The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa
Paul Kerensa
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Recent Episodes
122 The Birth of Television and The End of Radio 4 Longwave
On this special episode, we delve into early television with Professor John Wyver, whose book and conference is all about those overlooked decades of Stooky Bill, I think that's a pen, and vertical…
#121 Asking Elvis with Mitch Benn
"Thank you very much..." Ask Elvis was one of the most popular features on one of the most popular radio shows - Steve Wright in the Afternoon on BBC Radio 2. Running from about 2005-14, a mystery…
#120 The General Strike at 100, part 3: Reith's Jerusalem
And did the Beeb, in ancient times, broadcast to England's* mountains green?... ...Till Reith has built Jerusalem, transmitting to England's* green and pleasant** land. *and Scotland, Wales and…
#119 The General Strike at 100, part 2: The Archbishop and the PM
6-9 May 1926, in a week that changed the BBC forever... this is part 2 of our 3-part special on the BBC and the General Strike 100 years ago this week (at time of podcast release), two million…
#118 The General Strike at 100, part 1: Reith, Churchill and the Birth of BBC News
100 years ago to the day (at time of podcast release), Britain began to grind to a halt. Our first and only General Strike. But while it was a time of national crisis, it was also an opportunity for…
#117 The BBC's First Homosexual: a new play - with Dr Stephen Hornby and Professor Marcus Collins
#117 The BBC's First Homosexual: a new play - with Dr Stephen Hornby and Professor Marcus Collins A special episode about a new play about on the true tale of Britain's first broadcast debate on…
#116 The BBC's First Birthday - 14 November 1923
Our moment-by-moment retrospective of British broadcasting has reached the BBC's first birthday - 14 November 1923. We started covering that first year back on episode 18! It's taken a while to get…
#115 Early BBC Music and Gramophone Records with Earl Okin
Our timeline has reached the end of the BBC's first year in November 1923. So we're looking back at music broadcast in that period, with gramophone enthusiast, expert and entertainer Earl Okin. From…
#114 BBC Armistice Broadcasts in the 1920s - with Professor Rachel Cowgill
11 November 1923: The BBC's first Armistice broadcast. Back in our moment-by-moment timeline of what happened on the early BBC, it's three days short of its first anniversary. The BBC aired 'The…
#113 Radio Caroline and The Fleet's Lit Up
This special episode jumps out of our usual chronological retelling of British broadcasting's back-story, for the tale of pirate radio, especially Radio Caroline, courtesy of broadcaster, author and…
#112 The First Radio Hoax: Broadcasting the Barricades - A Centenary Re-enactment
100 years ago from this podcast's release, the BBC broadcast the first known radio scare - 12 years before Orson Welles's famous War of the Worlds, and possibly inspiring it. It was hoax - although…
#111 The Truth About The Truth About Phyllis Twigg: From the First Radio Drama to the Latest
On Christmas Eve 1922, Britain's first original radio drama The Truth About Father Christmas by Phyllis Twigg was broadcast on the early BBC. On Christmas Eve 2025, Britain's latest radio drama The…
#110 GK Chesterton, 75 Years of R2's God Slot + The Truth About Father Christmas
As this podcast lands, it's 75 years to the day since the first 'God slot' on the BBC Light Programme. It was first called Five to Ten, and is now Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2. Podcast host Paul…
#109 Reith to Davie: 17 BBC Directors General - with Dr Tom Mills
In October 1923, first BBC General Manager John Reith wrote to both 10 Downing Street and Buckingham Palace, inviting the Prime Minister and the King to broadcast on the near year-old BBC. Both…
#108 Mass Telepathy: Re-enacted - A Centenary Dramatisation of a BBC Broadcast
On 12 November 1925, the BBC broadcast one of its most bizarre programmes yet: 'MASS TELEPATHY: An Experiment in Thought Reading in which every Listener will be invited to assist' On 12 November…
#107 On-Air Criticisms, James Cary and Miranda Hart
October 1923: The BBC's on-air critics go national... These aren't critics OF the BBC (there were - and are - plenty of those), but critics ON the BBC - a literary critic, a music critic, a drama…
#106 6BM Bournemouth: The End of the Beginning at the BBC... and James Cridland
"6BM Bournemouth sends hearty greetings to the world... We do hope you can smell the pines!" On 17 October 1923 (oh and look at the date this podcast landed - 102 years apart), the BBC opened its…
#105 2BD Aberdeen and R.E. Jeffrey: From First Gaelic Broadcast to First Sci-Fi
"Aberdeen Calling!" On 10 October 1923, the BBC opened its seventh station: 2BD Aberdeen. Its station director R.E. Jeffrey was fresh from the success of Rob Roy - a drama he'd produced and…
#104 The Radio Times is Launched! A Browse Through Issue 1
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…
#103 Sept 1923 on the BBC, Rob Roy and Gavin Sutherland
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…
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The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa has published 122 episodes since June 2020, covering topics in Documentary, History.
The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 36m.
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