Draft:Soundtruism

Soundtruism was established in 2021 as a media production company in the West Midlands. From its founding, the company positioned itself as a talent‑development organisation, aiming to increase the representation of diverse hosts, producers and editorial voices across the UK’s top podcast charts.

In 2023, Soundtruism was selected for the Deutsche Bank Awards for Creative Entrepreneurs (DBACE) longlist, as part of the programme’s annual cohort supporting UK creative enterprises.^[1]

In 2024, Soundtruism was selected for the Creative UK West Midlands Stage Two Cohort, a regional development programme supporting creative businesses across the West Midlands.^[2]

In 2026, Soundtruism was selected as a recipient of the BBC Radio Independent Development Fund.^[3]

Soundtruism is a media partner of the Podcasting Seriously Awards Fund, with founder Nina Robinson serving as the Fund’s UK Ambassador.^[4]

In 2023, Soundtruism launched the UniPod Festival, a Birmingham‑based event designed to support emerging creators, particularly students, early‑career and regionally based producers. The festival expanded the company’s activities into training, community development and industry outreach. Guests at the inaugural festival included Marcus Ryder MBE, and the event opened with a video message from journalist Hamza Syed, host of The Trojan Horse Affair for Serial Productions and The New York Times Audio. A detailed analysis of the 2023 festival was published in Representology: The Journal of Media and Diversity in an article titled "Decolonising Podcasting".^[5]

The 2024 festival included a tribute to poet and cultural figure Benjamin Zephaniah and featured a conversation between George the Poet and academic Dr Martin Glynn of Birmingham City University.^[6]

According to Podcasting Today, the 2025 UniPod Festival featured Kelechi Okafor as the headline guest, highlighting her podcast Say Your Mind.^[7]

The festival is delivered with support from sponsors including BBC Sounds and Amazon Music.

Soundtruism produces visualised podcasts, social media content, documentary and narrative podcast series. Its work includes:

• Shrimps, Saris and Guns – a BBC World Service documentary investigating the impact of intensive shrimp farming in Bangladesh.^[8]
• The Last Afghan Sikhs – a BBC documentary presented by Kawoon Khamoosh.^[9]
• Spiritualism and the Soul – a BBC World Service Heart and Soul documentary spotlighting emerging voices in the West Midlands.^[10]
• Sportshour – Kabaddi Championships Wolverhampton.^[11][12]
• Birmingham Commonwealth Games: Grassroots Heroes – a BBC World Service documentary highlighting community figures connected to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.^[13]
• Activist Sikh – a BBC Heart and Soul documentary exploring Sikh traditions of protest and resistance.^[14]
• 6888 – Major Charity Adams and the Six‑Triple‑Eight – an episode of the BBC history strand Witness recounting the story of Major Charity Adams.^[15]
• Dr Martin Luther King Jr: 60 Years Since ‘I Have a Dream’ – a BBC World Service documentary marking the 60th anniversary of Dr King’s 1963 speech.^[16]
• LGBTQ+: Religion and Me – a BBC Heart and Soul episode featuring cross‑cultural conversations between LGBTQ+ individuals from Muslim, Sikh, Jewish and Christian backgrounds.^[17]
• Midlife Messy and Marvellous – a visualised podcast hosted by broadcaster Marverine Cole.^[18]

Soundtruism has also produced content for organisations in the charity and NGO sector, including Greenpeace, Oxfam and the Women’s Resource Centre.^[19]

Soundtruism’s stated mission is to increase the presence of diverse hosts, producers and editorial talent within the UK podcast industry, with a particular focus on representation in the top 25 UK podcast charts. Through the UniPod Festival and its production work, the company supports early‑career creators, student journalists and under‑represented voices.

Soundtruism was founded by Birmingham‑based journalist Nina Robinson. She has worked extensively across the UK podcast and radio sectors and is known for her work in global news and international current affairs for the BBC World Service. She received a Peabody Award and a Foreign Press Association prize for her reporting on dog fighting in south‑side Chicago and has worked as a foreign correspondent, including a period based in Kingston, Jamaica. Her documentary work has included reporting from Libya following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, investigations in Kazakhstan and Japan, coverage of the inauguration of President Barack Obama, and a two‑year project examining the social impact of the Olympic Games across London, Beijing and Rio de Janeiro.

During her BBC career, Robinson held senior editorial roles across radio, television and digital news.

Robinson was awarded a Fellowship of The Radio Academy in 2023, with Sir Lenny Henry describing her as a "trailblazer" at the ceremony.^[20] She served for five years as a board director at AudioUK, the trade association representing audio production companies across the United Kingdom, and was a member of its BBC Charter Renewal Group. She is also a Fellow of the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity and is recognised for her advocacy for greater diversity and inclusion within the UK media industry.

Robinson is currently a trustee of The Audio Academy.

• Peabody Award^[21]
• Foreign Press Association Prize^[22]
• Fellowship of The Radio Academy (2023)^[23]

• Podcasting Today – "Birmingham’s Uni Pod Festival 26 to focus on video podcast creation" (2026)^[24]
• BBC News – "Podcast festival to celebrate Benjamin Zephaniah" (2024)^[25]
• EnSpire Oxford – "Nina Robinson, founder of Soundtruism" (2023)^[26]

• Peabody Awards Ceremony – Nina Robinson receiving the award – Official Peabody Awards YouTube channel