The Whickers, the documentary funding platform established in memory of legendary journalist Alan Whicker, and Sheffield DocFest have announced the shortlist for The Whickers Podcast Pitch Award 2025.
Now in its third year, the Podcast Pitch has received its highest number of submissions to date from 36 different countries around the globe.
The growing interest in narrative factual audio has made this year’s selection process more competitive than ever, the organisers said, but they have now narrowed the entries down to 14 projects highlighting the best in director-led storytelling, offering unique access to compelling characters and presenting fresh, global perspectives on the world we live in.
“The submissions we received this year have been truly exceptional,” said Raul Niño Zimbrano, creative director, Sheffield DocFest.
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The shortlisted projects will now undergo a further round of evaluation, and from these, six finalists will be invited to Sheffield DocFest to pitch their projects live in front of a panel of judges and live audience at The Crucible Playhouse. The winning pitch will be awarded £15,000, and a second pitch will win a development prize of £5,000.
“We’re incredibly excited to give these talented creators a platform and support the next generation of audio documentary makers,” added Jane Ray, artistic director, The Whickers.
The shortlist for the Podcast Pitch Award 2025 includes:
- Be Careful Tomorrow | Francesca Millican-Slater | UK – A postcard sent to Miss L Gibbs on July 15th, 1910, reads ‘Be Careful Tomorrow.’ Signed A.C. This is the story of a 20 year investigation to find out why.
- Everything was fine until… I discovered 38 parasites living in my brain | Nicola Brown & Lowri Denman | UK – Buckle up for this jaw-dropping true story about a young woman from a Welsh village whose life was changed forever by the discovery of 38 parasites in her brain.
- Ex Appeal | Miriam Katz | USA – Miriam will interview every person she has ever been romantic with ON ANY LEVEL, from her first date, to a date with a celebrity, to an orthodox rabbi, to a stripper.
- Exile Army | Muzna Al Naib | UK, France, Jordan, Syria – In the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ez-Zor, a group of revolutionaries found themselves caught between the Assad regime and the ISIS terror group. To continue the fight against both, they took to the desert, living only for the day when they might return home.
- Kaya’s Pursuit | Marta Kasztelan | Poland – After three decades of silence, a Polish woman opens up about the man who changed her life forever, but getting justice is proving more difficult than she had anticipated.
- Love + Radio presents: Blood Memory | Nick van der Kolk | US, UK, Ireland – During his 45 years in federal prison, Michael Thompson became one of the few people to ever leave the Aryan Brotherhood alive — and to testify against them. But is he a gentle soul trapped by a broken system or a master manipulator who can’t be trusted?
- March of the Butterflies | Louise Morris | Colombia, UK – The Colombian drag artist who confronted the paramilitaries. This bold, character-driven narrative series explores an LGBTQ+ community in rural Colombia and how their lives were upended by the country’s civil conflict and peace process.
- Muvvahood | Libby Liburd | UK – In the UK, 1 in 4 families are single parent families and 9 out of 10 single parents are mothers. Muvvahood is a funny, frank and authentic investigative series that smashes through stereotypes to delve into the realities of single motherhood today.
- Off the Rag | Clare Lynch | UK – Rachael Matthews, author of Rag Manifesto: Making, Folklore and Community, and producer Clare embark on a journey of humour, mischief and joy where no materials, skills or imagination will be wasted.
- Redemption Man | Christopher Mitchell | UK – Redemption Man is the true, incredible story of the mysterious man who was seen carrying a large white cross throughout West London for almost 35 years and then suddenly disappeared. The series uncovers the life and legacy of the ‘Cross Man’, his real identity, and his tragic family life.
- The Forgotten Argentinean Cosmonaut | Rosina Castillo | Argentina – The story of Argentina’s first astronaut is largely unknown. A search for the “first Argentinean astronaut” brings up “Mono Juan,” a cute little monkey, but there’s a person who should be recognized as well. Rosina embarks on a mission to reveal this tale.
- The Great Gay Penguin Cover Up | Jesse Lou Lawson | UK – Artist and broadcaster Scottee traces the remarkable story of the Great Gay Penguin Cover Up. Scottee asks, how much have we historically learnt from nature, and how much have we projected onto it?
- The Reformed Druids of North America | Deena Prichep | US – The story of how an attempt to flaunt a 1960s college requirement birthed an actual religion, with plenty of ritual, schism, hilarity, and spiritual debate along the way.
- What Would Mavis Do? | Alice Garner | Australia – In the 1970s, a middle-aged mother called Mavis Robertson was pegged by the Australian intelligence service, ASIO, as one of the nation’s top ‘subversives’. She saw herself as a feminist and a peace activist, so what, precisely, was so threatening about Mavis?
