Shows / The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
100 Years of the BBC, Radio and Life as We Know It. Be informed, educated and entertained by the amazing true story of radio’s forgotten pioneers. With host Paul Kerensa, great guests and rare archive from broadcasting’s golden era. Original music by Will Farmer. www.paulkerensa.com/oldradio
Episodes
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#129 Orson Welles' War of the Worlds and a 1930s BBC Ghost Story
30 October 1938 - 88 years ago precisely before this podcast lands - something else landed too, according to Orson Welles. US radio listeners were terrified as…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#128 The First Muslim and Gaelic BBC Broadcasts
In the first week of December 1923, the one-year-old British Broadcasting Company gave us two notable firsts, from different cultures: Its first Gaelic…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#127 Gertrude Jennings' Five Birds in a Cage - The BBC's First Comedy Drama
The BBC's first: in-house drama for adults non-Shakespeare drama comedy drama studio production of a modern stage play drama to be reviewed on air writer to be…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#126 The BBC Goes Transatlantic… and Shortwave Radio
26 November-2 December 1923, and the BBC and the USA had a little conversation. Well, a big conversation, across an ocean, across a week, heard by listeners…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#125 The BBC's First Relay Station: Sheffield 6FL and Fred Lloyd
We're back in our moment-by-moment timeline of British broadcasting's early days, and it's just after the BBC's first birthday... 16 November 1923: Sheffield…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#124 Broadcasting House 1932: Palace of the Ether - with Dr Elizabeth Darling
Broadcasting House, 1932: The BBC's first purpose-built home. When it first opened, some likened it to a ship, others to a New York skyscraper. And it was once…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#123 The Archers Live at 75 + What Would You Cut at the BBC?
On 1 January 1951, the BBC broadcast "a farming Dick Barton", aka "an everyday story of country folk", aka The Archers - the world's longest running broadcast…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#122 The Birth of Television and The End of Radio 4 Longwave
On this special episode, we delve into early television with Professor John Wyver, whose book and conference is all about those overlooked decades of Stooky…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#121 Asking Elvis with Mitch Benn
"Thank you very much..." Ask Elvis was one of the most popular features on one of the most popular radio shows - Steve Wright in the Afternoon on BBC Radio 2…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#120 The General Strike at 100, part 3: Reith's Jerusalem
And did the Beeb, in ancient times, broadcast to England's* mountains green?... ...Till Reith has built Jerusalem, transmitting to England's* green and…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#119 The General Strike at 100, part 2: The Archbishop and the PM
6-9 May 1926, in a week that changed the BBC forever... this is part 2 of our 3-part special on the BBC and the General Strike 100 years ago this week (at time…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#118 The General Strike at 100, part 1: Reith, Churchill and the Birth of BBC News
100 years ago to the day (at time of podcast release), Britain began to grind to a halt. Our first and only General Strike. But while it was a time of national…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#117 The BBC's First Homosexual: a new play - with Dr Stephen Hornby and Professor Marcus Collins
#117 The BBC's First Homosexual: a new play - with Dr Stephen Hornby and Professor Marcus Collins A special episode about a new play about on the true tale of…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#116 The BBC's First Birthday - 14 November 1923
Our moment-by-moment retrospective of British broadcasting has reached the BBC's first birthday - 14 November 1923. We started covering that first year back on…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#115 Early BBC Music and Gramophone Records with Earl Okin
Our timeline has reached the end of the BBC's first year in November 1923. So we're looking back at music broadcast in that period, with gramophone enthusiast…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#114 BBC Armistice Broadcasts in the 1920s - with Professor Rachel Cowgill
11 November 1923: The BBC's first Armistice broadcast. Back in our moment-by-moment timeline of what happened on the early BBC, it's three days short of its…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#113 Radio Caroline and The Fleet's Lit Up
This special episode jumps out of our usual chronological retelling of British broadcasting's back-story, for the tale of pirate radio, especially Radio…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#112 The First Radio Hoax: Broadcasting the Barricades - A Centenary Re-enactment
100 years ago from this podcast's release, the BBC broadcast the first known radio scare - 12 years before Orson Welles's famous War of the Worlds, and…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#111 The Truth About The Truth About Phyllis Twigg: From the First Radio Drama to the Latest
On Christmas Eve 1922, Britain's first original radio drama The Truth About Father Christmas by Phyllis Twigg was broadcast on the early BBC. On Christmas Eve…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#110 GK Chesterton, 75 Years of R2's God Slot + The Truth About Father Christmas
As this podcast lands, it's 75 years to the day since the first 'God slot' on the BBC Light Programme. It was first called Five to Ten, and is now Pause for…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#109 Reith to Davie: 17 BBC Directors General - with Dr Tom Mills
In October 1923, first BBC General Manager John Reith wrote to both 10 Downing Street and Buckingham Palace, inviting the Prime Minister and the King to…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#108 Mass Telepathy: Re-enacted - A Centenary Dramatisation of a BBC Broadcast
On 12 November 1925, the BBC broadcast one of its most bizarre programmes yet: 'MASS TELEPATHY: An Experiment in Thought Reading in which every Listener will…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#107 On-Air Criticisms, James Cary and Miranda Hart
October 1923: The BBC's on-air critics go national... These aren't critics OF the BBC (there were - and are - plenty of those), but critics ON the BBC - a…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#106 6BM Bournemouth: The End of the Beginning at the BBC... and James Cridland
"6BM Bournemouth sends hearty greetings to the world... We do hope you can smell the pines!" On 17 October 1923 (oh and look at the date this podcast landed -…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#105 2BD Aberdeen and R.E. Jeffrey: From First Gaelic Broadcast to First Sci-Fi
"Aberdeen Calling!" On 10 October 1923, the BBC opened its seventh station: 2BD Aberdeen. Its station director R.E. Jeffrey was fresh from the success of Rob…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#104 The Radio Times is Launched! A Browse Through Issue 1
On 28 September 1923, a new magazine hit news-stands. The Radio Times was a BBC publication, born out of a listings ban seven months earlier, when the press…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#103 Sept 1923 on the BBC, Rob Roy and Gavin Sutherland
Back in 1923, between SB and RT - that's 'Simultaneous Broadcasting' (networking nationally via landline) and The Radio Times (the BBC listings mag still had…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#102 SB: Simultaneous Broadcasting... and Mary English
On 29 August 1923, the BBC officially launched SB: Simultaneous Broadcasting. They'd been testing SB for months, via crossed lines and cross conversations with…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#101 The Sykes Report + Early Recordings Association
Episode 101 finds us in late August 1923... The first government inquiry into the BBC has just finished four months of interviewing dozens of interested…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#100 The Century! British Broadcasting's Story So Far, 1895-1923
It's The British Broadcasting Century's century! Thanks if you've joined us for the story so far, from Morse and Marconi to Reith and the Pips (before Gladys…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#099 Godfrey Isaacs - The Man Behind The BBC Idea
On the day of episode 99's release, it's exactly 100 years since the death on 17 April 1925 of Godfrey Isaacs - Managing Director of the Marconi Company. More…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#098 Ireland's First Radio Station... and the BBC News theme album
14 August 1923: Ireland's first licensed radio station takes to the air... Yes for one episode, The British Broadcasting Century leaves Britain to become The…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#097 Manchester, Birmingham, Gardening, Radio Circle + a Wireless Elephant: The BBC in August 1923
Episode 97 finds the BBC in August 1923... There are two studio moves - 2ZY Manchester and 5IT Birmingham leave their old premises in style ('The Etude in K…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#096 Books on Broadcasting - and the Bodleian Library's 'Listen In' Exhibition
We're back! Season 7 begins with a Books Special - plus a visit to a special exhibition at Oxford's magnificent Bodleian Library - 'Listen In: How Radio…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#095 Five Gold Airings: Vintage BBC Christmases 1922-42
Episode 95 is our Christmas special for 2024 - looking back to five vintage BBC Christmases of 1922-42. Well, I say 'five'. I mean nine. Christmas is a time…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#094 Wireless Manhunts on the BBC - in 1923 and 2023
Episode 94 finds us hunting presenters on the run... in 1923 and in 2023. But first, the tale of July 1923 in British broadcasting, which includes a pop-up…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#093 On-Air Symphonies and 'Seeing By Wireless' in June 1923 - and Stuart Prebble
June 1923 at the BBC saw the first symphony concerts on-air (with an 'augmented orchestra'), musical criticism from Percy Scholes, 2,500 voices broadcast at…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#092 The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21
Episode 92 The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21 Our moment-by-moment origin story of British broadcasting reaches 6th June 1923…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#091 The Electrophone: The 1890s' Streaming Device
Episode 91 goes back over 130 years to the 'broadcasting' device that far predates radio broadcasting. But the same ideas were there: entertainment, religion…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#090 The BBC's First Shakespeare (part 2) & John Henry: First Radio Comedy Personality
Is this the first full-length Shakespeare on the BBC I see before me? Yes it is. And the first radio comedy personality, in John Henry. We're in late May 1923…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#089 A History of Election Night Specials: 28 in 102 Years
Vote The British Broadcasting Century! Episode 89 is our Election Night Special special, covering Britain's 28 general election results broadcasts over 102…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#088 Boycotts, Bands and The Sunday Committee: May 1923 at the BBC
On episode 88, it's May 1923, and the six-month-old BBC is settling into its new home at Savoy Hill. But it's not all plain sailing. This time, 2-24 May 1923…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#087 The Cello and the Nightingale: A Centenary Celebration
100 years ago the weekend of this podcast, the Cello and the Nightingale became one of the most cherished broadcasts in radio history. It first took place on…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#086 1932 Off-Air Radio Recordings by Mr F.O. Brown of Greenbank
On the previous episode we explored the only 1920s BBC recording (that we know of), recorded off-air by Mr Jones of Croydon. This time on episode 86, we…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#085 The Earliest BBC Recording and The First Monarch On Air
On 23 April 1924, a landmark broadcast took place - the biggest so far. And on day of podcast release, it's the centenary! 100 years ago at time of writing…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#084 Women's Hour on the BBC: 1923-24
When Dr Kate Murphy became a BBC's Woman's Hour producer in 1993, the received wisdom was that women's programming began in 1946, when Woman's Hour launched…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#083 The Launch of Savoy Hill: The BBC's New Home, 1 May 1923
Welcome to the Savoy Hill era of the BBC! Episode 83 opens the doors to the first permanent home of Auntie Beeb, with a grand launch night on 1 May 1923. I…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#082 The BBC at Marconi House: 14-11-1922 to 30-04-1923
Welcome to season 6 of The British Broadcasting Century Podcast - and our 82nd episode. Back in our podcast timeline, telling the moment-by-moment origin story…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#081 The Pips at 100! A Brief History of Time at the BBC
Pip pip pip pip pip piiiiiiiiip! Is that the time? It must be 100 years (to the day, as I release this episode) since six baby pips were born onto the…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#080 SPECIAL: The First Religious Broadcast: Re-enacted
Welcome to 2023's Christmas special/2024's Epiphany special. (Come on, what podcast doesn't have an Epiphany special?) It's all just a chance to turn episode…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#079 Three More Authors: Doctor Who | R4 Sunday | Radio 1+2
Episode 79 is our second special of three authors - whose books you may wish to put on your Christmas wish list - especially if you're fans of Doctor Who…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#078 Three Authors on Broadcasting History: Love | Films | Education
You need more books in your life. So here are three authors to shout about theirs and enthuse about their research. This time we have three academics. (Next…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#077 Loose Ends 2: 1920’s SS Victorian to 1980’s Tardis via Frank Milligan
Episode 77 is a surprise pop-up episode, with nuggets spanning 1920, 1922 and 1980, from the mid-Atlantic to Glasgow, and from music to horse-racing. We had a…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#076 Radio Times at 100 - Part 2
Episode 76: On RT centenary day itself, part 2 of our back-story of back issues, as Radio Times turns 100. Catch part 1 if you haven't already…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#075 (The) Radio Times at 100 - Part 1
Happy 100th to (The) Radio Times! (The 'the' vanished in 1937) Britain's favourite magazine is a century old this very week, at time of recording. So it's a…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#074 The BBC and Music: from Percy Pitt to Johnny Beerling
The genesis of music on the BBC for episode 74... On 30 April 1923, celebrated conductor Percy Pitt joins the BBC as Musical Advisor/Director/Controller (his…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#073 Comedy on Air: Hysterical History from The Co-Optimists to Bottom
Episode 73: Comedy tonight! And comedy back then, particularly 26 April 1923... It's a royal wedding so the BBC celebrate in style, with a gala concert…
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa#072 The First Radio Dramatist: The Truth about Phyllis Twigg
Britain's first writer for radio was Phyllis M Twigg. An unusual name, and yet... she seemed to pretty much vanish after her debut broadcast play, 'The Truth…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#071 Yesteryear in Parliament: The BBC vs The Government, April 1923
Sometimes we get nerdy. Sometimes we get very nerdy. This episode is one of those where media meets politics meets history - and we're giving you all the…
- The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
#070 The Press vs the BBC vs the Govt: 1923 + 2023
Episode 70 is a biggie. In April 1923, the five-month-old BBC faced a two-pronged attack. The Daily Express ran an anti-BBC campaign, with front page stories…