Pictured: Jane Ray, Artistic Director, The Whickers, and Lieven Heeremans, Sheffield DocFest's Podcast Programme Producer, with last year's The Whicker's Podcast Pitch winner, Christina Hardinge. Credit: David Chang
The Whickers, in partnership with Sheffield DocFest, are delighted to announce the Finalists for the 2025 The Whickers Podcast Pitch Award. Now in its third year, The Whickers 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 but we have managed to narrow the entries down to the final six exceptional projects The six finalist teams will be invited to Sheffield DocFest to pitch their projects live in front of a panel of esteemed 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.
“Our collaboration with The Whickers for the The Whickers Podcast Pitch is a true highlight of the festival. Podcasts are one of the most dynamic and democratic forms of storytelling today — they offer intimacy, urgency, and a space for voices often unheard. We're proud to champion this powerful medium and to support creators pushing the boundaries of audio documentary,” said Raul Niño Zimbrano, Creative Director, Sheffield DocFest.
“Despite being our most competitive year yet, in terms of the number of applicants and the quality of their ideas, we are thrilled with this year’s finalists. Each scintillating story is a small rebellion. Each one manages to coax the human spirit into revealing itself using wit, imagination, finely tuned interviewing skills and endless curiosity. Yet, each story is very different. Alan Whicker would have loved them all,” added Jane Ray, Artistic Director, The Whickers.
Without further ado, here are the finalists for The Whickers Podcast Pitch Award 2025:
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.
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.
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 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.
We are also delighted to announce this year’s panel of esteemed judges.
Returning for a second year is multi-award-winning Commissioning Editor for Factual at BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds, Dan Clarke. Dan’s work includes some of the most acclaimed audio storytelling in recent years, including hit podcasts Things Fell Apart and Uncharted, alongside Three Million (Gold, Best New Podcast at the British Podcast Award), Legend (Gold, Best Music Podcast at the British Podcast Awards), and Intrigue: To Catch A Scorpion, which won both the Prix Europa and Prix Italia for Best European Investigation in 2024
We are also pleased to welcome Talia Augustidis to the panel for the first time. An award-winning audio producer, artist, community organiser, and former Whicker winner, Talia is known for her innovative approach to storytelling and sound design as well as authoring the All Hear newsletter in collaboration with Transom.org
Also for the first time on our panel, we welcome the award winningproducer of the iconic podcast This American Life, Emmanuel Dzotsi. Emmanuel has reported on everything from backroom deals for political power, vast money-making phone scams hidden in plain sight, to stories about America’s broken immigration system. Most recently, Emmanuel was the co-host of the popular podcast about the internet, Reply All, where he was a National Magazine Award finalist for his 3-part series on a years-long feud in the Alabama Democratic Party. His work has been profiled in publications including the New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Guardian, among others.
The full industry programme of industry sessions, pitches and events will be announced on 14 May 2025.
Industry festival passes are on sale now here for members of the podcast, film, digital art and related communities, and you can apply for press accreditation via this link here.
Sheffield DocFest is made possible thanks to the support of our partners, funders and sponsors, including Principal Funders BFI Audience Projects Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, Sheffield City Council and Arts Council England.
