The BBC Academy Podcast

BBC World Service Newshour presenter James Coomarasamy hosts this talk on World Olympic Dreams, the extraordinary project that followed 29 aspiring Olympians on the road to London 2012. Joining James are Matthew Pinsent and Kevin Bishop. Matthew Pinsent is a four times Olympic gold medallist. Kevin Bishop is the series producer of World Olympic Dreams. In this talk Kevin and Matthew share moments from their remarkable journey, lessons learnt along the way and their hopes for shaping sports coverage, post 2012.

Maggi Philbin hosts this masterclass about the the shape of things to come. She is joined by Peter Barron, head of PR at Google, Nick Newman, digital strategist and consultant and former head of BBC Journalism Products within the Future Media department, Daniel Danker general manager of programmes on demand and Peter Cassidy, director at FremantleMedia UK Interactive. Predictions are problematic…but that didn't stop our expert panel of programme makers, technologists and digital strategists from peering into the future and speculating wildly about the shape of things to come. How will Technology influence TV in one, three and five years time? How will audiences be sharing, engaging with and reacting to TV content across news, sport and drama? How will broadcasters be measuring success, and what revenue streams will be funding TV in one, three and five years?

Hazel Marshall hosts this masterclass about the skills needed to make it in drama. She is joined by Ruth Caleb, executive producer BBC, Jane Featherstone and Andrew Davies. What does it take to sustain a successful career in the TV industry? Hear from a panel of award winning and highly respected practitioners about how they have maintained their creativity and vision and continued to spot and create fantastic programmes that resonate with audiences year after year.

What does it take to sustain a successful career in the TV industry? Hear from a panel of award winning and highly respected practitioners about how they have maintained their creativity and vision and continued to spot and create fantastic programmes that resonate with audiences year after year.

Long live the comedy panel show….love them or loathe them audiences never tire of watching them. Mutating from the satirical edge of Have I Got News For You to the anarchy of Celebrity Juice this genre boasts a longevity hard to rival. This session unpicks the appeal of panel shows from the classic formats to the noisy new kids on the block. Our expert panellists, all comedy connoisseurs, reveal their secrets for cracking the format. The panel are Nick Martin, series producer HIGNFY, Dan Baldwin, MD Talkback and Marc Haynes, TV comedy writer. In the chair is Warren Prentice.

Daisy Goodwin hosts this masterclass about the coveted role of a controller. The controllers are Danny Cohen from BBC One, Zai Bennett from BBC Three and Liam Keelan from BBC Daytime.

This session looks at the storytelling and craft skills needed to work across both factual and drama. We hear from a panel of experts how they initially moved from factual to drama, what skills they needed and how their programmes benefit from a multiplicity of storytelling skills. The panel are Colin Barr, My Murder, Alex Holmes, House of Saddam, Jon East, That Summer Day and Hilary Salmon, Maxwell. In the chair is Hazel Marshall.

Join with leading experts from across the industry to look at how they use social media to great effect with regards to informing content, increasing reach, engaging and interacting with audiences, and building loyalty before, during and after broadcast. The panel are Barry Pilling, founding partner at social production company Telegraph Hill, Stephen Saul, social media producer, Talkback Thames, Dan Biddle, editorial lead, TV & iPlayer social media at BBC. In the chair is Sara Brailsford, director of content at Atomized Media.

A discussion with those who commission, produce and present on tv about why women are not adequately represented on the screen and what can be done about it. The session will also offer practical tips on how to find and produce female talent. The panel consists of Alison Kirkham, commissioning editor, Features and Formats at BBC Knowledge, Ben Munro Davies, output editor, Channel 4 News, Claire Richmond, MD Find a TV Expert.com and Siara Khan, presenter and business expert. In the chair is Lisa Campbell, editor Broadcast.

Constructed reality shows such as The Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea, have become incredibly popular in the last few years. So how do the programme makers influence and piece together real and fictional elements to create this often addictive TV and where is this genre headed? Joining Simon in the studio is Alan Hayling, Patrick Holland, Jonathan Stadlen and Tony Wood.