Episodes
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S3E4: The Landlady of Scarborough
Traditional seaside landladies of the past, often portrayed on seaside postcards, have faced a changing business landscape since the package holiday boom. In this episode of The Localist Scarborough, Bek Homer visits Bonnie Purchon MBE whose love and devotion to her town has led to recognition at...
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S3E3: Synths in the surgery
Bek Homer recreates the sound of her own heart condition as she meets with Dr Asif in his surgery. Together they explore how the doctor uses synthesisers to simulate sounds of the body. Producer: Bek Homer. Senior Producer: Ollie Peart. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Kathryn...
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S3E2: Memories, posted
Sisters Bek and Meg grew up in Scarborough. They share stories from their past fuelled by the memories locked in postcards sent from the town throughout the years. Hear their tales of the Chuckle Brothers cabriolet, the pier (that isn’t a pier) and the draw of this iconic seaside town. Producer:...
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S3E1: The legend of Hairy Bob
Find out if Bek Homer discovers the truth of a Scarborough myth that has caught the imagination of locals for decades. Bek goes on a mythical mystery tour exploring local landmarks and is joined by local artist and musician Captain Ant. Producer: Bek Homer. Senior Producer: Ollie Peart. Online...
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S2E4: The Norf Suff divide
Matt Marvel finds out whether the rivalry between Norfolk and Suffolk still an issue. Matt rallies together representatives from both sides of the border; cosplayers, podcasters and vicars, to battle out in a competition more raucous than the last Old Farm derby in 2019. Who will come out on top?...
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S2E3: The Roma
Matt Marvel meets a Roma family and hears about the discrimination Roma and Gypsy people face and why it’s the reason for some to hide their identity. While recording this podcast, this issue hit the headlines following controversial comments about the Holocaust by a well-known comedian.…
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S2E2: The detectorists
Matt Marvel delves deeper into the world of metal detecting with 13-year-old Mille, who on her first time out with her Dad stumbled across an axe hoard and Luke, who finds £100,000 of gold coins. If you are planning on going out metal detecting, you must observe the law and seek permission from…
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S2E1: The children left behind
Matt Marvel explores stories of mixed American/British heritage children dubbed ‘Brown Babies’ and discovers how DNA technology is helping them find long lost families. In January 1942 thousands of American troops arrived in the UK to join World War Two. A large contingent of black American GI’s...
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S2: Welcome to The Localist - Suffolk
Matt Marvel explores the stories, places and people putting Suffolk on the map.
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S1E5: The sound of Dorset
For her role as fossil hunter Mary Anning in the film “Ammonite”, actor Kate Winslet listened to recordings by a Lyme Regis local. But what is a Dorset accent and how did it develop? As our world becomes increasingly interconnected, how are such accents changing? Multicultural British English or...
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S1E4: Pioneer of vaccination
More than 250 years before the Coronavirus pandemic, a local hero finds a way of tackling a different deadly virus. The Gloucestershire physician Edward Jenner is credited with the development of the first vaccine against smallpox. But the technique he used in 1796 – a technique that made him…
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S1E3: A green and not so pleasant land
The British countryside is known for its rolling hills, idyllic villages and picturesque views - but also for its comparative lack of ethnic diversity, compared to our urban areas. Why is that? Dorset is 97.9% white. By default, that means encounters between people from different ethnicities can…
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S1E2: Rude Britannia - you live where?
Carved into stone; how Shitterton's residents stopped their village sign being pinched. Again. In this episode of “The Localist – Dorset” Ollie Peart finds out the origins of some accidentally naughty-sounding place names across the country. As part of his journey, he brings together people who...
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S1E1: The island that built the World
Ollie Peart finds out what St Paul's Cathedral, The Cenotaph and the United Nations Building in New York have in common with Portland Stone, which is mined from the Isle of Portland quarries in Dorset. The 150-million-year-old stone bears the fossilised imprint of creatures from the Jurassic era....
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S1: Welcome to The Localist - Dorset
Exploring the stories, places and people putting Dorset on the map. In these snack-sized stories, Ollie Peart takes a personal journey through his county, enjoying sneak peeks into secret places, tackling difficult issues, and celebrating connections with the wider world. Originally broadcast on...