing coverage from people who have spent years in the sport, naming Steve Bunce. Grace Mailey, producer of the BBC's Fantasy 606, describes her production routine in useful detail. Her edit usually takes a couple of hours. A second editor then listens through before upload, and social media teams choose clips to promote the episode. She gives one tip that applies with or without BBC checks: play the uploaded episode back at double speed. Trevor Dann, introduced through his BBC roles at Radio 1, Radio 2 and GLR, remembers BBC Local Radio in the 1970s still acting as if it were the 1950s. Even so, he argues that audio offers far more opportunity now than before, and points to independent production companies making work for Spotify, Audible and Acast. Joel Emery, managing director of Holy Smokes, talks about The Offensive, a comedy drama that follows a fictional Premier League team week by week through the football season. Football and boxing come up so often that questions about structure, workflow and joining a network are frequently answered through sport shows. For story structure, start with the Stak conversation; for workflow, the Fantasy 606 episode; and for how radio work has changed, the Trevor Dann episode. The closing credits name a theme by Liam Ayton, remixed by Daniel Potter, both former University of Bedfordshire students.
Made for: Suits a listener who makes podcasts or radio, or wants to, and learns best from producers explaining specific choices: how to structure a story, how to organise an edit, and what joining a network involves.
What sets it apart: A university radio tutor keeps steering each conversation back to how the show was made, and many of the guests make sport audio. Championship football, fantasy football, boxing and a fictional Premier League club all become case studies in production.
A podcast about making radio, from the University of Bedfordshire. Join Terry Lee as we hear from experts and professionals talking about a variety of radio topics, as well as jargon-busting, and discussion exploring how we define what good audio is.
A playlist survey and a pronunciation klaxon: Terry Lee takes your curiosity behind both.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded look at narrative podcast production, where truth, tension, and practical uncertainty all shape the story.
Fantastic Noise uses a visit from Luke Moore, co-founder and COO of the Stack Network, and Nicky Anderson, head of narrative at Stack, to map the practical work behind podcast production.
A grounded look at how a sports podcast grows from radio side project into a full-time career.
Ryan Dilks's path from a sports journalism degree at the University of Bedfordshire, through radio, and into a full-time role on Second Tier gives this Fantastic Noise episode a useful education angle.
A candid review of how a YouTube creator turns fan-level boxing debate into an inviting podcast format.
Fantastic Noise follows Sonny Madden's shift from YouTube into long-form podcasting, using it to look at why conversational audio can hold an audience.
A grounded look at how Fantasy 606 turns production judgment, editorial care and community into a finished podcast.
Fantasy 606 gets treated as a working production story, with Grace Mailey tracing how the show moved from the original BBC 606 podcast into its own feed and found a loyal, lively audience.
A brisk, reflective conversation on radio's changing voice, tools and paths into production.
Trevor Dan's BBC work across Radio 1, Radio 2 and GLR gives this episode a clear route into how radio has changed: who gets to make it, what tools they use, and how presenters have learned to sound.
BBC Academy craft lessons, from phone settings to podcasting.
Radio Days Africa 2017, heard from the seats.
Héctor and Beto dissect Mexican grammar, slang, and news in native-speed Spanish conversations.
Small habit changes meet hands-on AI experiments.
["Luke Moore says Stack moved to Great Titchfield Street because YouTube is now the biggest discovery platform for podcasts and the old office could not support the visual standard they wanted.", "Terry Lee speaks with Stack co-founder and COO Luke Moore and head of narrative Nicky Anderson about how a football podcast business built shows like The Football Ramble, The Second Tier, Up Front, and Stack Legacy.", "Nicky explains that Dancing With Shadows grew from her ballet background into a six-episode story about New York City Ballet and was reshaped through interviews, whiteboard planning, and late changes.", "The conversation closes with advice about backing yourself, staying flexible, and learning from other shows such as West Cork, Death in Dubai, and Louis Theroux's recent interviews."]
Ryan Dilks says Second Tier began in 2019 because he and Justin could not find a Championship-specific podcast, and their first studio was a mattress, a blanket, and a spare bedroom.
Sonny Madden says a 2022 Eddie Hearn video took his YouTube channel from roughly 100 views to 100,000 views in a week.
Grace Mailey says Fantasy 606 is only about 20% advice and 80% humour, weekly stories, and listener-led banter.
Trevor Dan says BBC Radio 1's mid-1990s crisis came when its audience had 'halved,' forcing the station to reset its music and production staff.
Fantastic Noise host Terry Lee interviews Joel Emery of Holy Smokes about creating The Offensive, Jackie the Ripper, and Boom as podcast audio dramas.
Fantastic Noise host Terry Lee interviews BBC journalist and producer Georgia Coan about long-form audio, including series made for Radio 4, the World Service, and BBC Sounds.
Fantastic Noise interviews Jason Rosam, BBC Radio London’s Early Breakfast presenter, about making live radio between 5 a.m.
Radio X music programmer Leah Stonhill explains how a 25-to-45 target audience, guitar-led identity, and listener research shape the station's music policy.
Fantastic Noise host Terry Lee interviews audio producer Tony Chernside about BBC Radio 4’s 15-minute comedy series The Skewer, created by John Holmes and first piloted in 2019.
An interview with BBC journalist Dan Maudsley about creating the award-winning true crime podcast Paradise.
Exploring the world of radio and podcast content designed for young children and families, with insights from industry professionals.
This episode explores the art of audio storytelling with BBC podcast editor John Shields, discussing the importance of narrative in journalism.
This episode explores what makes good morning radio through an interview with the BBC Three Counties breakfast team.