BBC Click Radio - live broadcast

Posted by Anura Samara, 31 March 2015

A dream come to? OK, maybe not for you but when you live in Australia a trip to London to see a live broadcast is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I’ve been listening to the BBC Click Radio podcast for years, since back in the days when it was called “Digital Planet”. I have no idea why I started or how I heard about it, I assume it came recommended through social media. It has become my number one podcast – I always listen to it as soon as it becomes available. As that happens overnight, I usually start listening while I have a shave in the morning and then finish off on the way to work.

The show is normally broadcast live on the BBC World Service but I always listen to the podcast because the presenters – Gareth Mitchell and Bill Thompson – add an intro and outro to the recorded show – maybe some additional discussion with the guests, or just a bit of banter. It’s weird, because even though I’ve been only one hour away from the live broadcast, I still much pefer the podcast

From time-to-time, the show is broadcast in front of an audience. I’ve heard these on the podcasts, and the presenters usually announce in advance when the next one is planned.

Organising

So when there was the suggestion that there would be another show for a live audience, I immediately hopped on to the Facebook group to find out when tickets would be available. I kept checking the BBC website but tickets were still not released. If I was going to get there, I needed to organise some leave from work, flights and a hotel too.

Out of the blue, Gareth contacted me privately to tell me that he would add my name to the production guest list. We messaged back and forth a few times to make sure the arrangements were set – I think it was mostly paranoia on my part that I would miss the show due to bad timing, turning up at the wrong place or some other stupid reason.

Getting there

With flights and accommodation booked, I left work in Geneva and headed straight to the airport. Immediately, my plans start to unravel. The late arrival of the aircraft meant a late departure to London. And then arriving over London we were put in a holding pattern while Heathrow struggled with a backlog of aircraft.

With only cabin baggage, I raced out of the terminal, found the station for the Heathrow Express. When I got to Paddington, I then raced for the Tube. And then when I arrived at Oxford Circus, I had to briefly orient myself when I finally reached ground level and then battle the rush hour crowds to get to the BBC.

I followed Gareth’s instructions and told the reception staff my name should be on the production guest list, but it wasn’t. A few more phone calls and someone finally came to help me through the process. And then there I was, in the BBC Broadcasting House theatre with around 20 minutes to spare. Hungry, thirsty but who cares? I made it!

The show

First of all, I was fascinated to see what goes in to putting on a live show that has to coordinate with a strict broadcast schedule. By the time I arrived, all of the setup had been done and there was a large clock on the table that was the focus of proceedings. It was good to see producer Colin Grant up on the stage – he’s so important to the running of the show but the other two get most of the speaking parts!

Although starting the proceedings in time for the switch from the BBC World Service news was so critical, it didn’t seem to be accompanied with any increase in stress or tension in the room – one minute, Gareth is engaged in a bit of banter with the guests and audience, the next minute it’s a professional broadcast. There was a break mid-way through the show for another news update, and again Gareth seems to seamlessly transition from professional broadcasting through to banter and then back to broadcasting with ease.

When you listen to the podcast, the discussion flows so smoothly that it’s easy to forget that it is in fact scripted – and there was Gareth, reading from his script and flinging the pages to the floor as he finished with them (maybe I should have grabbed one as a souvenir). I almost felt sorry for the guests – while Gareth has the benefit of knowing what he will say, the guests have to respond to questions quickly and concisely.

The guests

The theme of the show was “Space and Citizen Science” and as always there was a great mix of guests. If you want to really know what everyone spoke about, download the podcast! But this is my brief take on them (in order from science to citizen):

Mark McCaughrean (European Space Agency) – clearly the professional scientist, Mark spoke well about the work the ESA is doing, touching in particular on their Mars mission. As the professional, he warned us against anthropomorphising their space vehicles, even if ‘they’ do tweet at us.
Dennis Wingo – another professional, mainly in engineering. Dennis joined by Skype to talk about his work in repurposing old space vehicles that had lain dormant. It’s a much better idea than just sending up newer vehicles that will in turn become more junk.
James Parr (Open Space Agency) – starting to move along the spectrum towards the citizen end, James brought along his Ultrascope, a telescope made out of off-the-shelf products and 3D-printed components. It was at this point that we started to see how accessible space really is for the average citizen – for a few hundred pounds plus our own labour, we can make a telescope that rivals what the professionals had 20 years ago.
Kate Arkless Gray – what do you call Kate? I guess I would call her the ultimate enthusiastic amateur. Her passion and enthusiasm has put her in touch with the professionals, including astronauts, and through them she has developed a pretty good knowledge of all things space-related. It was a reminder of an earlier age when scientific knowledge was expanded through enthusiastic amateurs.
Hannah Earnshaw – Hannah is in the third round of selections for the Mars One mission. I think it’s fair to say that the other guests challenged her about the realistic prospects for Mars One to actually start (let alone complete) it’s mission. While I agree that the Mars One probably has no realistic chance of launching a mission, at the same time I’m grateful that in all fields of life there are people like Hannah who are willing to be the first (I’m happy to be a follower!).
Pallava Bagla – an Indian technology correspondent, Pallava joined via Skype to talk about the Indian Government’s low-cost approach to space exploration. It was clear that he was proud of India’s achievements and was a bit defensive about perceived criticism of their indigenous space shuttle program. It was a reminder that national pride and politics are never far away from discussions about space.
Salena Godden – including a Salena was pure inspiration. What other technology program would include a poet? But if we we are going to talk about how technology impacts on our lives, then we need to include the people who write, sing and make music about our lives. Here’s a poem about space was both whimsical and thoughtful, conjuring images of the past, present and future.

After the show

After the show, I met up with fellow listener Patricia and we headed over – as invited – to the BBC Club where we chatted to everyone involved, including Gareth’s mum! There’s only so much that can be raised within the constraints of a broadcast show, so it was great to be able to have some extended time with the guests. Chatting to Colin and another BBC producer also game me more insights into what a producer actually does.

I love my English ales but after three of them on an empty stomach (thanks Gareth for that last one!) I think they were loving me back a little too much. So, an excited, happy, exhausted and unstable listener finally set off for the trek back to my hotel at Heathrow, arriving at 1am to set an alarm for 5am for my return flight. Who needs sleep when you’ve just had a great adventure!

Some final thoughts

Andy Zaltzmann, another of my favourite podcasters, gave a good summary of why podcasts are a great medium when he was a guest on Sunday Night Safran on Australia’s Triple J network (a podcaster talking about podcasts on a podcast!). Unlike broadcast media, we choose to download the program and are therefore actively listening to it at a time of our choosing. It’s not something that’s just on in the background as we go about our lives, and at the same time it’s not something that we have to put our life aside for to be ready at the exact time that it’s on. As I mostly listen with my earphones in, I find myself engaging with presenters more – you get used to the nuances in their voices, the different quirky expressions they have and start to look forward to them. And as so much of life can be solitary (like walking to work), podcasts also keep me company as well as keeping me informed.

I subscribe to 15 different podcasts, but what makes BBC Click Radio stand out is it’s engagement with the audience. It always strikes me as weird how modern media are quite happy to use the Internet to push stuff at us but never use it to actually engage with us, their audience. By contrast, Gareth and Bill actively include comments and thoughts from listeners in the show – even more so in the intro and outro to the podcast. We in turn actively discuss the program on Facebook and Twitter, and occasionally Gareth will give advance warning on a topic, gauge the responses and incorporate the general view into a program. This engagement means the program really doesn’t just start and end at it’s allotted time in the broadcast schedule, but continues during the week across multiple countries and timezones. It feels like it’s a conversation between friends rather than being just a broadcast.

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