Time to whet your appetite and dish up new episodes!
We look ahead to The Publisher Podcast Awards, and serve you a new episode of Scran
Another week gone, and it’s time to whet your appetite once again about the latest servings from Laudable.
So pull up a chair, unfold your napkin, and tuck in to this week’s Laudable Podcasts newsletter.
I’m Dan McLaughlin, your waiter for this evening, but we are serving many courses from our team of highly trained chefs.
Matt Millard, our podcast producer in Birmingham, reflects on the challenges of recording podcasts during the pandemic, and looks ahead to The Publisher Podcast Awards.
Morven McIntyre, our producer in Edinburgh, discusses the new episode of Scran, our hit food and drink podcast.
And we are clinking glasses as the opening episode of The North in Numbers Series 2 is now available on Apple and Spotify.
So let’s serve up the latest podcasts from Laudable, and give you a taste of The Publisher Podcast Awards next week.
First, to Matt Millard, with this hors d'oeuvre…
The Publisher Podcast Awards: less than one week to go!
It’s T-minus 5 days until The Publisher Podcast Awards, and we are very excited!
Laudable received an incredible 10 nominations for our podcasts: from Alone Together to Scran, The Brink to The Menopod, The North Poll to The North in Numbers, and more!
We truly cannot wait for the online ceremony this Wednesday. The awards, for us, and indeed many others I’m sure, are a welcome beam of positivity, coinciding with the easing of Covid restrictions we are currently experiencing here in England.
As with many other professions, it’s been an incredibly challenging year for podcasting.
Whether it’s delivering entertaining audio productions in remote and often less than ideal locations, or relying on dodgy internet connections.
There have been virtual interviews, virtual meetings, virtual training sessions, virtual everything… and of course a general lack of real human interaction, which often makes a great podcast interview.
Nevertheless, here at Laudable, we’ve powered through these turbulent times, and our producers and hosts have turned living rooms, bedrooms, home offices and wardrobes into make-shift studios.
We have problem-solved our hearts out and we have continued to deliver top-tier podcasts throughout the pandemic.
I’d even go as far to say that we’ve released some of our strongest work yet!
So now, as a light flickers at the end of what has sometimes seemed an endless tunnel, UK Covid restrictions begin to ease, Spring sunshine is gracing beer gardens across the land, and Laudable is in the running for a number of awards.
It sure is hard not to smile and look forward to the growing future and possibilities in audio journalism.
A big thank you to the producers, hosts, incredible guests and you, the listeners, that make our shows what they are.
The Publisher Podcast Awards will be held next Wednesday at 4:30pm. For more information on the streamed event and details on how to grab tickets click here.
- Matt Millard
Morven McIntyre serves the next course on our menu: the latest episode of Scran…
Scran: rich in history and looking to the future
Scran, our hit food and drink podcast, continues to plate up the best dishes and toast with the finest drinks, and this week’s episode is poured to perfection.
Whisky and Scotland are often synonymous, and this latest story, like both the country and the beverage, is rich in history, whilst keeping one eye on the future, too.
Rosaline Erksine, the food and drink writer for The Scotsman, is joined by Arbikie co-founder Iain Stirling in our latest chat.
Iain chats about how his family have farmed the land - on the east coast of Angus - for centuries - and why he and his brothers decided to establish a distillery on site.
Iain also discusses Nadar, the business's climate positive pea spirits, as well as their foray into single malt whisky after the success of their rye whisky.
Iain said:
"We are looking at an 18-year-old as a launch so we are giving it a long time to rest, relax and be the best it can be.
I think the most important thing is that we know which fields it was grown in, we know which barley varieties it was grown of, we know which it's casks going in - we're in control of so much of that provenance."
Tune in to find out more about Arbikie and how the crops are instrumental in the taste of their alcoholic beverages.
- Morven McIntytre
The North in Numbers is on Apple and Spotify!
This week has seen the return of pubs in England, albeit beer gardens. With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, pub-goers have been shivering outside their locals, enjoying a pulled pint for the first time in months.
For many pubs, April 12 provided a welcome relief from such a difficult and dark period after being forced to close their doors, some for the final time.
The North in Numbers host Annie Gouk speaks to owners about their fight for survival during one of the toughest times the industry has ever faced.
She discusses industry trends with hospitality experts and people running pubs and bars up and down the north, exploring long term issues, recent booms, and of course, the impact of the pandemic.
The North in Numbers is the podcast that looks at the human stories behind the statistics. The opening episode of the second series is now available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Whether you are enjoying a pint this weekend (do drink responsibly) or still waiting for your boozer to reopen, listen to ‘Pubs and bars: The heart of the community, fighting for survival’ from The North in Numbers team.
Laudable Podcasts serves a smörgåsbord of dishes for any palette: from food and drink to politics, health to true crime, and more.
Our menu certainly deserves the podcast equivalent of a Michelin star. So fingers crossed for The Publisher Podcast Awards next week! It’s a privilege to be shortlisted, and it would be an honour to win an award.
Why not give our podcasts a listen ahead of the virtual ceremony? And decide which shows you believe should make the cut.
In the meantime, stay safe, stay positive, stay informed, and stay tuned.
- Dan McLaughlin