Delighted to share this classic phoenix-from-the-ashes story, created for the team at ApconiX as part of their tenth anniversary celebrations.

Back in 2013, AstraZeneca announced it would close its research facility at Alderley Park in Cheshire, UK—a surprise, if not a shock, to many. Suddenly, staff were faced with an unexpected career-defining decision: relocate to Cambridge, or walk away and pursue something new.

After careful thought, discussion, and planning, Mike, Richard, and Ruth chose the latter—striking out on their own to found ApconiX.

In this one-off anniversary podcast, the three founders and members of the team reflect on the journey from fledgling start-up to a global, multi-award-winning company.

As I researched and planned the episode, it became clear this story was best told by those who lived it. So I took a ‘silent interviewer’ approach—structuring questions and coaching contributors so their answers could stand on their own, without the listener needing to have heard the questions.

I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out: tight, authentic, and full of insight—told entirely by the people who made it happen.

ApconiX is 10!

In this inter-season special Paul interviews Professor Ruth Roberts, Dr Park Ellingson, Dr Kim Rockley and Michael Sebastian about their involvement in the Tubular Cells project. Where did the idea originate, how was it developed and realised, and what does the final piece sound like?

Special thanks to ApconiX for allowing us to share this episode, and to Jodrell Bank, University of Manchester UK for permission to use the soundtrack of the electrical emissions from Pulsar PSR B0329+54.

For a graphic-supported version of this podcast click here:

https://www.apconix.com/tubular-cells/

Tubular Cells Part 2 - The Music of Thought

As an inter-season special, we are delighted to be able to share an example of work completed for a client.

Tubular Cells is a piece of music inspired and driven by the electrical output from cultured brain cells. It's also the outcome of a collaboration between a group of scientists who came together to see if they could make an abstract idea a reality for no other reason than to see if they could, how it would turn out and because it would be fun.

In the episode we made for ApconiX on the Tubular Cells project, Paul explores the origin of the original idea and how the key players worked together to craft the final piece.

Click here to jump to the episode.

 

Tubular Cells Part 1 - Introduction

Lessons from radio documentary

Katharina Smets is a sound artist and researcher who draws upon documentary material to create audio stories for live performance, radio and podcasts. She is an expert in how the three elements of interviewer/producer, interviewees/subjects and audience interact to create an audio experience. In conversation, Katherina and Paul take a deep dive into the mechanics within impactful audio and discuss how leaders can use lessons from documentary storytelling in their podcasting.

Links

Katherina talking about her PhD Thesis and book Between You and Me”. https://archive.org/details/radia-katharina-smets

Podcasts

Heavyweight https://gimletmedia.com/shows/heavyweight/94hwad/1-buzz

Seeing White https://sceneonradio.org/about/

Get in touch

letstalk@talkingleaders.com

https://www.talkingleaders.com [https://www.talkingleaders.com/]

S4E6 Why Podcasting is Perfect for Leaders - Katharina Smets

Time to up your GAME with audio!

Will Coley is a producer of narrative journalism stories for a radio and a communication problem solver. In episode 5 of this season, Will talks with Paul about using impactful audio to shift the narrative and deliver solutions. The key is to be strategic and clear on your GAME: Goal, Audience, Message, Engagement / Evaluation.

--------------------------------

Links to material Will mentioned:

Article on the pre-interview: https://transom.org/2016/art-pre-interview/

Radio piece from Cathy McCune on low-income New Yorkers struggling after Hurricane Sandy: https://transom.org/2016/art-pre-interview/

Indefensible podcast: https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/indefensible/

Catherine Carr's podcast: https://www.whereareyougoing.co.uk [https://www.whereareyougoing.co.uk/]

 

Contact Talking Leaders:

letstalk@talkingleaders.com [paul.gisby@talkingleaders.com]

https://www.talkingleaders.com/

 

S4E5 Why Podcasting is Perfect for Leaders - Will Coley

In the latest episode of the Talking Leaders season of podcasts on why podcasting is perfect for leaders Cyrus Hoseyni of Janessen Pharmaceuticals shares his experience of being part of a team producing a program of podcasts for pharmaceutical industry statisticians. He talks with Paul Gisby about what the process was like for him, how his company has used the podcasts and how his own communication skills have been upgraded thanks to being involved in the project.

Link to the Kelly Corrigan episode Cyrus recommended:

https://www.kellycorrigan.com/kelly-corrigan-wonders/parenting

letstalk@talkingleaders.com

paul.gisby@talkingleaders.com

https://www.talkingleaders.com/

S4E4 Why Podcasting is Perfect for Leaders - Cyrus Hoseyni

Debbie West of Audere Communications joins us for episode three of the Talking Leaders season looking at why podcasting is perfect for leaders. An old friend of the show, Debbie is a highly experienced and talented podcaster. In conversation with Paul, she shares her insights into how to get the best out of using audio as part of an overall communication strategy.

Links:

9/12 from Dan Taberski:  https://open.spotify.com/show/3ufgLmlLHsZPQCeh5rBm4X?si=fe6209894e4248cf

Looking Forward: Conversations about Work. The episode with Ruth and Tom Harkin https://open.spotify.com/episode/0e6b7ZnQuwpvjSeVhBJZAc?si=Dqk2bK41RaGMnXswH4_76w

Audere Communications: https://auderecommunications.com/

 

 

S4E3 Why Podcasting is Perfect for Leaders - Debbie West

For episode two in the season, Paul spoke with JP Gooderham, Founder and CEO of Storyboard.

Storyboard is an unashamedly audio first platform, providing organisations with a suite of services that allow them to produce, share and extract maximum value from internal podcasts privately and securely. With over 5,000 organisations using the platform and tens of thousands of listeners benefitting from the podcasts produced, Storyboard has built up an impressive, possibly unrivalled library of data and use cases on the medium of internal voice podcasting.

In conversation JP shares fascinating insights and examples on internal podcasting, making a compelling case for its place in the communication toolkit of any leader and their organisation.

Links

Storyboard’s website: https://new.trystoryboard.com [https://new.trystoryboard.com/]

Storyboard’s podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/881431

JP’s memorable impact podcast recommendation: Slack & Flickr:Stewart Butterfield on How I Built This https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ssW2s4N415KnjK08i0QrT?si=xOCFMcCvTKusC2l3PN_-qg

Want help getting heard, being understood and building trust? Let’s talk. letstalk@talkingleaders.com

www.talkingleaders.com [http://www.talkingleaders.com]

S4E2 Why Podcasting Is Perfect for Leaders - JP Gooderham

In the first episode of the 2023 season of podcasts from Talking Leaders, Paul Gisby speaks with Colin Gray of The Podcast Host.

A former University Lecturer, Colin became fascinated by the potential of podcasting. After teaching on the topic for several years, he decided to leave academia and set up The Podcast Host, a business dedicated to helping would-be podcasters with everything from an impressive library of blogs and guidance articles to AI based tools and a podcast production platform. In conversation Paul and Colin focus on the features of podcasting that can make it a particularly potent leadership communication channel.

Links:

The Podcast Host main site: https://www.thepodcasthost.com [https://www.thepodcasthost.com/]

Indiepod manifesto: https://www.thepodcasthost.com/pillars-to-podcasting-success/

Rogue Startups as mentioned by Colin.

https://roguestartups.com/rs281-the-state-of-saas-marketing/

https://roguestartups.com/rs284-next-level-marketing-with-colin-gray/

 

S4E1 Why Podcasting is Perfect for Leaders - Colin Gray

For the season finale of the Talking Leaders series on Psychological Safety @Work, we were delighted to get some time with renowned “guru” of the subject Tom Geraghty. In conversation with Paul Gisby, Tom talks about the seven most common myths he comes across and why they need busting.

You contact Tom by email – tom@tomgeraghty.co.uk

For more information go to https://psychsafety.co.uk/about/

Links:

Tom's video on the history of Psychological Safety is here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_mcUKlCBjE&t=9s

The article about non-violent communication is here

https://psychsafety.co.uk/psychological-safety-76-non-violent-communication/

 

 

Talking Leaders