Written by: Sarah Huxley, Our World, Connected Podcast Manager
According to the Podcast Index, as of 19 January 2026 there were approximately 4,594,000 podcasts available globally. Podcasting has become a well-established and rapidly expanding medium. Whether listeners are drawn to current affairs, a niche podcast on esoteric music, or practical culinary tips, the global podcast landscape offers a rich and diverse range of content that informs, entertains and invites reflection. Podcasts serve a wide variety of purposes and audiences.
The term ‘podcast’ was coined in 2004 by the broadcaster and futurist Ben Hammersley and added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in August 2005. It is therefore a relatively new digital communication medium. However, it has its roots in centuries-old oral storytelling traditions across cultures, as well as in twentieth-century radio broadcasting. The oral distribution of knowledge and practical insight through sound is ancient and central to human meaning-making.
As an audio digital broadcasting medium, podcasting has immense potential for knowledge production, dissemination and exchange. Assuming access to the internet, podcasting is both accessible and flexible: listeners can tune in anywhere – on a bus, on a walk or at home – and retain control over when and how much they listen. We also record online so that our guests do not need to be in a specific location, enabling participation across borders. For an organisation committed to exchange across cultures, communities and generations, this presents significant opportunity.
Within the Research and Insight team at the British Council, our podcast is closely aligned with our wider cultural relations mission. We are interested in how podcasting can act as a powerful medium for building connections, fostering understanding and strengthening trust through language, learning and creativity.
The conversations and dialogue that Christine Wilson, the Director of Research and Insight and our host, engages in for the Our World, Connected podcast, invites curiosity and encourages listeners to consider a wide range of perspectives on the current social and cultural debates in the world today.
Our World, Connected aims to explore some of the major global issues of our time, such as climate change, global development and soft power, grounded in the British Council’s purpose of enhancing peace and prosperity through our core areas of work: arts and culture, education and language learning. In a world in which polarisation, disinformation and fearmongering are gaining momentum, this work feels highly relevant, as it holds a cultural space for reflection, dialogue and critical engagement.
We have covered subjects such as the place of culture in sustainable development and climate action, the evolution of knowledge diplomacy, key issues in transnational education, and the future of English in a digital world. Our guests reflect the breadth of the British Council’s global networks, including diplomats and artists, academic/subject experts and youth activists – all sharing their inspiring, contextualised stories and practical insights into how to grapple with some of the most pressing challenged of our time.
Our World, Connected wins Gold at the Signal Awards
Our World, Connected, the British Council’s flagship podcast, was piloted in early 2024 and is now in its third series. In September 2025, we received a Gold award in Thought Leadership from the prestigious industry Signal Awards, prompting a moment of reflection on the podcast’s journey and impact to date.
The podcast was originally designed around four core goals. At its heart is relationship-building – strengthening connections with guests, creating a positive and inclusive experience for all involved, and delivering meaningful value to listeners. It also supports thought leadership, positioning the British Council as a credible and trusted voice on key global issues through original, engaging conversations presented in an accessible format. A third goal is culture and capacity building, amplifying diverse voices from across the British Council and the Global South, while supporting skills development and shared learning. Finally, the podcast contributes to brand awareness for British Council Research & Insight, and the organisation more broadly, by growing listenership and reaching priority stakeholders globally.
Each episode is closely connected to our research, either by unpacking findings or shaping the questions we ask. For example, our Next Generation Brazil youth research prompted a conversation with the Brazilian Ambassador to the UK in Season 3, Episode 2, exploring young people’s priorities in the research and how government might respond. In this way, the podcast bridges research evidence and practice, connecting what we know with what we do, and situating both within wider global debates.
As of December 2025, we received over 18,812 plays, gained more than 1,520 followers, and reached listeners in 150 countries worldwide. Equally important, however, is how we learn and evolve. In a media landscape saturated with negative news, Our World, Connected does not seek to minimize the severity of global crises, but instead offers a space for reflection, inspiration and thoughtful engagement – allowing time for contemplation, sense-making and pathways towards repair.
Our guests make the podcast what it is – through their conviction, generosity and willingness to collaborate. Highlights from Season 2 include architect Kabage Karanja, one of the curators of the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, who reflected on caves as sites of cultural memory and decolonial storytelling, and on architecture as a force of geological and social repair. His contribution invites a radically different way of understanding architecture as an instrument of change.
Another standout moment was Professor David Crystal’s explanation of the historical evolution of English, and its future in an increasingly digital world. We are also deeply moved by guests who combine humour with openness when sharing difficult personal experiences, such as Saja’s story in Season 3, offering insight into her life and education in Iraq as a wheelchair user, and revealing both shared experiences across borders and deeply nuanced local realities.
‘Being on the Our World, Connected podcast encouraged me to slow down and reflect more deeply on my lived experiences, particularly how personal stories intersect with global challenges. The format created space not only to speak, but to truly listen — to myself and to the wider context of the conversation. It helped me articulate ideas around deep listening, conflict, and human connection in a more grounded and globally relevant way.’ Hawraa Ghandour, from Season 2 Episode 12
Future possibilities
Digital podcasting can make knowledge more accessible, particularly through widespread smartphone use. Our approach to podcasting intentionally creates space for multiple voices and encourages listeners to form their own perspectives.
We continue to explore how a cultural relations approach to podcasting can be further developed – rooted in trust-building, informed research insights, and extended through the networks we support and encounter. Each episode brings together two guests: one sharing personal experience, which then becomes a springboard for dialogue with a second guest. This structure allows lived experience and expertise to sit alongside one another in meaningful exchange.
We intentionally draw together guests from diverse geographies, background and cultures, which is central to our approach to cultural engagement. More about our cultural relations work can be found here:
https://www.britishcouncil.org/research-insight/cultural-relations-approach or https://www.britishcouncil.org/research-insight/cultural_relations_in_action
While Our World, Connected is unlikely to become a video-led podcast, there remains considerable scope for growth and experimentation. One thing is certain, and particularly fitting to acknowledge upon receiving a Signal Award: the podcast is a deeply collaborative endeavour, involving technical producers, sound designers, scriptwriters and guest storytellers. Rooted in connection, it reminds us of the importance of holding similarity and difference together – and of sustaining spaces for reflection in an increasingly noisy word.
Listen and subscribe:
https://www.britishcouncil.org/research-insight/our-world-connected-podcast
Contact Sarah for potential story topics/guest ideas or further information: sarah.huxley@britishcouncil.org