Speechification

Yes, the second instalment of my montage of all the programmes we ever featured at Speechification. 100 clips, just under nine minutes, originally published between April and November 2008. More to come.

No, we're not back (sorry!) but I have been feeling a bit sad without my regular Speechification fix so here's what I've done. I've gone through the programmes we published here and stuck together tiny clips from each to make a sort of break-neck montage of everything we selected. Click to listen here - or it will show up in the podcast if you still subscribe (I guess you may need to remind iTunes that the podcast still exists). I'll warn you, the thing has no merit of its own - it's just fun. But, listening to it, I think it does seem to say something about the sheer variety of voices and stories you can still get from the public service wireless (and especially from BBC Radio 4). It's lovely.

And, while you're waiting for the second episode (programmes 101 - 200), you might want to check out the current activities of Speechification's various curators. Roo (Chief Engineer) is now practically GOD at an important ad agency and - more important - is half of games/comedy/confectionery podcast Shift Run Stop (which also featured here on Speechification not long ago). More about Roo on his blog. Russell also occupies a top role at an ad agency and is a moving force behind the Really Interesting Group and one of the team at Newspaper Club. More on his web site.

Dan (Editor at Large, Australasia) is a kind of globetrotting renaissance man-type with interests in design and cities. Learn more on his blog. Bobbie is a freelance journalist, living the dream in California Brighton. James has carved out a niche as everybody's Chief Book Geek and has also recently joined Really Interesting Group. There are many interesting things on his web site, including Mattins, which I think is important enough to actually copy at Slash Reading. I've also got a sort of successor to Speechification going, called Audiolibre.net. I wrote about both on my blog. Back soon with part two!

Download the MP3

Russell provided a perfectly good explanation for why we decided to call it a day below, but then I edited it so that it made no sense and people have been asking, so here are a few more words about closing Speechification:

Speechification has always been a hobby for us and we're all busy people so, since it was never likely to become a proper job, we've decided it was time to call it a day. Plus, publishing MP3s of radio programmes - even programmes about fungi that went out at 5:45 a.m. - isn't strictly legal and that's a bit stressful, even for mavericks like us (and it's also - if I'm honest - getting expensive to host them all).

So it's goodbye and a huge "thank you" for all your contributions - and especially to the radio producers, editors, presenters and production companies (and fellow listeners, natch) who supported us with MP3s, suggestions and kind words.

After a couple of very pleasant years I'm sorry to say that we're closing Speechification down.

Steve and I agreed to do it a couple of weeks ago but never got around to it. So I'm doing it now.

So, huge thanks to all the programme-makers who sent us their MP3s, or pointed us in their direction. More thanks to all you listeners and even bigger thanks to all the contributors.

We'll be thinking about what we might do next. We'll let you know.

If you have been, thanks for listening.