The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
By 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
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
Latest episode
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#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 for giving, so have four extra... Nine Gold Airings didn't sound as catchy. You'll hear: 192… -
#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 non-BBC station in Plymouth (5DJ), the first BBC film critic G.A. Atkinson, a comedian asks a… -
#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 once, and new staff led by Admiral Charles Carpendale as Reith's deputy. Plus Scot John Logie… -
#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 - and what's sometimes thought to be the BBC's first sports broadcast: author Edgar Walla… -
#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, news even, brought to your home, sent one-to-many, live from West End churches and London's… -
#090 The 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 - 28th to 31st to be precise - and the BBC has suffering from a boycott of theatre produce… -
#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 years. Broadcasting in both USA and UK have both launched were pretty much launched with ele… -
#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 is retold via press cuttings (thanks to our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker), showing us t… -
#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 19 May 1924, live from the Surrey garden of cellist Beatrice Harrison. In this centenary sp… -
#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 encounter the only other off-air radio recordings of the interwar years (that I know of): the 19…
