When we started with podcasting a couple of years ago, we really had no idea what we were getting into. We put out the feelers for a podcaster who could help us tell stories, and a friend introduced us to Dave Pickering. Dave was an ex-librarian who was very active in the storytelling scene in London and already a well-loved podcaster with his “Getting Better Acquainted”.
Dave has now produced 30 engaging documentary podcasts for us! This is a real milestone. Besides Ugo and Janet, he is the person who has been longest working for The Restart Project.
Starting out as a small, under-resourced organisation, working with dependable and talented freelancers can make a huge difference. Dave has been super reliable, and a periodic presence at our Restart Parties, gathering stories from participants and volunteers. But he’s also been a great interviewer of all kinds of guests, meeting experts, industry types, researchers, and activists.
Dave really does represent most of us in that he uses technology for his job(s) but feels occasionally quite overwhelmed. He does an excellent job of asking about the issues surrounding our use of tech, going into depth, but in a way a broad audience can relate to. Being a podcaster also involves some pretty unglamorous work of editing and taming lively interviews, and Dave is a master at this too.
Thanks to an early suggestion by Dave, we secured a slot on Resonance FM, which has been a really excellent space for us to gain a voice and create a unique talk show to supplement his monthly productions. We’ve included our volunteers in the live radio show, and it now includes a monthly volunteer “takeover”. None of this would have ever happened without Dave.
We’re super grateful and happy we work with Dave. Listen in to his work and leave him some encouragement (either here or on your podcast listening platform of choice), and support his fascinating other projects.