BBC Radio 4 iPM
For nine years I co-hosted an award winning BBC Radio 4 show with Eddie Mair called iPM.
It was a 24 minute documentary show and one of the first BBC podcasts. We told real-life stories every week, all year round. We mixed interviews, narrative storytelling and round table conversation. I helped launch the show and develop its tone and style.
I produced stories, interviewed guests, scripted the show and co-hosted with one of the most skilled and imaginative UK broadcasters, Eddie Mair. And I worked with brilliant Radio 4 producers to craft remarkable and compelling stories to a weekly deadline.
Stories varied from complex, legal and high-risk journalism to warm, intimate storytelling with humour wherever we could find it. We covered lots of subjects. I made over 400 shows, some selected stories here. On my last show, we made a programme about my work and some of the remarkable people I’ve spoken to.
Selected NARRATED STORIES
Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown: Life story of test pilot who was friends with Neil Armstrong, witnessed the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, interrogated Nazis and faced death eleven times.
'I want my pacemaker switched off’: 71-year-old woman asks for her pacemaker to be switched off but doctors deny her request as they believe it will be euthanasia. I investigated her case and her health board later agreed to meet her request. I made three programmes across two years.
‘Going Behind the Sun’: (Syrian phrase for being ‘disappeared’ by President Assad’s secret police): three stories of Syrian refugees who’d recently arrived in Istanbul.
NHS and The Net Promoter Score (NPS): How an idea developed ten years ago by two American businessmen ended up posted on the wall of every English NHS hospital. NPS is widely used in business and asks the customer how likely they are to recommend a product or service to someone else. I looked at its effect within a health setting.
Radicalisation: After seven people from the Belgian neighbourhood of Molenbeek were arrested for terrorist attacks in Paris, we visited the area. We talked to residents and an anthropologist and President of Foyer, a centre which works for the integration of minorities in Molenbeek.
Romania: what happened to the children who grew up in Ceaușescu orphanages after the Romanian Revolution? We spoke to several families.
SELECTED INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS
Mayer Hersh: Holocaust survivor on 30 years of silence and overcoming his grief, nightmares and guilt by reliving his experience again and again through giving public talks.
Richard Bizley: Born profoundly deaf, Richard had a cochlear implant fitted aged 51 and was astounded at being able to hear for the first time.
Lydia Guthrie: Psychologist who pioneered treatment programmes for sex offenders. Shortlisted for The Nick Clark Award: celebrating the art of broadcast interviews.
Scottish independence referendum: Hosted discussion on identity between an Englishman (living in Scotland) who voted yes and a Scotsman who voted no. One of the biggest responses we ever had to the show.
Why Stalkers, Stalk? After featuring a story of a woman who was stalked for over ten years by a ‘family friend’ who ultimately tried to kill her and her husband, I spoke to a woman who works with stalkers about the psychology behind why they do it.
Norwell Roberts: Interview with the man who became Britain's first black police officer in 1967.
Divorce law: Interview with a woman wanting a change in the law after discovering she is unable to divorce her unfaithful husband for adultery because he is gay.