National public broadcasters BBC and CBC/Radio-Canada today announced the joint commission of three new original podcasts by BBC World Service and CBC Podcasts, bringing together two world-leading audio makers to create top-quality, high-impact content for global audiences. The podcast co-productions are an extension of the commitment to collaboration announced by the BBC and CBC/Radio-Canada in 2019, stating the national public broadcasters’ intention to work together to enhance their services and programmes across all platforms, and bring the best stories to audiences around the world. The three podcasts, in production now, are scheduled for release in late 2022 and 2023, and will be available on BBC Sounds, CBC Listen and on most other podcast and audio platforms.
“I’m delighted that the BBC World Service is collaborating with CBC Podcasts in creating fresh, compelling podcasts through these new commissions. With first-class storytelling at their heart, I look forward to seeing these podcasts brought to a wider audience.” – Tim Davie, Director General, BBC.
“BBC and CBC/Radio-Canada are both leaders in podcasting and it is a great pleasure to launch this joint initiative. This collaboration is just another way that we as public broadcasters can leverage our expertise to serve audiences at home and around the world.” – Catherine Tait, President and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada.
These are the podcasts, currently in production. Please note, these are all working titles. Host headshots and available bios can be found here.
THE BILLION DOLLAR GOLDMINE SCAM (BBC Scotland Productions)
In the 1990s, Bre-X Minerals perpetrated the world's largest mining fraud. Investigative journalist Suzanne Wilton tells the story of how the promise of gold can make people do crazy things. This globe-trotting tale of greed, gold and mystery features amazing archive and sound design, plus interviews with investigators, those who lost a fortune, as well as some of the people at the heart of the scam.
THE BAIT (Antica Productions/Telltale Industries)
The search for an adult entertainment star whose images are being used against her will in a global catfishing scheme. Journalist and host Hannah Ajala embarks on a journey from the UK to Florida to West Africa, discovering a criminal web bilking those in search of romance out of their fortunes.
HOLLYWOOD OUTCASTS (BBC Audio Wales)
The story of how Hollywood’s “Tramp,” Charlie Chaplin, became the focus of a decades-long FBI campaign to root out communism in Tinseltown. Host Oona Chaplin guides listeners through the real-life events of J. Edgar Hoover’s personal obsession with her grandfather, through to the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings and the “Hollywood blacklist”. This tale of glamour, duplicity and political intrigue reverberates in the culture wars to this day.
BBC World Service is a key player in the podcast market and its shows have won multiple awards. Original podcasts that have become international hits include the Peabody nominated The Lazarus Heist, Death in Ice Valley (produced with Norway’s NRK) and 13 Minutes to the Moon. The Global News Podcast is the BBC’s most downloaded podcast, with more than 239 million downloads in 2021 and a worldwide following. Kalki Presents: My Indian Life, with Bollywood actor, Kalki Koechlin, is about being young and Indian in the 21st century. The Comb and Africa Daily are both aimed at reaching audiences in countries in Africa. Other notable shows include Deeply Human, 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter, The Climate Question, Goodbye to All This, , A Wish for Afghanistan and The Bomb.
From Canada’s public broadcaster, CBC Podcasts is a richly diverse collection of award-winning podcasts that engage, enlighten and entertain. Major hits include true-crime series Someone Knows Something, 13 seasons of Uncover, investigative series Hunting Warhead, daily news podcast Front Burner, and Nothing is Foreign, a world news podcast that takes listeners directly to where the story is unfolding. CBC/Radio-Canada is the #1 Canadian podcast publisher, reaching more listeners worldwide than any other Canadian podcast publisher with millions of downloads each month and more than 40 series in genres such as true crime, comedy, human interest and audio fiction.
About BBC World Service
BBC World Service delivers news content around the world in English and 41 other language services, on radio, TV and digital. BBC World Service reaches a weekly audience of 364m. As part of BBC World Service, BBC Learning English teaches English to global audiences. For more information, visit bbc.com/worldservice. The BBC attracts a weekly global audience of 489m people to its services available internationally, including BBC World Service, BBC World News television channel, bbc.com/news, BBC Studios and the international charity, BBC Media Action.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Esther Soliman, BBC World Service
Tanya Koivusalo, CBC PR
