‘We’re off in our transit vans after the show’: how Fix Radio built a hit station for builders
Louis Timpany was 22 and working on a building site when he had a brainwave – a radio station by, and for, tradespeople. Now with a huge listenership, Fix Radio is taking on the big beasts of the airwaves
April 2023
This week in audio: Ten to the Top; Ken Bruce; The Debutante; Firecrotch and Normcore – review
Miranda Sawyer on podcasts and radio
The week in audio: Rental Health; Saturday Night at the Movies; Tim’s Listening Party; Tagged – review
November 2022
Rab Noakes obituary
Singer and guitarist at the heart of the Scottish music scene who was a founding member of Stealers Wheel and wrote songs for Lindisfarne
March 2022
Miranda Sawyer on podcasts and radio
The week in audio: Who Is Aldrich Kemp?; I Must Have Loved You; Some Kind of Black
Sting can’t lift his own limp drama, but a ludicrous crime caper is a hoot and there’s fun to be had for breakfast
January 2022
Miranda Sawyer on podcasts and radio
The week in audio: Four Peaks Sound Walk; Desert Island Discs; A Tribute to Janice Long; Christmas Takeover
Horatio Clare hit the heights, Richard Osman opened up, and Janice Long was fondly remembered
July 2021
Annie Mac on women in the music industry: ‘There’s still a long way to go’
As the Irish presenter and DJ leaves BBC Radio 1 after 17 years, she has spoken out about her experiences of ‘tokenism’
April 2021
Annie Mac leaves BBC Radio 1 after 17 years
The Irish presenter – about to debut as a novelist – will be replaced on new music show Future Sounds by Clara Amfo
March 2021
The week in audio: Boom Radio; The Simon Mayo Drivetime Show; Penny Smith
There’s hot competition among stations moving in to capture middle-aged listeners left cold by modernisation at Radio 2
July 2020
Steve Barker: the 'anti-John Peel' sidelined by the BBC after 43 years
The 72-year-old DJ has been beaming leftfield music – plus interviews with Bono, Morrissey and more – into Lancashire since 1977, but drastic local radio cuts have ‘left us to drown’
May 2020
The week in radio and podcasts: Nightwaves Radio; No Signal 10 v 10; Race and Covid-19;
The best of lockdown live radio, from soundclash battles to urgent topical discussion
March 2020
Lockdown culture
Here's my mum with the news! Radio DJs on the switch to home-broadcasting
What can we expect as the coronavirus forces presenters to broadcast from their living rooms? Sirens, pancakes, family interruptions – and big happy bangers
February 2020
Other lives
Miranda Ward obituary
Other lives: Pop music journalist who was the first female voice on Radio 1
January 2020
The week in radio and podcasts: The End of the World Has Already Happened, Wild Music and more
Philosopher Timothy Morton and Greta Thunberg ushered in the new year with practical and engaging takes on the climate crisis
December 2019
Observer critics' review of 2019
Miranda Sawyer’s best radio and podcasts of 2019
The year we came close to peak podcast nonetheless saw a wealth of talent, while radio saw more upheaval
October 2019
'It's a new golden age': Radio 3 launches video game music show
Presenter Jessica Curry says she wants to prove it’s not all about soundtracking battle scenes – there are plenty of beautiful, relaxing sounds, too
July 2019
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol is most-played song on UK radio this century
'We push each other forwards': tuning into the north's independent radio scene
June 2019
The best Glastonbury TV and radio to enjoy at home
Bob Harris to pause BBC Radio 2 show to recover from heart scare
