Best Manchester Libraries Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 8: Wallaroo Libby Andrew + Oasis Week Highlights 35:50

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27d ago35:50

35:50

Key features of this month’s Full Volume podcast include an interview with Wallaroo Rugby International Libby Andrew speaking about the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 and her new book 'Wallaroo 19'; plus behind the scenes of the Acting Up! Exhibition at Central Library, highlights from “Oasis Week” at Central Library, What’s On tips from across Manch…

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#104 The Radio Times is Launched! A Browse Through Issue 1 36:07

13d ago36:07

36:07

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 tried to charge the Beeb advertising rates to print what was on. The BBC’s General Manager John Reith saw an opportunity: they’d just print their own. We previously (on episodes 75 and 76) brou…

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#103 Sept 1923 on the BBC, Rob Roy and Gavin Sutherland 49:12

1M ago49:12

49:12

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 'The' back then), a month went by... ...But did nothing happen in that month? Of course not! So between these two bigger landmarks, on this episode we bring you some smaller but notable on…

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Episode 7: John Robb 32:01

2M ago32:01

32:01

It's lucky seven for Full Volume: The Manchester Libraries Podcast and the latest edition is chock-full of Library-related features, news and interviews from across the city. This month’s episode welcomes legendary Northern music journalist John Robb into the hotseat for our “Big Interview”. A regular talking head on the telly and a member of rock’…

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#102 SB: Simultaneous Broadcasting... and Mary English 49:52

2M ago49:52

49:52

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 General Post Office. It would dramatically change the shape and big idea of what broadcasting was and could be. Using landlines, they linked stations - so a Covent Garden concert could b…

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#101 The Sykes Report + Early Recordings Association 48:21

3M ago48:21

48:21

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 parties about what the Beeb should/would/could be. Should it have a competitor? How do you solve the licence problem? Did the BBC have a monopoly? And isn't it time 'listeners-in' were just called …

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#100 The Century! British Broadcasting's Story So Far, 1895-1923 53:49

4M ago53:49

53:49

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 Knight took over lead vocals). This special 100th episode is for both the newcomer and the seasoned veteran - being the previous 99 episodes in summary form, BUT with lots of new bits. So this…

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#099 Godfrey Isaacs - The Man Behind The BBC Idea 56:14

5M ago56:14

56:14

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 than that - new evidence shows that he came up with and championed the idea of the one BBC. For years, the British government (via the Post Office) has been credited with the plan for a singu…

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#098 Ireland's First Radio Station... and the BBC News theme album 44:00

6M ago44:00

44:00

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 Irish Broadcasting Century. Well how could we not bring you the tale of Marconi setting up a (legal) radio station at the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, to broadcast to the Horse S…

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#097 Manchester, Birmingham, Gardening, Radio Circle + a Wireless Elephant: The BBC in August 1923 34:55

7M ago34:55

34:55

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 Sharp by Spotsoffski'... "The studio ghost looks round - burial forever of the carrier wave...") and find new city centre studios, including a heavy goods lift with a pulley that visitors need …

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#096 Books on Broadcasting - and the Bodleian Library's 'Listen In' Exhibition 49:39

7M ago49:39

49:39

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 Changed the Home'. It's curated by Beaty Rubens, who has also written a book of the same name. I joined her at the exhibition for a tour and an interview, recorded live at the Bodleian. Thanks to t…

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The Woman in the Park by Lucy Edmiston 19:49

9M ago19:49

19:49

A ghost story for Christmas. Mary, a new mother in a new town, seeks solace in her local park. But who is the strange woman who mirrors her lonely walks? As the winter sets in, Mary gradually begins to question her marriage, her sanity, and the hidden connections between her past and this unsettling figure in the snow.Lucy Edmiston is a writer and …

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The Letter Box on Cromwell Grove 16:36

9M ago16:36

16:36

A ghost story for Christmas. When Ukrainian refugee Olga moves in with the quiet, grieving Wilsons, she finds herself perturbed by the eerie stillness of their home and its strange collection of antiques. As unsettling events unfold, Olga realizes that the house holds secrets she never could have imagined.Reshma Ruia is a poet, novelist and co-foun…

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Spirit Level by Sophie Parkes 12:15

9M ago12:15

12:15

A ghost story for Christmas. A woman, unsettled by the flaws in her new home ‒ dank walls, faulty lights, strange sounds in the rain ‒ finds herself shadowed by a presence that defies logic and drives her to drastic, ritualistic acts. Is the house harbouring something both ancient and inexorable? Or is she merely losing her grip on reality? Sophie …

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Instructions From the Other House by Abi Hynes 15:43

9M ago15:43

15:43

A ghost story for Christmas. Lauren, a mother struggling with sleepless nights, uncovers the dark past of her new home as mysterious disturbances disrupt her children's rest. As eerie messages from a reclusive neighbor hint at lurking dangers, Lauren must confront the unseen forces threatening her family's safety.Abi Hynes is a drama and fiction wr…

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Trespassers by David Gaffney 18:15

9M ago18:15

18:15

A ghost story for Christmas. When a train stalls on a bridge in Levenshulme in Manchester, three regular commuters pass the time by sharing ghost stories. But when one passenger recounts a recent unsettling encounter under the very bridge they’re now stranded on, the silence around them begins to feel anything but empty. David Gaffney is the author…

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The Lamb by Fia Harrington 19:32

9M ago19:32

19:32

A ghost story for Christmas. After escaping the clutches of a religious cult, a young woman struggles to adapt to life in a dreary flat. Haunted by memories of forbidden love, visions of her past and a strange sound which echoes through the pipes, she realises the past may still have a hold on her. Fia Harrington has had two short stories published…

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#095 Five Gold Airings: Vintage BBC Christmases 1922-42 25:25

10M ago25:25

25:25

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 for giving, so have four extra... Nine Gold Airings didn't sound as catchy. You'll hear: - 1922 – Rev John Mayo - the BBC's first religious broadcast for Christmas Eve - 1926 – Christmas Overtu…

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#094 Wireless Manhunts on the BBC - in 1923 and 2023 46:03

11M ago46:03

46:03

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 non-BBC station in Plymouth (5DJ), the first BBC film critic G.A. Atkinson, a comedian asks an orchestra to laugh for him, the BBC's first Sunday afternoon radio concert, new nicknames for 'list…

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Pipistrello by Ella Sprakarn 13:44

11M ago13:44

13:44

Happy Halloween! We have a treat for you - a tale that unfolds on the familiar paths of the Fallowfield Loop, the former railway line which runs through Manchester which now serves as a popular footpath. In Pipistrello a night walk leads an ecologist and a group of students into the heart of something eerily familiar and deeply uncanny. Meet Matt, …

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#093 On-Air Symphonies and 'Seeing By Wireless' in June 1923 - and Stuart Prebble 39:59

12M ago39:59

39:59

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 once, and new staff led by Admiral Charles Carpendale as Reith's deputy. Plus Scot John Logie Baird advertises for help with his 'Seeing By Wireless' invention. You may know it as television...…

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#092 The First Sports Broadcasts: from 'Yachts Slowly Drifting' to MCR21 39:57

1y ago39:57

39:57

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 - and what's sometimes thought to be the BBC's first sports broadcast: author Edgar Wallace giving his 'reflections on the Derby'... ...The trouble is, it wasn't the BBC's first sports broadc…

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#091 The Electrophone: The 1890s' Streaming Device 40:12

1y ago40:12

40:12

Episode 91 goes back over 130 years to the 'broadcasting' device that far predates radio broadcasting. But the same ideas were there: entertainment, religion, news even, brought to your home, sent one-to-many, live from West End churches and London's churches. Meet the Electrophone! Dr Natasha Kitcher is the Electrophone expert - she's a Research F…

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#090 The BBC's First Shakespeare (part 2) & John Henry: First Radio Comedy Personality 36:33

1y ago36:33

36:33

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 - 28th to 31st to be precise - and the BBC has suffering from a boycott of theatre producers. Performers are hard to come by, so the Beeb brings drama and comedy in-house. The result? Cathlee…

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#089 A History of Election Night Specials: 28 in 102 Years 48:29

1+ y ago48:29

48:29

Vote The British Broadcasting Century! Episode 89 is our Election Night Special special, covering Britain's 28 general election results broadcasts over 102 years. Broadcasting in both USA and UK have both launched were pretty much launched with election results. On 2 November 1920, KDKA Pittsburgh launched regular commercial broadcasting with the p…

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#088 Boycotts, Bands and The Sunday Committee: May 1923 at the BBC 38:54

1+ y ago38:54

38:54

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 is retold via press cuttings (thanks to our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker), showing us that: Some corners of the press were mounting an anti-BBC campaign, complaining it was offering "poor…

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#087 The Cello and the Nightingale: A Centenary Celebration 38:35

1+ y ago38:35

38:35

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 19 May 1924, live from the Surrey garden of cellist Beatrice Harrison. In this centenary special, we celebrate the musician, the muse and the microphone that made this incredible feat possible…

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#086 1932 Off-Air Radio Recordings by Mr F.O. Brown of Greenbank 29:25

1+ y ago29:25

29:25

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 encounter the only other off-air radio recordings of the interwar years (that I know of): the 1932 recordings by Mr F.O. Brown of Greenbank. His grandson Alex cleared out the family attic as recent…

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#085 The Earliest BBC Recording and The First Monarch On Air 37:53

1+ y ago37:53

37:53

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, King George V opened the Empire Exhibition at Wembley, becoming the first monarch to broadcast. It also stands as the oldest surviving recording of a BBC broadcast - and the only excerpt of the…

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#084 Women's Hour on the BBC: 1923-24 30:58

1+ y ago30:58

30:58

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. Kate did some digging in the archives, and discovered the long lost tale of the early BBC's Women's Hour (rather than Woman's Hour), which ran from 1923-24. Why so brief? What impact did it ma…

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#083 The Launch of Savoy Hill: The BBC's New Home, 1 May 1923 39:08

1+ y ago39:08

39:08

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 think it's one of the most crucial - and funniest - 24 hours in the BBC's history. So we recreate as much as we can of that one day: A last-minute dress code sees senior management in far-too-bi…

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#082 The BBC at Marconi House: 14-11-1922 to 30-04-1923 40:04

1+ y ago40:04

40:04

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 of British broadcasting, we reach a bittersweet moment: the BBC moves out of its first studios, the temporary studio on the top floor of Marconi House. We pay tribute with a look at the Beeb…

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#081 The Pips at 100! A Brief History of Time at the BBC 15:56

1+ y ago15:56

15:56

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 airwaves. As the Greenwich Time Signal - aka The Pips - turns 100, we look back at their origin story, thanks to horologist Frank Hope-Jones and also his overlooked contribution to broadcasting itsel…

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The Gift by Marie Crook 14:29

2y ago14:29

14:29

In the aftermath of a catastrophe, Ellen agrees to use a long-lost ability to connect the shattered community with the afterlife. Orchestrating séances in the Old Library, she fabricates messages of solace to provide the lost locals with a semblance of hope. However, when a stranger enters the building things, the past threatens to intrude on the p…

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Advent by Gaynor Jones 16:06

2y ago16:06

16:06

As Christmas approaches, Chloe buys an antique mirror for her mother. But the mirror appears to hold a power, one which Chloe is drawn to. As the fractures in her world multiply, reality begins to blur, Chloe learns that sometimes the most extraordinary gifts come with unforeseen consequences. Gaynor Jones is the author of Among These Animals. She …

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Magic Eye by Jo Howard 19:01

2y ago19:01

19:01

Jennie is a trainee teacher eager to make World War I come alive for her new class. She strives to connect with Zehra, a mute refugee. Bonding over a magic eye book, they discover an unexpected shared love for history, but Jennie also learns that the past may not yet be over. Jo Howard is a writer of children’s and young adult fiction. Her work has…

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#080 SPECIAL: The First Religious Broadcast: Re-enacted 55:57

2y ago55:57

55:57

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 80 into a re-enactment of this remarkable untold tale of Britain's first religious broadcast. Contrary to what some records say, it wasn't the BBC who began religious broadcasting in Britain -…

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The Continuum by Nicholas Royle 15:58

2y ago15:58

15:58

When a cryptic message from an old acquaintance reignites forgotten connections, Nick finds himself drawn into the life Mark, of a former classmate. But who is Mark? Had he actually been the same school as Nick? And is their shared past truly over? Nicholas Royle is the author of five collections of short fiction, two works of nonfiction and seven …

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The Loop by Dyani Sheppard 15:31

2y ago15:31

15:31

Beneath the cadence of her running steps, Helen discovers an eerie harmony on the Fallowfield Loop - an isolated former railway line, now a public footpath. Haunted by the echoes of an historic train accident, she finds herself drawn by a mysterious song she hears on the Loop, a melody that seems all too familiar. Ghosts at the Old Library is produ…

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Gratitude by Lauren O'Donoghue 17:40

2y ago17:40

17:40

A young woman navigates the aftermath of her father's death, As she struggles with her grief, mysterious offerings of soil materials in her home, and she finds that living and the departed may now be as separate as she thought. Lauren O'Donoghue is a writer from South Yorkshire. Her fiction has been published in ergot and Mslexia among others. Ghos…

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#079 Three More Authors: Doctor Who | R4 Sunday | Radio 1+2 40:41

2y ago40:41

40:41

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, religion on radio, and/or ye olde Radio 1. Last time we had three doctors; this time our first guest is definitely someone who's seen The Three Doctors... PAUL HAYES' book is Pull to Open: 1962-1…

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#078 Three Authors on Broadcasting History: Love | Films | Education 40:51

2y ago40:51

40:51

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 time we'll have three presenters/producers, covering music radio, Radio 4’s Sunday and Doctor Who...) But this is a different episode of The Three Doctors. And they are… DR CAROLYN BIRDSALL, As…

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#077 Loose Ends 2: 1920’s SS Victorian to 1980’s Tardis via Frank Milligan 38:36

2y ago38:36

38:36

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 few too many tales to tell, so couldn't wait. We're meant to be on a break. Whoops. Like our previous 'Loose Ends' episode, we've a few threads to pull on: The tale of Arthur Burrows on SS Vi…

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#076 Radio Times at 100 - Part 2 29:43

2y ago29:43

29:43

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: https://pod.fo/e/1f20d1 - there we journeyed from 1923 to 1991, when the monopoly was ended and the British government opened up the TV listings market. In part 2, we're joined again by today's Radio Times …

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#075 (The) Radio Times at 100 - Part 1 32:55

2y ago32:55

32:55

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 bumper edition - not dissimilar to the fat two-weeker that lands on your doorstep or falls off supermarket shelves due to weight and gravity every festive season. This is a two-parter, paying t…

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#074 The BBC and Music: from Percy Pitt to Johnny Beerling 43:06

2y ago43:06

43:06

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 job keeps changing), bringing new scope and scale to the nation's favourite music provider. Symphonies! Dance bands! A violinist who's refused a taxi cos the driver doesn't like what he's hear…

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#073 Comedy on Air: Hysterical History from The Co-Optimists to Bottom 49:04

2y ago49:04

49:04

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, sponsored by Harrods (yes, sponsorship on the BBC!), given by The Co-Optimists, the legendary interwar comedy troupe. The cast includes Stanley Holloway (later of My Fair Lady) and, weirdly, the ex…

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#072 The First Radio Dramatist: The Truth about Phyllis Twigg 48:25

2y ago48:25

48:25

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 About Father Christmas' on 24th December 1922. So much so, that the official record - in history books, on various BBC sites, in broadcasting legend - wrongly credits Richard Hughes' A Comedy …

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#071 Yesteryear in Parliament: The BBC vs The Government, April 1923 44:54

2y ago44:54

44:54

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 nit-picking details, because if we don't, who will?! We only pass this way once... ...And by 'this way', I mean April 16th-24th 1923. On our previous episode, the five-month-old BBC was almost on …

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#070 The Press vs the BBC vs the Govt: 1923 + 2023 40:40

2+ y ago40:40

40:40

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 questioning its existence, and even offering to take over broadcasting themselves. Over the course of one week, the Express applied to the government for a broadcast licence (and were turned d…