UniPodFest inspired me to become a podcaster

I am a podcaster, I have been since recording the pilot of The Fat Psychologist in September 2024. I will launch my podcast on 4 April 2025, almost 6 months after recording the pilot. And I have chosen the date to coincide with UniPodFest as it was the event that inspired me to think this was something I could be.

What is UniPodFest?
THE Podcast Festival for Birmingham, UK... and I would say the West Midlands. In my opinion, it is also the podcast festival for diverse podcasters. I am honoured that the festival was created and continues to be directed by my dear friend Nina Robinson. Nina has extensive experience as an journalist, working internationally with BBC World service. She is passionate about supporting diverse voices in media and her company Soundtruism demonstrates her commitment though training and production in telling diverse & authentic stories. UniPodFest has always focused in showcasing the amazing work of people from all backgrounds.

My experience
I have participated in the two initial festivals, as a participant and delivering workshops to support the festival's aims. I was expecting to contribute, I did not expect to learn as much as I have. It has been inspiring.

In 2023 my favourite events were Sangeeta Pillai's keynote about her Masala Podcast, Roifield Brown's workshop on engaging audiences in our podcasts, and Bernard P Achapong's masterclass on making stories through sounds. Some of the tricks of the trade I picked on the day from Bernard were to use music to support your story (it can replace parts of the script, for punctuation, or to create a mood), to keep it simple, and to use silence and ambient sounds to show what I don't need to say. I was amazed at how Roifield invites his audience to be part of his podcasts, by asking them to record sections and sounds. I particularly loved that each episode of his podcast Dumpteedum starts with the audience singing. Sangeeta said: "a podcast makes you not feel lonely"... I admired her amazing work giving voices to women from South East Asian backgrounds on Masala Podcast and her experience inspired me to find my voice.

In 2024 I enjoyed hearing tips from Emma Conway's Brummy Mummy of 2 podcast and hearing Perminder Khatkar and Poonam Taneja talk about how to tell podcast stories, reflecting on Poonam's experience recording Bloodlines. The event finished with a tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah, what else do you need for a perfect day? My favourite happening of the day was meeting Manish Verma, who was also attending the event. To me, this proves the power of networking and serendipity. Manish is an amazing producer and I cannot express how much his support has meant in producing the pilot episode for the podcast. From our first chat he was interested in my ideas and believed I should follow my passion. He guided me in defining my vision and having a clear focus for my work. He recorded and edited the episode too!

Will you join me?
UniPodFest is coming to Birmingham once again on 4 April 2025. I hope to meet you there. I expect there are many exciting new collaborations and learning opportunities waiting for us.