Laura Cole, creator of Geographical’s On The Ground podcast, speaks to Victoria Heath on the craft of podcasting
Around the world, 584 million people listen to podcasts. In the UK alone, nearly 20 per cent of adults tune in weekly, exploding the industry into a multi-billion-dollar phenomenon.
For journalist and podcaster Laura Cole, this relatively new industry – originating just 20 years ago – has something much older at its core. Strip away the complex editing software and microphones and what remains is the subtle craft of storytelling.
‘It’s very much the same skillset as writing a long-form narrative piece,’ she says. ‘You’ve got to be doing all those same things: finding interesting subjects that are either a microcosm of something happening on a wider scale, or are exceptions to something happening on a wider scale, but told through human experiences.’
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Cole’s inspiration for creating podcasts – like Geographical’s On The Ground – comes from those which build immersive worlds around their subjects. Her favourites are Tortoise Investigates, as well as Mortified – a podcast that follows adults reading out entries from their childhood diaries. It was listening to these productions on walks and runs that first drew her to podcasting.
But Cole hasn’t always been involved in audio journalism. She first began her career at Geographical, joining the magazine as an intern before progressing to becoming a journalist.
Like many early-career journalists, she remembers the uncertainty that came along with those first interviews and writing assignments, a feeling that sometimes rears its head for her today.
‘You’ve got to help yourself feel legitimate,’ she says. ‘Rather than waiting for someone to come and give you some sort of certificate of being an ‘official’ podcaster.’
For Cole, learning the ropes of podcasting has come with its fair share of challenges. Roaring winds, echoing rooms and fluctuating audio levels have all been obstacles to producing stories. As such, much of Cole’s time is spent refining recordings so listeners can feel immersed in the final production as much as possible.
Yet these technical frustrations are outweighed by the opportunities podcasting can create. Unlike the written word, podcasts can add layers of physical sound to a story, heightening the immersion into the world listeners are drawn within.
‘What audio can do that writing can’t do is get a lovely sense of atmospheric noise, like birds or rivers.’
That commitment to place has become pivotal to both the name and ethos of On The Ground, Geographical’s new podcast that Cole spearheads. Whether investigating airport expansion near Bristol, exploring some of the planet’s oldest forests or unravelling the mystery of more than 100 unexplained livestock deaths in the 1960s, Cole insists on visiting locations whenever possible.
‘It’s exciting to actually see where the stories are coming from, and meet people,’ she says.
Looking ahead, Cole is already gathering ideas for future episodes of On The Ground. Environmental investigations remain a priority, particularly around PFAS pollution and so-called ‘forever chemicals’. At the same time, she is drawn to smaller, more intimate stories, like those on birdwatching.
For Cole, then, podcasting and more traditional forms of journalism share a similar thread. They occupy very different strata – audio and the written word – but converge in their ability to craft a story and keep audiences engaged. Ultimately, at the heart of both is a desire to uncover stories on the fringes, waiting to be explored.
