Episode 9: The Drowners

Sea monsters: The Goodwin Sands Radiogram is a hand-crafted audio storytelling podcast about the coastal people of the south-east of England. Designed to sound like it is broadcast from a wrecked ship on the Goodwin Sands sandbank in the English Channel, listeners are guided through stories people tell about their lives by a Pathe News-style announcer whose voice drifts through the static.

This series is designed to be as immersive as podacasting can be, and takes a great deal of pride in its audio quality and creative application. This is longform storytelling at its best – listen carefully as the interviews interweave and slowly unfold with unexpected, witty, creepy and unforeseen endings. With crafted sound design playing with the tropes of shortwave long-lost radio transmissions, this award-winning show asks listeners to tune in on dark stormy nights and imagine themsleves drifting on stormy waves.

This show was recorded live in front of an audience at Canterbury's Free Range series of arts and music events in May 2024. The interview material was pre-recorded and edited ready for the audience to hear, and then live improvised musical accompaniment and a poet added to the live experience. 

Haunting stories are not just for fiction.