The first of the podcasts forged in the Audio Lab audio creator programme arrive on BBC Sounds from 13 July, with the next set following in August.

The Film We Can’t See imagines hidden queer connections between filmmakers over a century ago; treasured artefacts inside Britain’s celebrated museums speak for the first time in The Museum Of Bad Vibes; and Blossom Trees And Burnt-Out Cars unearths the radical ramblers and activist gardeners opening up nature to everyone.

Khaliq Meer, Audio Lab Commissioning Executive says: “We only announced our first creators in January, so to be at the point we can share the first three titles of the summer is very exciting. The imagination, creativity and curiosity on display by Hanna, Talia and Adam is even more impressive when I reflect on how they’ve led their ambitious projects whilst learning new skills and developing their ideas at the same time.

“Amplifying the next generation podcasters with new ideas, untold stories and fresh perspectives is exactly what Audio Lab set out to do when we launched this time last year. Together with the creators, we’ve achieved that in a little over six months. They have been a joy to work with and I genuinely can’t wait to see what they do next!”

The inaugural BBC Sounds Audio Lab creators have turned their ideas into multiple-episode podcasts through an immersive training programme, with mentoring and production support from BBC Audio. They are stories from a range of exciting voices and emerging talent, for wider audiences from across the UK.

The Film We Can’t See, by Adam Zmith

It’s 1930. Imagine a chance meeting between a pioneering film director from Russia, a bisexual Hollywood actress and a German sexologist fleeing the Nazis. Imagine if they planned to make a film that would experiment with form, technology, bodies and politics, at a moment when freedom and fascism were clashing. Their film might have changed the world.

This film was never planned or made, but The Film We Can’t See uses documentary and imagination to dream it up anyway.

A chance encounter leads journalist and producer Adam Zmith to some ancient records from the early days of cinema labelled with the name Sergei Eisenstein, who pioneered filmmaking in the Soviet Union in the 1920s. Together with actor Anton Blake Horowitz and researcher So Mayer, their investigation brings them to a team of cinema pioneers who planned to defy censorship of anti-Nazi films and queer bodies. Inspired by rediscovered sound tests, passed through generations of filmmakers, Adam, Anton and So piece together the film that never was, conjuring a lost, censored, alternative history.

The Film We Can’t See is a journey through time and sound, into our bodies and our futures and a genre-bending adventure where documentary meets imagination. With rich sound design and hypnotic jazz by legendary musician Courtney Pine, it is an immersive podcast series that enthrals as much as it inspires.

Adam Zmith, Audio Lab creator, says: “I'm so excited to finally share this adventurous podcast series! I'm obsessed with what might have been, especially featuring radical and queer people from history. I love to imagine them not being held back by fascism and censorship. When I discovered a box of scratchy old sound recordings from some cinema pioneers, I knew they'd give me the chance to imagine. From 1920s Berlin, jazz bars in New York, and the dressing rooms of actors Paul Robeson and Louise Brooks, The Film We Can't See hopefully offers a new way of looking back at history.

“It's been amazing to have BBC Sounds incubate this podcast series and develop me as a maker through Audio Lab - The Film We Can't See would not exist without this incredible support.”

Listen to The Film We Can't See BELOW

The Museum Of Bad Vibes, by Hanna Adan

Treasured artefacts inside Britain’s celebrated museums speak for the first time in The Museum Of Bad Vibes.

The UK has around 2,500 museums that attract around 100 million visitors each year, and between them they hold a staggering 275 million objects and artefacts. But have you ever stopped to think about how the objects found their way there in the first place and what they might say if they could tell their own stories?

In this five-part series, Hanna Adan explores a collection of cultural and spiritual artefacts housed in British museums. From 16th century Benin bronze sculptures to Chinese ancestral tablets and a Koi board carved from a tree in Papua New Guinea, these objects and their ancient spirits are heard for the first time, and have much to say.

With the help of experts and scholars, including Oluwatoyin Sogbesan, Dr John Giblin, Sarah Byrne, Chika Okeke-Agulu and more, The Museum Of Bad Vibes also delves into the origin of each artefact and whether they should, or could, be returned to their homelands and intended communities.

Hanna Adan, Audio Lab creator, says: “The series stems from my love of museums. But just because you love something doesn’t mean you can’t critically examine it, right? I always questioned how the museums acquired these objects, what an object’s story was before it came to the UK and what if the objects could speak for themselves? So like a true millennial, I thought, why not make a podcast about it?

“Without Audio Lab it would have stayed as a thought in my head! I’m so grateful to the team and my mentors for helping me bring the series to life.

“Producing it was far from easy - working out the format, crafting the dramatisations and finding the right voices - but with each interview I learnt so much. I hope that when people listen they hear how much thought and care went into it.”

Listen to The Museum Of Bad Vibes BELOW

Blossom Trees And Burnt-Out Cars, by Talia Randall

Blossom Trees And Burnt-Out Cars unearths the radical ramblers and activist gardeners who are opening up nature to everyone.

One in five people in England struggle to access green space. Sometimes it’s because of where they live, but more often it’s because of who they are.  In the 1930s, a group of ramblers trespassed on privately owned land to assert the rights of working-class people to go for a walk in the countryside. Today groups like Black Girls Hike and Blak Outside are challenging the idea that people of colour don’t belong on allotments or green spaces.

Over the six episodes, Talia Randall meets the nature-loving pioneers who are breaking down barriers - visible and invisible - that keep many locked out of green space, including a YouTube gardener tackling racism with mulch, the nature writers who don’t fit the traditional mould and activists reclaiming the right to belong in rural England.

From a park in Glasgow to a beach in Cornwall and a Traveller site by an A road in London, Blossom Trees And Burnt-Out Cars explores our relationship with nature and asks how it contributes to our identities.

Talia Randall, Audio Lab creator, says: “If you had told me a year ago that I would have made a nature show I would have howled with laughter. Me? Are you sure babes? Throughout this process I told myself I wasn’t making a typical nature show but now that I’ve made the series, I don’t really know what ‘typical’ means.

"This journey started with a simple question: who does and who doesn’t have access to nature? - but it’s grown into so much more than that. It has been a way in to talk about class, race, status, belonging, joy, which children are allowed to play freely in parks and which are seen as a threat.

"Being part of Audio Lab has been exhausting, thrilling and eye-opening. The other audio creatives are absolute diamonds. I’m so excited to share the podcast with you and hear what listeners have to say too”.

Listen to Blossom Trees And Burnt-Out Cars BELOW

Who Is Michael X?

The story of the most influential yet unchartered Black British activist Michael X, who became Britain’s preeminent Black Power leader of his time.

Hamza Salmi, Audio Lab Creator says: “I’m not just speaking about Michael X, I’m speaking about what it’s been like being Black in the UK in the past and how relevant it is today. And about colonial systems of power and how they still exhibit themselves now, using his life to explain that.

With the support of Audio Lab, I can create soundscapes and re-enactment, and elevate the content into something more than just Michael X’s story. I also have access to the BBC archive where I’ve already discovered gold like Michael X’s wife on Woman’s Hour in 1967.”

our mothers’ stories

Bringing together mothers, their daughters and a set of old printed photographs to explore what our mothers’ lives were like before they became mothers.

JN Benjamin, Audio Lab creator, says: “We’re in a moment right now that for so many reasons feels thick with a profound sense of grief. Death and loss are no doubt inevitable but I think the way it is happening has unveiled a collective sense of urgency to hear and preserve the stories of those who came before us. For the children and grandchildren of the African and Caribbean diaspora - including me - whose parents may have been born abroad, this task feels even more important. I want this project to be a provocation; a little nudge to encourage more people to seek out and preserve, in some way, their own mothers' stories.”

Weeds And Wildflowers

Celebrating the people and stories behind the wildlife through the window boxes and community gardens of UK council estates and lower socio-economic neighbourhoods, Weeds And Wildflowers is an investigation into the lack of green space access for some communities.

Talia Randall, Audio Lab Creator says: “I love how personal and intimate audio can be. I like that you can really listen to someone in a way that you can’t always visually. And when we think about nature, we don’t normally think about urban nature or council estates. So it’s a nice way for a listener to be immersed in and challenge some of the ideas about what nature is and what it sounds like.”

Colouring In Britain

Charting the stories and experiences of people of colour past and present across Britain who have influenced and shaped what the UK looks like today, and what it means to be British.

Tommy Dixon, Audio Lab creators says: “I wanted to celebrate British people because a lot of the time, when we speak about being British, we omit a lot of the people who helped Britain to become what it is now. When I was at school I didn’t get taught a lot of Black history. So I wanted to champion the people I look up to and how amazing they are.”

The Reset

A journey through life’s messy middle, activating change and contemplating themes of emotional wellbeing and possibility. Part audio diary, part mixtape manifesto, The Reset is a podcast about learning how to live.

Jade Scott, Audio Lab creator says: “This is a personal journey I’ve been on for a few years, accelerated by hitting 30 and entering a new decade. I’ve always been on this search for knowledge, particularly from global perspectives. This podcast is really about centering Black and Brown women in the conversation about wellness and exploring those themes. Life is for living but the living isn't easy.”