Meet the speakers joining us at PodFest North 2026 in Liverpool.
Our lineup brings together experienced podcasters, producers, broadcasters and audio industry experts who will share practical advice on creating, growing and developing podcasts.
Bernard P Achampong - Chair, Audio UK
Founder of Unedited and an award-winning creative director. With a career spanning the BBC and independent production, he has built a reputation for developing original IP and elevating underrepresented voices through audio.
Bernard has worked across major multi-platform audio and video innovation including Sounds of Black Britain (Spotify), 1Xtra Throwback Party (BBC Sounds) and Building Bridges documentary with HRH King Charles III.
He is the creator of Pilot Season, an industry-recognised initiative that produces fully realised podcast pilots as a public testing ground for new ideas. The project has supported over 60 creators and won multiple awards, including at the Whicker Podcast Awards at Sheffield DocFest.
Unedited focuses on IP creation, innovation in storytelling and building sustainable pathways for diverse talent in the UK audio industry. He is currently Chair of Audio UK.
Chris Baughen - Chief Executive Officer, Audio UK
AudioUK Chief Executive Officer Chris Baughen brings deep industry expertise with more than 20 years’ experience in spanning radio, streaming, digital audio and podcasting. He has held senior leadership roles at Wondery, Spotify, Global and Deezer, building high-performing teams and delivering sustainable commercial growth across the UK and international markets.
“There is an enormous amount of podcasting and audio talent across the North, and events like Podfest North are vital in creating the connections, skills and commercial opportunities that can help that talent flourish. At AudioUK, we want to see a strong and diverse podcast and audio industry across the whole of the UK, not just in London.
We’re delighted to support Podfest North and its focus on making practical expertise, networking and commercial opportunities more accessible to the growing creative community across the North. We hope this will become an important fixture in the region’s podcasting calendar.”
John Gibbons - Head of Partnerships & External Content, The Anfield Wrap
The Anfield Wrap is a multi-award winning media company, producing audio and video content each day focused on Liverpool Football Club from offices and studios in Liverpool City Centre. A Liverpool company with a global reach the organisation has paying subscribers in over 80 countries, John Gibbons ensures the planning and delivery of audio and video programme each week as well as conducting interviews and producing audio-documentaries.
John also heads up the Wrap’s partnerships department, producing content for organisations who are interested in connecting with Liverpool fans.
Sue and Richard have been making podcasts for more than 20 years (before they were even called podcasts)!
Award-winning BBC radio producers and presenters, their productions include BBC Conversations, Space Boffins, the Supermassive Podcast, Counting the Earth, and some surprisingly niche podcasts. They share their experiences of building successful – and less than successful productions – and what they have learnt from the last two decades.
Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham, Boffin Media
David Reid and Stephanie Power - Married To The Machine
Husband and wife team, David Reid and Stephanie Power, decided to launch their podcast, Married To The Machine, because AI was the only thing anyone wanted to talk to David about.
Why? Well, he's a Professor of AI and Spatial Computing at Liverpool Hope University. And because Stephanie is a journalist and podcast producer (BBC Radio 4, Five Live, TV, Audible, Goalhanger) it made perfect sense for the two of them to devise a series aimed at an audience who know they OUGHT to find out more about AI, but don't know where to start. It's kind of like Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy, meets Tomorrow's World, and has been nominated for a Golden Lobes Award for best new podcast. It was also picked as one of the best podcasts of 2025 by readers of The Guardian.
Adam Bowie - BBC Audience Strategist
Adam Bowie is an audio strategy and business development specialist with extensive experience across the UK broadcasting landscape. Most recently, he spent twelve years with the BBC World Service as a Business Development Manager where he was instrumental in shaping the BBC’s global podcast strategy, extending its worldwide carriage and launching the international commercialisation of BBC podcasts.
He helped launch commercialisation BBC podcasts outside the UK, working with Acast.
Previously, Adam led research and digital strategy for Absolute Radio and Virgin Radio. His work included close collaboration with the UK’s radio ratings body, RAJAR, and helping to introduce targeted audio advertising across Absolute Radio’s digital streams.
Alongside his strategic corporate roles, Adam maintains hands-on audio experience as a producer for The Cycling Podcast. Outside of the audio world, his interests include running, cycling, photography, and following Arsenal.
Adam regularly publishes podcasting, audio and media insights on his blog - adambowie.com.
Dr Caroline Mitchell, Professor Radio and Participation, University of Sunderland
Dr. Caroline Mitchell is Professor Radio and Participation, University of Sunderland.
She has been involved in community media production, activism and research for over 40 years and was co-founder of Fem FM, the first women’s radio station in the UK (1992). She co-curated a digital archive of the station in 2014.
She has published widely about women and radio, community media training and mapping methodologies.
Since 2023 she has been active in co-producing place-based community podcasts in northeast UK, including Rebel Women of Sunderland and The Ballad of the Crocodile and the Underpass.
John Offord, freelance audio producer, broadcaster, podcaster and journalist.
John is a freelance audio producer, broadcaster, podcaster and journalist.
He recently led Bradford StoryHub, a pilot community journalism scheme in Bradford for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
John presented and produced Freddie’s Second Verse in Hong Kong for BBC World Service in 2025, and earlier this year produced and presented A Church Without Walls for BBC World Service in South Africa.
He is currently producing and presenting How to Leave This Earth for the BBC World Service Documentary podcast strand.
Lisa Hack began her audio career as a teenager collecting vox pops on a Uher tape machine and editing using a razor blade. She went on to work in technical production for the BBC World Service for many years working across news, documentary, and audio drama then specialising in outside broadcasts around the world.
She is now a Senior Technical Tutor in audio, radio and podcasting at Goldsmiths, University of London and has run workshops for the London Podcast Festival, UniPod Fest in Birmingham and Tremula Festival. She has also been a mainstage judge for the British Podcast Awards and a judge for Arias and the Audio UK Audio Production Awards.
Lisa is one of the founders and a trustee for Multitrack, a charity that creates career changing opportunities for emerging audio producers and seeks to create an audio industry that reflects the audiences it serves.
Lisa Hack, Senior Technical Tutor in audio, radio and podcasting at Goldsmiths, University of London
Aradhna is Managing Director of the Audio Academy, the UK charity to promote and celebrate excellence in audio through supporting professionals working across the sector. The Audio Academy presents the annual prestigious ARIAS, Audio Academy Festival, 30 Under 30, and national mentoring and training programmes. She is also Director of Radio TechCon, the UK’s audio and radio technology conference.
Bringing together her background across the media, arts and technology sectors, Aradhna has a passion for industry development to better reflect, represent and influence society. She believes that supporting diversity and collaboration will lead to a more resilient and dynamic entertainment industry, contributing to economic growth and contribution. She works with UK and global media organisations as an executive leader and strategic consultant in engagement and events.
Aradhna Tayal Leach, Managing Director, Audio Academy
Dave Howard, Director, Bespoken Media Scotland
Dave is creative director of multi-award winning production company Bespoken Media Scotland. He also looks after the Scotland Audio Network (a podcasters' community which is free and open to anyone with an interest in audio and podcasts - join us!)
Bespoken make award-winning BBC radio programmes, as well as podcasts for brands, businesses and charities including UNICEF, Accenture, and St Andrews University.
Dave is a former Radio 1/1Xtra Newsbeat's politics reporter, and spent 6 months in New York as Radio 1/1X's US correspondent.
Dave leads Bespoken’s training and development offer, and will talk to anyone who’ll listen about the awesome power of audio storytelling.
Leon McCowan, The Sales Dojo sales coach and selling consultant
Leon has worked in the sales for 20+ years developing a wealth of knowledge. During this time he has recruited, coached, trained and developed 1000’s of telesales, direct sales and indirect sales people directly generating millions of pound of revenue and (more importantly) helping those people and their families and loved ones to buy the holidays and shoes the wages and bonus payments afforded them. In 2016 Leon started The Sales Dojo, a community for sales people and sales enthusiasts and he likes nothing better than helping the next generation of business owners, sales people, business development managers (and everyone inbetween) to sell more and earn more and find their own version of success.
Over 450 episodes of This Week in Sales have now been produced.
Ben Anderson Executive Editor, BBC Radio Merseyside
BBC Radio Merseyside is historically one of the most popular local radio stations in the country.
Ben Anderson is the station’s Executive Editor leading a team of presenters and journalists based in the heart of Liverpool.
A podcaster in his own right, he was executive editor of Crime Next Door: The Beast of Birkenhead which told the story of the murder of Diane Sindall which led to Britain’s longest miscarriage of justice.
