Forged in the North with Fiona Hill
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New podcast series talks to celebrated figures from the North East about how the region has shaped them
Forged in the North with Fiona Hill is a mini podcast series about people, places and stories that have shaped the spirit and soul of North East England.
Inspired by her life and memoir, There is Nothing for you Here, which covers her County Durham roots and subsequent journey to becoming a leading foreign affairs advisor to a series of US Presidents, the UK government, and US National Security Council, Hill speaks to luminaries from the worlds of politics, enterprise, the arts and sport. Hill discusses with them how the North East has shaped their lives and what their hopes are for the region in the future.
In episode one she speaks to musician Sting and Yale historian Paul Kennedy who grew up streets away from each other about the impact of being born into the shipbuilding community of Wallsend; in episode two she speaks to North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and entrepreneur and former Dragon’s Den star Sara Davies MBE about matriarchal leadership and how regional pride is an economic asset; in episode three she talks to award-winning writers Lee Hall and Peter Straughan, who both cut their teeth in a once thriving theatre scene in Newcastle, about the threat of streaming services and the new story-tellers of Tyneside; and in episode four she talks to Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Brendan Foster about competitiveness, public health and how Geordie’s made the Great North Run into the world’s biggest half-marathon.
One of the common denominators of her guests was their sense of roots and home as a driver to success, which reflects recent YouGov research that revealed the North East has the strongest sense of regional identity in England. Hill believes the North excels in ‘soft-power’, now touted as a driver of success and that its regions should ‘lean in’ to the value of their social capital.
“What the podcast is trying to do is put the spotlight on a region that is normally only in the headlines for something going wrong: child poverty, the lowest life expectancy, worst nutrition. But the North East is home of the Industrial Revolution – literally the engines of prosperity. 200 years ago, it was the forefront of innovation, and we’re saying, there’s still a lot of potential for innovation. This podcast is learning from all these amazing, successful people who were forged in the North.”
Forged in the North is funded by New Writing North and Durham Book Festival, with support from Durham County Council, Durham University and Arts Council England.
Produced by Hunter Charlton
Researched by Lucy Valance
Mixed and mastered by John Scott
Presented by Fiona Hill
An Ember Production