A Grain of Wheat
John Yorke examines an African literary classic, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's A Grain of Wheat. It's a novel set in the four days leading up to Kenya's Independence celebrations in 1963, but, through the viewpoints of multiple characters in flashback, we learn about the horrors inflicted upon Kenyans by the British in the decades prior. When your people have been systematically starved, beaten, tortured and murdered, what does hope look like?
Ursula Le Guin
Afterwords is an occasional series for BBC Radio 3 that invites you to spend time with some of our greaters writers and their ideas, through archive and interviews with people that knew, loved and admired them. It's safe to say Ursula K Le Guin is my Aunty now. I'm so privileged to have encountered her wisdom, delight and courage. And she ran with a great crowd; these were some of the most enjoyable conversations I've had in forever.
Crossings
Crossings is the story of Sahid, an incredible young man searching for safety from Sierra Leone to Strasbourg. Forced to leave home under threat of violence, he crosses the desert, and the Mediterranean Sea. But when he finally reaches Europe, he is illegally detained, and must flee aross borders again.
Democracy in America
John Yorke takes a look at Alexis de Tocqueville's seminal work, Democracy in America. What, almost 200 years after it was first published, can it tell us about America today?
Brazilian Modernist Godfather
Katie Derham explores her secret family connection to the Brazilian modernist movement of the 1920s, in which icolonoclastic poets and composers reshaped Brazilian national identity.
DIG Awards
Delighted to have had County Lines chosen as a finalist at the DIG festival 2023, where prizes are given to the best international journalistic, audio and video productions, selected from more than 400 entries.
Listen to Lights Out: County Lines here
Lights Out: County Lines
Four people talk about their involvement with county lines drugs gangs, who exploit children and vulnerable adults to traffic drugs around the UK. We spoke to so many incredible people for this documentary, and it's insane to me that more isn't being done to curb this wholesale exploitation of people happening every day across the country.
Hendrix: Everything but the Guitar
A one hour documentary I made for BBC Radio 4's Archive on 4 slot, featuring Leon Hendrix, David Harrington, Sarita Cannon, Paul Gilroy, Rowetta and Hanif Abdurraqib.
Audio Production Awards
Delighted to pick up Best New Producer and be nominated for Best Factual Producer at the Audio Production Awards 2022.
Lights Out: The Last Taboo
So proud and excited to see that Sophie Olson's story, produced by Phoebe and I, is nominated for an ARIA!!! We are in such incredible company here, it's a massive honour. And - it's a proper night out! UPDATE: We got Silver! Woo hoo!
A breath of fresh air
In search of something unashamedly feel-good after a long winter, Phoebe and I played in the BBC archive for this micro feature for Short Cuts.
How can we best describe pain?
In another collaboration with Phoebe McIndoe we explore pain, and the ways in which people living with pain are boxed in by the language we use. Featuring the incredible artist Matilda Glen.
We rarely talk about childhood sexual abuse. We should.
I was honoured to work with Sophie, Founder of The Flying Child Project for this story about the ways in which the trauma of childhood sexual abuse ripples through survivors' lives.
I was thrilled to interview Courttia Newland for an episode of Short Cuts on BBC Radio4. His novel, A River Called Time is an expansive work of speculative fiction that imagines a world where slavery and colonialism never happened and where a blend of traditional world beliefs have come to underpin the workings of every day life.
Axel Kacoutié was our guest for episode 2 of Telling Stories. He challenged us to name an emotion and then make a piece telling the world how that emotion would sing.
Arlie Adlington challenged us to make a piece that involved a sonic transfer from one location to another, inspired by The International Trans Person Helpline, first produced for the Dig.
I lost my sister to cancer. It completely changed me. Before she died I created a fantasy world for myself where I would be able to write my way out of my grief (reader, I couldn't, and I didn't), and during that desperate period, I pitched this to Broccoli Content.
In 2019 I received the Royal Geographical Society’s Journey of a Lifetime Award, in association with BBC Radio 4. I recreated a journey my mother made 50 years before, travelling across the Ethiopian Highlands to Lalibela and its magnificent rock-hewn churches.