Our weird and wonderful programme “Journey Through a Cow” is out on the Illuminated podcast feed or on Radio 4.
Our producer Katie Revell had fun finding ways to create the soundscape of a cow’s digestive system, from the ground, to the mouth, through several sections of stomach, and back out as dung.
We couldn’t get a microphone physically inside the stomach, so we used contact mics, sound design and some farm visits, to transport the listener there instead.
We’re audio lovers, and so this project was a perfect opportunity to make the most of sound’s storytelling potential.
Ridiculously chuffed to be heading back to Edinburgh with the silver award for ‘Production Company of the Year’ at last night’s @weareaudiouk #AudioProductionAwards.
A brilliant night. Great to see lots of old friends and radio pals.
A huge thanks and well done to all the @bespoken_uk team - Carys, @prwallace92 , @_katierevell , @ailish_hunter and all the freelancers who work with us.
And well done to the category winners @prisonradiouk (what a night you guys had!) and @fallingtreeproductions who took Bronze (just to be in a category with Falling Tree, the absolute best of the best, feels ludicrous to me).
Also - huge props and thanks to the AudioUK team who make these awards so special, year in and year out!
It’s official, Made In Scotland returns next week for Season 2!
On Thursday 22nd, we kick off a new round of brilliant Scottish podcasts and audio storytelling.
This series showcases a rich mix of work spanning history, fiction, mental health, and comedy, showcasing the depth and diversity of Scotlands audio scene.
We can’t wait to share these pieces with you!
Made In Scotland is a platform to find creative podcasts and sound works from the Scottish audio community. It is produced by Bespoken Media, with support from AudioUK.
A MASSIVE moment for our sector! The shortlists for the first ever Scottish Podcast Awards are out.
It's so cool to see - not just the nominations, but the excited posts on social media. People are chuffed to get their graft and skill recognised - and rightly so...
Huge congrats to everyone shortlisted - especially the **12** nominations for **seven** different Bespoken Media projects and clients. 🎉
Here are all our shortlisted projects and their categories!
Shami's Speakeasy - shortlisted in:
- Best Video Podcast
- News, Politics & Current Affairs
Antonia Gospel's 'A Northerner's Guide to London' for BBC Radio 4 - shortlisted in:
- Fiction and Drama
- Scotland's Emerging Talent
Antonia was our wonderful @multitrackfellowship fellow last year, and made this short scripted comedy with us for Radio 4.
A History of Scottish Drama in Six Plays by @fergus_morgan - shortlisted in History, Folklore and Heritage
Blether Together with Farmstrong Scotland - shortlisted in:
- Sex, Family & Relationships
- Best Interview
Jonathan Webb's 'The Findhorn Garden' for BBC Radio 4 - shortlisted in History, Folklore and Heritage
My Family, Mental Illness... and Me for the Our Time charity - shortlisted in:
- Best Interview
- Sex, Family & Relationships
New Frontiers for Scotland's Veterans Wellbeing Alliance - shortlisted in:
- Best Interview
- Best Podcast Artwork
Many more of the shortlisted pods have also been showcased on our Made In Scotland podcast series - that we make to showcase and share the amazing work of indie creators and teams across Scotland.
We've just wrapped on series 2 of Made in Scotland - so if you want to get the jump on who might be shortlisted next year, go listen and subscribe!
Finally - another nod to the organisers of the @scottishpodcastawards , Corrine, Scot and Mark at Sixty Steps Productions. They're doing great work for all of us!
What connects:
The rights of delivery riders and gig economy workers, the communities, businesses and ecology of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, a cow’s digestion system and the BBC’s north of England HQ in Salford? Answer: they’ve all been a part of @Bespoken_UK ’s work in the last month or so.
Ahead of the Scottish parliamentary elections, the gig workers’ and delivery riders group Workers’ Observatory have created 5 podcasts - to advocate for better rights and support. We recorded their episodes, and looked after hosting and distribution.
The Royal Society and Lancaster University asked us to create a series capturing voices from the communities around the Yorkshire Three Peaks - with a focus on the area’s unique geology and fragile ecology. This has been a fascinating project, and we can’t wait to get this series live.
Our Radio 4 programme ‘Journey Through a Cow’ received enthusiastic reviews and responses when it was broadcast earlier this month. A farmer, a cheesemaker, a philosopher and a scientist take us on a guided tour through the incredible digestive system of a cow. This one is best listened to with headphones (and maybe not while eating).
And we’ve been down to Salford, to the BBC’s north of England headquarters outside Manchester, for the launch of the 2026 Indie Development Fund. We’re delighted to have won money and mentoring as recipients of the fund. It’s a fantastic, genuinely supportive move by the BBC to build better relationships with indies and suppliers, and to diversify the pool of people who get to make BBC programmes.
Just a taster of the sorts of things we’ve been involved with. Much more to come very soon!
Our weird and wonderful programme “Journey Through a Cow” is out today on the Illuminated podcast feed or on Radio 4 at 7:15pm 🐄
It’s part documentary and part creative interpretation - a perfect opportunity to lean into the possibilities of audio storytelling.
Our guides take us on a journey from deep in the soil, through a plant, into a cow’s mouth, through her four stomach compartments – home to vast civilisations of bacteria, protozoa and fungi – and, of course, out the other end. Finally, the cow is milked and her dung is devoured by microorganisms, who turn it back into soil – starting the cycle again.
Journey Through a Cow was produced by Katie Revell and exec’d by Carys Wall from Bespoken.
The sound designer was Ev Buckley.
Yet more awards news!
Our podcast series for the BBC World Service, Bill Walton's The Grateful Team, has reached the last 10 of the International Sports Press Association's Sport Media Awards. Our on-the-group reporter, Rita Stankeviciute called this award the "Oscars of sports journalism", so fingers crossed! We're one of the only two UK projects who've reached this 'final 10' stage.
This project took literally years (and the presenter Bill Walton sadly passed away during production) so we're really delighted to see it get some recognition. It tells the story of the Lithuanian men's basketball team who took '92 Olympics by storm, with huge effort and campaigning from the players themselves, and a little tie-dyed support from rock band The Grateful Dead.
You might have seen that the first ever Scottish Podcast Awards are open for applications. Exciting times for Scottish audio!
However, plenty of podcasting is done on a shoestring - by people whose creativity and passion for their project isn't matched by access to ready cash.
For many, the fee for entering awards can be a huge barrier to entry.
We want every creator who wants to take part in the awards to get their chance for recognition and success - so we've agreed with SPA organisers Sixty Steps Productions that we'll pay the entry fees for people who need that help.
The Bespoken Media Scotland Fund is open to any individual podcaster. You just have to apply via the Scottish Podcast Awards website.
We've had to cap it, so please apply soon, before we run out of places.
We've been so busy, we totally forgot Bespoken's 6th birthday last week!
We have come a long way since it was just Dave editing podcasts at his kitchen table in that first year.
The business launched in January 2020, Covid shut down the country a month or so later, and actually - Dave's wife Amy was diagnosed with stage-4 lymphoma just a couple of weeks later.
(She's fine now - thanks in particular to NHS Scotland, and the amazing cancer care charity Maggie’s).
To our very first clients - Scene and Herd, Local Zero, Scotland Starts Here, the Sarah Wiseman Art Gallery, and Grazia Magazine:
We salute you! Thanks very much for getting us started!
Today, we are a core team of 5 - video and audio producers, podcast and storytelling specialists, and craft editors.
We are also supported by a kickass team of freelance producers, engineers, composers and technicians. Each one is brilliant, we wouldn't be without them.
Year 5 was our biggest yet - but year 6 is shaping up to be just as busy and brilliant.
Belated happy birthday to us - and watch this space for more great stuff to come!
How can we build a sustainable and thriving podcasts and audio industry in Scotland?
This is the question we are looking to answer - or at least explore - at this brilliant event in Edinburgh on Thursday 29th Jan - from 4-8pm at the Lookout at the Edinburgh Futures Institute.
This free event is a great opportunity to hear about the latest developments in Audiotrain, learn from an excellent lineup of industry speakers and connect with AudioUK members and the wider podcasting and audio community in Edinburgh with informal networking and drinks.
📩 To book your place, email Juliette Nicholls at [email protected]
📍Thursday 29 January | 5.00–8.00pm
📍The Lookout, Edinburgh Futures Institute
We're thrilled to be joined by these brilliant speakers:
Panel Discussion: How Can We Build a Thriving and Sustainable Podcasting and Audio Industry in Scotland?
With Andy Everett, Managing Editor for Scotland and Wales, Global; Corrinne Gardiner, Co-Founder and Director, Sixty Steps Productions; Ashley Smith Hammond, Creative Scotland; David Howard, Founder, Bespoken Media - Podcasts Scotland and Elizabeth (Lizzy) Clark, Head of Production, BBC Audio Scotland and Northern Ireland
Fireside Chat: From Podcast to Community – Turning a Podcast into a Sustainable Creative Business
With Lesley Riddoch, Host of The Lesley Riddoch Podcast; Richard Melvin, Director and Producer, DABSTER PRODUCTIONS LIMITED and Sam Baker, Host of The Shift podcast
See for full access to Audiotrain masterclasses in podcasting and audio.
What a year! Bespoken just wrapped its biggest chapter so far, filled with wins, nominations, and huge milestones — all from our mighty team of five!
We’re the best there is at what we do and you won’t find a friendlier, more supportive bunch anywhere than our creative, approachable team.
If you want help with a podcast - whether you want to work long term with production partners or are looking for training or consultancy - get in touch anytime.
