In February and March 2021, a small group of participants took part in an activism podcast making course with ONCA, facilitated by Billie Eliot. Below, you can see and listen to some of the podcasts. Enjoy!

Resistance is Fertile – by Alice Owen 

Resistance is Fertile is a podcast series exploring the places where protests against polluting projects have become living experiments in different ways of organising community life and relating to nature. In this episode we visit Grow Heathrow which, at the time of visiting back in January 2018, was a squat on the outskirts of London breathing new life into 4 acres of disused land directly in the path of Heathrow Airport’s proposed third runway. Our guides show us around Grow Heathrow, sharing the history of the site and their own experiences and impressions of this alternative life. What inspiration for our own lives and communities can we find here? And what kinds of challenges emerge when you try to live in ways which challenge some of the deeply ingrained root assumptions of our resource-hungry and deeply unjust society? Contains some strong language.

Click here for the podcast transcript 

The Moon Blood Diaries – by Annie Elliott

This podcast explores the stories and experiences of menstruation with a collection of poems and reflections from women and people who menstruate. Through the immersive landscape of ethereal vocal loops from Annie Elliott and folk songs, this podcast takes a deep dive into the ‘red sea’ of intimate and raw accounts. It is a document and exploration of the taboos, shame, the pain, connection to ancestors, how patriarchal society has affected women and people who menstruate, and stories of menstruation empowerment, gender and inclusivity and discovering cycle tracking.

With contributions from Jaimie-Lee Willoughby, Gigi Yuna Jacqueline, Angharad Iris, Amelia Rowe, Joanna Miles, Chantelle Blackwood, Fy, Ramona Flowers, Jennifer Rén, Harriet Evans, Kirsty Robinson. Grandmother Song sung by Gigi Yuna Jacqueline, Kubi May, Joanna Miles, Annie Elliott. Music by Annie Elliott and ‘Crimson Lullabies’ by Gigi Yuna Jacqueline. Producer/ Director Annie Elliott

Moon Blood painting by Gigi Yuna Jacqueline

Click here for the podcast transcript 

Home Sayings – by Simmone Ahiaku 

The Home Sayings Podcast looks at different proverbs/sayings and phrases that our family members have said to us throughout our lives that have stuck with us and shaped us. Together, we’ll explore their meanings, how they apply to our lives and most importantly, if it’s a home saying we’ll be passing onto the generations after us? For many cultures, stories, oral histories and proverbs are ways we make an understanding of the world, people and their array of characters. These are often passed on through word of mouth, from generation to generation shaping each person it’s said to. Through understanding these sayings, we can explore the meaning of the proverb, why it has stuck with the guest, how they apply it to their lives and most importantly, if it is a saying they’ll be passing onto their children. This podcast will uncover popular sayings from different cultures across the globe and explore their meanings with the people from those communities. This is a teaser trailer for the upcoming series .

Click here for the podcast trailer transcript 

Humble – Audio Essays by Teresa Borasino 

Humble is a journey through people’s experiences, feelings and practices around the concepts of humility and interdependence. Interdependence is the fundamental condition of life. It is the idea that all entities that make up the world are so deeply interrelated that they have no intrinsic, separate existence by themselves. Humility brings us back to the nutrients of the soil. It is the connection of mutual care from which all beings emerge and grow.  The word humility comes from Latin and means humus and soil.

Experience is deeply affected by the way we label it. These essays are an attempt to bring the life-nurturing and relational understanding of life to the forefront. I hope they can be like medicine that heals the divisions upon which we currently organize society: nature / humanity, emotion / reason, and subject / object.

Listen to the first short audio essay with contributions by Emily Bates, Daniel Macmillen Voskoboynik, Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti and Teresa Borasino.

Click here for the podcast transcript 

My Queer Museum – by David Sheppeard and Roni Guetta

A collection of stories and objects that won’t end up in a traditional museum! David Sheppeard and Roni Guetta interview some of their favourite queer people in Brighton and Hove about the objects they would put in a Queer Museum if there was one. A collection of personal stories, crucial historical moments for the LGBTQ+ community, political and personal struggles, are told through loved objects and memorabilia.

In this episode, Janet tells Roni and David which are the objects that would best tell her personal queer story. Janet Jones grew up in West Yorkshire and lives in Brighton. She is a writer, queer and disability-rights activist, film maker, and all round source of many stories and anecdotes. In this interview Janet talks about her youth, self-discovery, writing and performing during the AIDS crisis, activism, death, life, and joy!

Recorded on October 20, 2020, on Janet’s balcony in Brighton
Interview by: Roni Guetta and David Sheppeard
Editing and original music by Olive Mondegreen

You can find out more about Roni Guetta and David Sheppeard’s work to keep the queer community alive through recent downfall with their queer community archive project, Queer Heritage South. 

Click here for the podcast transcript

______

If you are interested in taking a podcast making course or getting some 1:1 guidance from Billie, get in contact via her website.

Participant testimonials

“I always struggle with choosing one direction – and the anxiety of saying goodbye to the other thousands of possible directions. The process of this course was very useful for me to be able to choose and execute one concept while keeping the freedom and openness to experiment and learn. This is just the beginning!” – Teresa Borasino

“The step-by-step podcasting classes were accessible and empowering! Through the exercises Billie gives us the complex elements of podcasting in a very clear way which allows us to be confident in our own choices whilst benefiting from her experience and guidance.” – Alice Owen

“The course has been super informative & beginner friendly- I had no podcast experience and the course taught me more about how to structure an engaging podcast and to think of my target audience better. The group was lovely & Billie is really great at getting us to think through our concepts so we understand how to make podcasts better.”- Simmone Ahiaku

“It’s been such an inspiring course! Really enjoyed the course structure of the sessions and the quickfire engaged writing and brainstorming activities. I also think Billie guides and holds space really well as a leader and encourages and helps you to think about what’s best for each individual and for them to come to their own decision. Really enjoying having a space where I can come back to every week, I really valued the group sharing space and engaged sessions massively.” – Annie Elliott

photo credit: Alice Owen. Artist unknown/ Grow Heathrow, Sipson