Passion Pods: Recent Episodes
Emily Chiswell
How do you make a career out of hula hooping? What book inspires a Grammy award-winning DJ? Where do you start if you want to set up a snowboard school? What’s it actually like to sell alcoholic sweets for a living?
On a mission to inspire and encourage young people to make a career from doing something they love, this is a series of weekly podcasts with creatives and start-ups. These chinwags include circus performers, musicians, food makers, writers, charity founders, actors, wine tasters, designers and are hosted by BBC Broadcaster Emily Chiswell - a name you may not recognise but a voice you’re almost certain to have heard!
Hubbub.co.uk are on a mission to help small shops compete with big supermarkets by delivering food and drink from London’s best independent’s right to your doorstep. Founded by Marisa Leaf this rather special pod of ours is the first of a...
Becoming a milliner is tough enough quite frankly as you heard from Kate Underdown in Passion Pod #8 and not just because most people have no idea what one is! Little gear shift for Kate of late though has led her to become a co-founder of The Fold...
Rowing across the Atlantic for 54 days straight, in a seven metre long boat (having never been in one before!), over Christmas Day, through a hurricane and dealing with broken oar and a tanker nearly navigating in to you…and they enjoyed it?! The...
Comedy and flowers. Not a combo you’d usually put together is it really. Well, not unless you’d met Luke Keen in which case it’s a match made in heaven. After taking up gardening to sooth the noise that making comedy (or to be honest,...
Painting for a living is what led Gemma Compton to the wall we found her decorating for this year’s Upfest. Not a bad place to making your mark really is it?! After graduating with a First in her degree right at the time of the economic crash a...
Becoming a camerawoman is a tough enough gig to break in to but it didn’t seem quite enough for Holly Bantleman. She was so affected by a visit to a community in Kenya, one boy that she met in particular, that at 21 years old she decided to raise...
Glow in the dark, glittery, magnetic – Cressida Bullock founder of Fun Science makes slime for a living. She also sets children’s hands on fire (safely, obvs), hand makes toothpaste and those experiments are just for starters. Scientific...
A whole 100 of these little beauties?!#100 life-true tales from such adventurous, hugely brave and massively inspiring folk – what an absolute honour....
Two thirds of Wildflowers – Kit and Siddy – are from a mega musical family. Brought up a jazz musician and an actress they all had to play an instrument as kids. Didn’t matter which one but having one in hand was a must. On the other...
If you’re feeling stuck in a rank old work/life/romance rut then this Passion Pod has your name all over it. Writer/performer Max Dickins found himself in exactly that place and so, to shake things up a bit he decided to sign up for a new...
Founded by Poku (who previously worked in property P.S. and had absolutely no experience in youth engagement at all!) Babbasa supports young people from disadvantaged communities to move forward with their professional aspirations. Yes very much please...
Jake Meyer really struggles to pin point exactly what it is that he does, which is often a good sign in our book. He settled on Adventurer…as you do! Swapping the school football and cricket lark for climbing and canoeing as soon as he could,...
Jennifer Hamley is a bag designer. Think handbag come work bag and one that we actually want to use rather than horrible, ugly looking designs that we’re often up against. Hers feels good to touch, looks lovely, has all the compartments you&...
From playing professional rugby for Harlequins and Bristol, to making sausages for a living. Yes, that is a real career path and Olly Kohn is the proud owner of it! After an injury and a new sausage making machine coincided with each other, the seeds...
After spending three years working for a big Ad agency in London feeling rather un-scintillated about chucking all of his energy and creativity in to products like nasal decongestants (and who can blame him quite frankly?!), co-founder Andrew Hunt...
Bridget Arsenault is donning three main job hats at the moment. She’s always known that she wanted to be a journalist and has spent most of the last eight years doing so…for Vanity Fair no less! She also founded The Bright Young Things...
Jodie founded her own Social Media company JC Social Media at 22 and is also the co-founder of Clever Tykes – a series of children’s books that introduce them to positive entrepreneurial role models, with the hope that it might help inspire...
Being an actress is a Passion Pod in itself really but making the move from doing that as your job to becoming a yoga teacher…surely that’s double pod points?! After 10 years of grafting her socks off and doing pretty darn well too, Steffy...
So, here’s one for you. Blogosphere Magazine is the first print publication entirely by bloggers for bloggers and the blogging community. It’s a magazine that you can hold in your actual hands and sniff it’s beautiful independent...
The Cool Graduate is a platform of inspiration for graduates to get a different clutch of ideas about their futures. Hello and yes please! Flagging up a whole load of options ranging from volunteering to paid graduate jobs all over the world, the main...
Founding a nutritional food business on the proceeds of her sell out art graduate show, artist and healthy foodster Alexandra Dudley definitely has quite the story to tell! Punch Foods is on a mission to make real food with real flavour and Alexandra...
Being a serious of fan of Project Love means that slight warning should come with my chat with it’s founders Vicki and Selina. There is a lot of serious over-excitement which manifests itself in all sorts of ways but it is all with good reason....
Creative Coach, Actor and independent Shop Owner; Clare Yuille is just the sort of lady that we like having around these here parts for obvious reasons. As an actor by trade she’s created a pretty wonderful set up for herself to help combat the...
Buy Me Once is a seriously hot dang brilliant idea. It’s a website founded by Tara Button, that lists a load of products for sale that don’t cost loads of dosh, are really friendly to the planet and that actually last. Pretty novel for...
So Cara and her business partner Dave have sure got their work cut out. Heard of Poitin? (pronunced Potcheen btw) Unlikely unless you’re Irish. These guys are not only trying to front a whole new mass market category of booze with their version...
Originally with drama school and singing in her sights, after a little bit of unconventional advice Bo Bruce went for option two. 5 or so years of that and gigging her pants off, she made the decision to go on’t tele in The Voice. Quite the...
Quality time together with your kids as well as having a shed load of fun. That’s what’s at the heart of Weekend Box Club the online subscription service set up by Andy Stephenson. This box full of creative goodies plonks itself on to your...
Art student Oliver Hemsley was left paralysed aged 21 following an unprovoked stabbing attack. There’s no way of glossing over this horrendousness but the beauty that’s been born from the depths of it’s ugliness is the frickin awesome...
When you think of food from the Ukraine you think of watermelon right? No, us neither but apparently that’s where we’re going wrong. Proving to the world that Eastern European food isn’t just potatoes and dumplings chef, food writer,...
There’s definitely still an element of complete disbelief from painter Emily Thornton that she’s actually getting to do this as her job every day. It’s infectiously endearing. Having done all sorts of different bits and pieces she...
Oooo it’s a beauty this one! Emma Gannon oozes passion for what she does from her every pore and it’s mighty infectious. She’s a blogger via Girl Lost In The City, general social media guru and this year is adding published author to...
Chureca Chic is a range of high end fashion accessories made from recycled materials by women who live on Nicaragua’s rubbish dump ‘La Chureca’. All the makers are students on the Earth Education Project – a year long...
Sitting at a wheel squishing and squelching clay for a living – Emily Doran has got this job thing nailed. With her range of rustic, earthy, seaside-colour inspired handmade bowls, mugs, pots, vases, jugs…she’s a studio potter in...
Biz is quite the human. Not only has his work been published in the New Statesman, the Times Literary Supplement, New Internationalist to name just a few, but he’s also a Trustee of the Sony Award-winning radio station Resonance FM, ...
Women’s sportswear that’s contemporary, designed by women, not salmon pink or astronomically priced and made in the UK. Refreshing, that’s what Lily Rice’s Lexie range is. She’s on a mission to inspire women and girls to...
Romany Gypsies, witch doctors, tree ghouls, sea caves; Abi Elphinstone‘s children’s triology is pure imagination fertilizer. Kicking off with The Dream Snatcher and followed next year by The Shadow Keeper, the magical adventures in her...
Super eye-catching designs and even more eye-catching flavour combos, Doisy & Dam are on a mission to raise food’s game. Starting with their range of bonkersly tasty chocolate bars (and yes, we do say that from much very enjoyable experience...
So what job can you do if you want to work in food but not in catering? Hello Georgina Fuggle. A walking, talking, writing, cooking, photographing, blogging, styling example. Food writing mainly these days Georgina went from spraying edible delights...
Beautiful, feminine, wearable, pretty and made right here in the UK with a whole load of love: Iris London is lingerie that we that we all want to own quite frankly. Which makes it ever more surprising that it’s founder Ellie Simpson-Gray...
From the marketing and product development for whopper brands like Haagen Dazs and Kettle Chips to making the fresh, wholesome food that is Sprogs. Quite the change for Ching-Yee . She’s the brain power behind this convenient, healthy, fresh...
Packaging. Something few of us think about but most of us give a good ooo and ahh to if it’s done well. Co-ordinating all the different factors that are needed to pull it off though is headache central, especially if you don’t want to...
Adam Greenfield is a Community Organiser based in San Francisco. He connects people in a way that’s less of the toe curling networky vibe and more of the ‘hey, meet your neighbour’. Sounds good right? A Law Degree and a Masters in Electronic...
So yes, it’s now official. Passion Pods has gone global. Well, across the pond at least. The first of our four podcasts from San Francisco comes courtesy of Zach from Thanx. A Management Consultant at Bain, Zach was helping companies build their...
If you’ve ever fancied working as a Theatre Producer then you need to listen to this. It’s as simple as that quite frankly. After 9 years working with Playful Productions as an Associate Producer Georgia Gatti is about to head off to...
Think Secret Cinema meets permanent pop-up and you’ve got Shuttlecock. Founded by Ed Templeton along with his brother Ollie and cousins Will and Anna their latest project restaurant Carousel, brings together super exciting chefs from around...
So we’re Stateside this week on the scour for Passion Podders in San Francisco. Tough life. Hunting out people across the pond who are on these adventures and finding out a bit more about their stories’ twists and turns....
Writer Tallulah Brown couldn’t believe her luck when she discovered script writing. Telling stories by writing conversations and not having to worry about those hateful commas and punctuation. Our kind of gal! With one of the most contagious...
Taking a year off to try everything. Sounds pretty wild right?! Well how’s about going to Azerbaijan to work instead of going to Glastonbury with your best mates to party? Hmmm…yeah, not quite the kind of wild we’re after perhaps...
Madoc’s on to a goodie with this one. ‘Special adventures in wild places’ – even Secret Adventures tag line makes you feel excited. Kayaking under Tower Bridge at night, swimming under a full moon, woodland foraging –...
Helen Zaltzman started her first podcast Answer Me This with Olly Mann back in 2006 so this is a lady with podcast pedigree unlike many others. No pressure then. Earlier this year she set out on her broadcasting lonesome too with The Allusionist...
Don’t ask Ellie White what she does. Actually you should because the reaction you’re going to get is definitely worth it. A writer performer is what she’s going with although comedy should definitely be chucked in there somewhere....
It’s quite something isn’t it when a Grammy winning musician who’s first album went to no 1 in the UK still questions whether one day he’s going to have to get a ‘real’ job?! Bonkers, right? That’s just why...
Pip never wanted to run her own business and had never worked in the food industry. Perfect combo to start her nut butter company Pip & Nut then wouldn’t you say?! You’d honestly have no idea of that though if you meet her today – she...
A self taught hula hooper following a revelation at Burning Man – you can imagine why we were slightly over excited about chatting to this Passion Podder! Anna Byrne makes her hoop shaped living through three different bits. She performs weekly...
So what happens when North Yorkshire Chef Paul Welburn’s humble and honest food meets a bit of reminiscing about the past, with some apothecary action thrown in for good measure too? Tonic & Remedy my friends. That’s what....
East London seems to hog all the creative juices these days but Lucy at Pocket Arts is on a mission to change some of that. Bringing creative people together in West London to make all sorts of fun things happen. Pop up shops, open studios, exhibitions...
Did you know that Brett Akker founder of Streetcar and more recently Lovespace spent years wanting to start a business but didn’t have the idea to go with it. Refreshing to hear that right? Definitely encouragement worthy of our 50th Passion Pod!...
So via a background in telecommunications, advertising and then cloud services Ben Lambert has founded a dating app. It’s called Clocked and that’s what has brought him to the Passion Pod party. And, excuse us while we go all M&S but&...
From proof reading Annual Reports for a Finance company to her very own jewellery range. If that’s not a tale of Passion Pod greatness then what ruddy is?! With both a bespoke and ready to wear range Gee Woods‘ beauteous pieces are...
Edible Cocktails. That’s right, sweets plus booze. And not just any booze, these are taste bud tickling combos of dreams. We’re talking Gin, Elderflower & Thyme, Dark Rum with warming spices, Mixed Berry Daiquiri with a pink...
Think of Museli. Dusty dry oats, claggy, bland? Think again. How’s about Choco Sour Cherry, Elderflower & Cranberry or (my particular fave having guzzled from many of their pots now) Mango, Coconut, Ginger & Lime. Put that in your...
An unbiased, open, global journalism platform that pays its most popular contributors, coaches them too if needs be and also lets them retain ownership of what they write. As a user it’s also totally bespoke, allowing you to pick and choose...
Potage’s goal is to make eating well easy. Freshly prepared, organic, locally sourced meals delivered to your doorstep. A healthy home cooked delivery. Yes. This is officially one of the best ideas around. Fact....
Zoe Jones is a Handbalancer. A what? A Handbalancer. She balances on her hands. Yeah, not too tough to work out is it really but it seems a lot of us have to ask at least twice before we understand what it is she says she does. Definitely worth the...
How’s about acting in a one man show that you’ve written entirely in Iambic Pentameter? No sweat, right. Well apparently not. Writer and Performer Tristan Bernays has done exactly that with The Bread and The Beer, reviving the age old tradition of...
A defeat of 31-0. It ain’t good news for any football team really, apart from American Samoa that is. That eye watering score line was exactly what fired up Film Producer Kirstian Brodie’s intrigue and dun-dah-dah their story has just been...
If you were to hand pick a Passion Pod to have, this could well be it. Written and designed by Charlotte Reed, May The Thoughts Be With You is a book of positive and inspirational nuggets that swap the commonly associated twee-ness for a bit of light...
When you hear the word vintage, it can be a mixture of “yay, unique & original” as well as “boo, moth-eaten cardie rifling”. Well, that’s why we all need to know about Olexi: a website that’s encouraging people to look at vintage...
With a name like this, it’s not hard to hazard a guess which band this guy plays in, is it? Nearly didn’t happen though. His Dad, as many a-caring parent would, tried to persuade him to jack it all in and become and lawyer. To be honest, he had...
Feeling a bit miffed that boys didn’t seem to have as many jazzy underwear brands to choose from as girls, Henry Hales embarked on a mission to make boxer shorts – as you do, simple as that right? Well no, of course not. Hello, start-up?! He...
Who knew that a train from Birmingham and the No.91 bus were the places to hang out to develop your business idea. Gallerist Megan Piper didn’t really realise it either until she was sitting on them both hatching hers....
What do frozen yoghurt, brightly coloured suits and Rock and Roll music have in common? Leo Bedford, that’s what. A man with his fingers in a many a pie, he’s a young entrepreneur in capitals, bold and underlined....
Spacehive: a stonking idea which is perfectly timed. Founded by journalist Chris Gourlay, it’s a crowdfunding platform for Civic Projects (think farms on roof tops and art galleries in phone boxes). After writing for The Sunday Times about...
Having written 5 plays and a film within one year without really realising that he had, Ben Webb is now starting to accept that one of the strings to his bow is that he is a writer…well at least for this moment in time anyway....
Sports bods rejoice! Are you fed up with booking a football pitch to find that someone else is already playing on it when you get there? Or perhaps you’re exhausted by you endeavours to find out how much your local tennis court charges with only...
A restaurant born out of a chat with a friend over a beer; seems like a pretty wonderful starting place doesn’t it? After twisting via a Physiology degree, a Masters in Property & then a job in the wine trade, it’s that latter string to...
So we’ve now done 30 Passion Pods…that’s 30 people nattering about why doing more of what you love doing, is super ace and then some. The number 30 often gets bad press but in this case it’s definitely a good kind to be talking about....
Whilst lecturing for the European Institute of Fitness in Exercise for Older Adults, Ben Allen couldn’t understand why no-one else was trying to get people moving and prevent them from becoming part of the chair that they were sitting in for the most...
Whilst at Uni and working in Property Management Sam Zawadski felt frustrated at how time consuming it was to source tenants. Dun-dah-dah that’s why he co-founded Advance to GO – a website for private landlords where they can advertise their...
Brought up on an ice cream farm, it’s no surprise that Charlie Harry Francis has the sub zero dairy stuff running through his veins. However, it’s his liquid nitrogen ice cream making contraptions (Parlour or Buggy – the choice is yours) that...
Jules Quinn is part of one of our Patrons Shell LiveWire’s 2012 series. She is a fashion marketing graduate that developed her design led tea company as part of her degree. Double whammy or what-degree and business all rolled in to one. Born and...
So back in 2008 Jonathan May was doing a lot of thought mulling. He saw himself, and many other students, with a lot of time on their hands who didn’t have funding for the inspired and exciting projects that they wanted to make happen. They were...
Nithin Thomas has some seriously polished brain cells. He’s developed the technology to distribute videos securely over low bandwith networks; now christened SQR Systems. Designed originally for the music industry to help with their piracy problems,...
From a smogged office in the City to the crispiness of the Moroccan mountains, Dana Elemara’s quest to source the organic oil for Arganic has been quite a far flung one. As yet a fairly undiscovered product, Argan Oil only grows in Morocco and is...
From drawing and doodling from the age of 8, via a University animation course, Jide Johnson is the founder of Aniiboxx. It’s a production studio that helps organisations increase their online presence by the use of 2D animated videos. What...
So, Surfers. If one were to generalize; sea salty hair, crazy cool shades, super tan and probably some pretty “rad” threads (too much?). But how about chucking “founders of an adventure travel and lifestyle group” in there for good measure? If...
All things bicyclette are very much the name of the game these days so stumbling across two lovely lads in the shape of Adam Garrett (who cycles for practical means) and Kris Baran (who bikes about for pleasure) make them a pretty good team....
If describing a wine’s “nose” makes your toes curl a bit then the Grape Night In girls are who you need to be hanging out with. On a mission to make everyone better friends with grape juice’s jazzier sibling, Laura and Kiki are all about de...
So microgreens? No? Don’t worry we didn’t have a clue what they were either until we met Thom Harvey, founder of Sow Gourmet. Kicking out a flavour punch not to be messed with, these little cress-like shoots not only taste delish, but they are also...
Inspiration in a nutshell –that’s what Ruth Barnes is. Founder of The Other Woman, she’s a radio presenter, a blogger and a general women bigger-upper – not a bad super speedy CV that is it? Fed up with being a music journalist just hoping that...
Two Contemporary Passion-Arti’s, Lucinda Lovell and Alexandra Donaldson, are on a mission. Founders of Contemporary Key, they want to show us the modern art exhibitions and emerging studios that are sitting right on our doorsteps that we’re far too...
Tom Worsley is a young man with many a string to his bow. He’s a Producer, come Writer, come Actor, but it’s the latter that’s taking centre stage for him at the mo. After acting at school and Uni, Tom’s rejection from Drama School led him in...
Recording this Passion Pod in the sanctuary of what is quite possibly one of the most incredible gardens ever created, was not only a massive treat but also a good taster of what’s at the core of Symbiotic Solutions. Set up by Nick Tocher who is a...
Copies of this magazine shaped Passion Pod, “Delayed Gratification”,are always tricky to prise from the clutches of friends and family; a pretty mighty sign that these guys are on to a winner. Set up by journalists Rob Orchard and Marcus Webb,...
Writer Jake Brunger is perhaps one of the most energetic and enthusiastic people ever invented. This contagiously excited 24 year old theatrical encyclopedia oozes his passion for writing out of every pore. At the mo he is super focused on his Musical...
Cruising around as a White Van (Wo)man not only meant a good perve in to other peoples’ gardens but also meant that I could have a natter with Nick Richards, founder of HPH London. They are a property management, maintenance and improvements...
Jenny Dawson. That’s right, make a note of her name, because you would definitely be one of the wiseys to keep an eye on what she’s up to. After a Masters in Mathematics and via a job at a Hedge Fund, she’s now the Founder of Rubies in the Rubble...
Actor and film-maker Alex Marx is just about as charming and inspiring as they come. After making his first film “Happy Accident”, he’s just putting the finishing twiddles on his second one “Louis and Ella”. He’s also just about to start...
“Sex and Death”; part exhibition, part curiosity and vintage clothes shop is located this month at No. 20 Earlham Street and we can assure you that you’ll want to spend yonks in there. The creation of this wonderfulness is the collaboration...
Now this guy is what Passion Pods is all about. With a name like Wake Up To Muff, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t slightly nervous about meeting Virgil Tibbs but when you break down his simple formula all is forgotten. He’s a Traffic...
The lovely mixture of warmth and enthusiasm that is Tom Lakeman is this week’s Passion Podder. After starting out with a degree in Graphic Design, followed by a few twists and turns, this creative G is the founder of The Blackout Studio; a...
George Hamilton is the founder of Sentinel Productions which focuses on narrative film and is also the Creative Director at VCL a Production House based in Hoxton Square. Having directed commercials, music videos and narrative films he’s now scooping...
Today you must prepare yourselves for the full to bursting ball of musical energy and enthusiasm that is Felix Hagan. A self-confessed control freak of a musician, he has been known to learn an instrument just so that he can be the one to play it on...
Eating, wherever you are, is always a winner and that’s why Charli Matthews is ace. She’s made it possible for us to munch our way around the East End, whilst listening to some taste bud tantalisingly good stories of what we’re devouring as well...
Kate Underdown is a Milliner extraordinaire. That’s right, not a Millionaire or a Mariner as people so often mis-hear, but a Milliner. Although she’s often found rifling through weird and wonderful boxes in charity shops for additions to her newest...
Well, talk about refreshing. Rollo Hope is a musician that loves playing his tunes just because he loves playing his tunes. After initially trying the doing-music-for-his-only-job thing, he realized that he didn’t fancy that much and is now having a...
A lady who most certainly has not got her knitting in a twist is the wonderful Louise Calf. A trained actor, she’s also the founder of Calf which makes hand-made, bespoke and ready to wear knitted hats using 100% natural fibres (which I’ve now had...
This week’s inspirational offering comes in the shape of Thomas Keown. Born in Northern Ireland and after studying History and Politics and doing odd jobs like carrying Brian Adams musical equipment (as you do), he co-founded of One Home Many Hopes....
This week’s Passion Pod La Piadina Pronta comes with a warning – before you listen to it make sure you’re not feeling too peckish because if you’ve got the slightest of tummy rumbles this is guaranteed to whack them up a notch or five....
The lovely Jessica Graham is this week’s treatet, which is quite an achievement as she loathes the limelight. If you check out her website though, you’ll see that she’d better get used to it; her textile designs and illustrations are awesome....
Inspired by bods like Pedro Almodóvar, Bourne Director Doug Linam and the storylines and plots in The Wire, Ben Williams is a Writer and Director who works in the UK film industry. After making a couple of his own shorts, recently the curious little...
So this is the first ever Passion Pod. Originally set up by Theatre Director Rania Jumaily, Laura Crampsie, Lydia Scott & Fran Stuttle, The Last Refuge is a theatre, come film-production company, come bar, come community space, based in Peckham....