Podcast of the Month: Speaking of Research – In Dialogue with Stakeholders
What happens when the people who could benefit from research help shape it from the very beginning?
This month, we’re shining a spotlight on Series 3 of Speaking of Research, a collaborative video podcast series produced by Research Podcasts for the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP), this special release is available for the first time as both a full video series and an audio podcast.
As a production team, working on Series 3 was an exciting milestone for us as it combined our training and production expertise. Moving beyond traditional academic knowledge exchange, this series was designed as a novel training exercise to equip PhD researchers with vital, transferable media, audio-visual storytelling, and public engagement skills. Rather than treating podcasting as a dissemination tool for finished projects, we structured this series around the concept that podcasting is “sensemaking through conversation” (Ian Cook, 2023). Researchers were guided through every step – from initial ideation and narrative structure to engaging directly on mic with key stakeholders, clinical practitioners, and community members.
The result is In Dialogue with Stakeholders: a special six-part series exploring what happens when researchers work alongside the individuals and organisations connected to their research from the outset, rather than simply at the end of a project.
Beyond the Ivory Tower: A Novel Model for Researcher-Stakeholder Dialogue
Research doesn’t happen in a vacuum. A researcher might bring the analytical framework to investigate a problem, but the people who live with an issue, work within a complex system, or implement policy often hold an equally valuable form of expertise. Bringing those perspectives into research early can challenge assumptions and uncover questions that might otherwise be missed.
To make this collaborative ideal a reality, our team at Research Podcasts delivered bespoke pre-recording training workshops. We supported these six PhD researchers to step out of the academic “ivory tower” and into a collaborative dialogue. They learned how to ask insightful questions, listen actively, and co-create an engaging audio-visual narrative.
Below is an overview of all six episodes from Series 3, exploring how research can be done differently when impact and co-creation are built into the conversation from the outset.
Speaking of Research Series 3 Episode Breakdown
“It’s really isolating being visually impaired or blind… I’d forgotten how good it feels to come together with other people that are in the same situation.” Melanie Barratt
In the opening episode, doctoral researcher Sadie Rockliffe is joined by Melanie Barratt, a blind swimmer, double Paralympic champion, and the first blind woman to swim the English Channel. Together, they discuss Sadie’s research into sensory inequalities and how people with visual impairments experience natural “blue spaces” – seas, lakes, rivers, and quarries.
Melanie’s lived experience actively shapes the project. Together, they co-created Gateway to the Sea, an initiative designed to help visually impaired individuals build confidence in open water, proving how involving stakeholders early moves research from theoretical ideas to tangible real-world solutions.
“Why do these migrant women have to walk those difficult journeys for something that is ordinary and simple for someone to achieve who is not a migrant? Maybe it is the system that needs to change so that those barriers are removed.” Bev Price
In a unique mother-daughter dialogue, researcher Patricia Ncube speaks with Bev Price, a migrant woman and community worker, to explore how migrant women use digital platforms like YouTube to share information, build digital communities, and speak back to the systems governing their lives.
Patricia shares a pivotal moment in her methodology: when her initial proposal of interviews and daily journaling was rejected by a community advisory group due to trust concerns, she pivoted to studying the digital spaces where migrant women already felt safe. Bev highlights how this research presents migrant women not just as resilient survivors, but as active agents with narrative ownership.
“Primary schools are messy, and this is the thing I want to get – the messiness of primary school days, which I think sometimes is why primary schools get left behind.” Nick Huxley
Former primary school teacher turned researcher Nick Huxley sits down with Hollie Benfield, Deputy Headteacher for Curriculum at Knockhall Primary School, to examine the real-world application of AI tutors in primary mathematics education.
While existing literature often focuses on higher education, this conversation addresses the unique, chaotic environment of the primary classroom. Nick and Hollie explore critical issues around digital safety, teacher workload, and whether AI tools truly enhance mathematical reasoning. Their discussion offers a practical framework for how emerging ed-tech can support human-centred pedagogy.
4. Navigating Health and Social Care as a Trans Autistic Adult with Katie Munday and Alex Robertson
“My work is very much focused around this kind of emotional shift for practitioners… about instead of being scared of getting things wrong, being excited about getting things right.” Katie Munday
Using a Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework, researcher Katie Munday and practicing GP in training Dr. Alex Robertson address the systemic barriers faced by transgender autistic adults accessing NHS health and social care services.
The episode examines the significant overlap between gender-diverse and autistic populations, highlighting how institutional inertia and clinical stereotypes often lead to passive listening or invalidation. Katie and Alex advocate for a shift from a deficit-based medical model toward identity-affirming, personalised care, emphasising the importance of deep, intentional listening by primary care gatekeepers.
5. Sensory Theatre and Belonging for People with Profound Disabilities with Elspeth Clark and Ellie Griffiths
“I think that having working alongside Elspeth and working alongside researchers is ethically essential… If you’re creating theatre with and for this group of people, if it’s easy, you’re doing it wrong.” Ellie Griffiths
Occupational therapist and researcher Elspeth Clark joins Ellie Griffiths, Artistic Director of Oily Cart Theatre, to explore how immersive sensory theatre fosters a deep sense of belonging for young people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD).
Blending social science with creative practice, the conversation introduces co-occupation – shared, meaningful activity between individuals connected through non-verbal communication, movement, and emotion. Discussing Oily Cart’s InSideways project, they illustrate how sensory modalities can bypass language barriers and create rich, reciprocal moments of human connection.
6. Addressing Gender-Based Violence Among Displaced Women and Refugees with Sixtus Onyekwere and Deborah Shedrack
“His research is giving more details to the numbers, it gives more details to the facts that we are trying to present to the government or to donors… to say, yes, these are the issues on ground, and we need more resources.” Deborah Shedrach
In the final episode, Sixtus Onyekwere discusses his mixed-methods research into preventing gender-based violence (GBV) among internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in Nigeria, focusing on the exacerbating factors of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Partnering with Deborah Shadrach, Sixtus highlights the absolute necessity of working with local ground teams to conduct ethical research in humanitarian settings. The conversation uncovers stark realities, such as economic disruption multiplying violence reporting, and underscores the vital role of grassroots evidence in pushing governments toward sustainable protection policies.
How We Built Series 3: The Production & Training Framework
For our team at Research Podcasts, training and producing this series alongside the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership demonstrated how audio-visual media can serve as a catalyst for collaborative learning.
Our tailored training model provided researchers with:
• Pre-Production Coaching: Formulating clear, conversational messaging without relying on rigid scripts.
• Interviewing & Public Engagement Skills: Learning how to ask active, non-academic questions to draw out stakeholder insights.
• Media Confidence: Managing microphone technique, remote video recording setups, and personal narrative boundaries.
By embedding co-creation principles directly into media training, doctoral training partnerships can empower early-career researchers to communicate their work effectively to policymakers, practitioners, and the wider public.
Listen and Watch Series 3
Speaking of Research – Series 3: In Dialogue with Stakeholders is out now. Choose how you want to experience these vital conversations:
Watch the Video Series: Watch the full video podcast series and shorts on YouTube.
Stream the Audio Podcast: Listen to Speaking of Research Series 3 on Spotify or your preferred podcast app.
How we can help you
At Research Podcasts, we work with universities, research institutes, and funding bodies to turn complex ideas into engaging audio and video content. Whether you are looking to launch a new series to support a funding bid or want to up-skill your research team, we offer end-to-end production support and tailored training.
If you would like to explore how podcasting can bring your research to life and create real-world impact, please get in touch with our team for an informal chat.
