Heartlands

BBAudio

Heartlands takes listeners on a journey through Britain painting a picture of what work - in the shadow of heavy industry - looks like in 2022. From the burgeoning film and TV industry in Glasgow, freeport workers in Tilbury and Amazon associates in Durham, we uncover which new industries are thriving and how working culture is evolving.  Told through the lens of 5 young presenters: Sophie, Hugh, Macy, Charley and Ché, this series explores youth employment and takes an unbiased snapshot of our post-industrial heartlands now.                                                             Producers: Hunter Charlton & Ben Tulloh Production Assistance: Anna Budd, Guy Gardener and Tess Davidson Exec Producer: Arlie Adlington Artwork: Edd Wellesley-Davies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

  1. 02/11/2022

    Durham: Coal Faces and Pack Stations

    County Durham was once synonymous with the production of coal. In the nineteenth century, mining transformed the landscape and the population of Durham. Colliery villages sprang up everywhere and migrant workers flocked to the North East from all parts of the UK. Today the collieries have all gone, but the villages and the memories of this dirty, dangerous industry remain.   In episode 3, we meet Hugh, who grew up in a village called Pittington, close to many of Durham's former mines. Since 2020, 4 Amazon fulfilment centres have opened their doors - all within 30-minute’ drive from Hugh's home. e remembers how friends and acquaintances from school often found themselves working in these vast, high-tech warehouses outside of term time. Having heard lots about Amazon in the news, Hugh wanted to find out more about this retail giant and what it means for post-industrial communities living in the North East.   Hugh talks to Dan, an old friend from school who worked at Amazon during the coronavirus lockdown. He has a coffee in Pittington with his dad Robin who qualified as a geography teacher in 1984 - a time when the local economy was changing fast. We meet David Temple, a shipbuilder who became a miner at Murton colliery, where he worked for 20 years and lost several friends in industrial accidents. We also hear from Jay, a current Amazon employee who previously worked in the railways before being made redundant. Hugh puts questions to Amy Harhoff, corporate director of regeneration, economy and growth at Durham council and speaks to journalist James Bloodworth who wrote ‘Hired: six months undercover in low-wage Britain’. Presenter: Hugh Morris                                             Producers: Hunter Charlton & Ben Tulloh Assistant production: Anna Bud and Guy Gardiner Executive producer: Arlie Adlington   Artwork: Edd Wellesley-Davies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    23 min
  2. 31/10/2022

    Tilbury: Hope, Poverty and the Freeport

    With £6 billion pounds of private investment flooding into the Thames estuary since 2017, life and the world of work are changing rapidly in the small town of Tilbury in Essex.   In episode 1 of Heartlands, we follow Sophie who recently turned 18. Sophie descends from Romani travellers who settled in Tilbury three generations ago. Growing up she remembers riding horses in nearby fields with her dad. Those same fields are now home to Europe’s largest Amazon fulfilment centre and an electric car manufacturing plant called Tevva. Businesses and multinational corporations have flocked to Tilbury in recent years drawn by the expansion of the Thames Freeport.   Despite huge investment, Tilbury remains one of the most deprived communities in England. The local expectancy is 9.4 years less for men and 6.5 years less for women than the national average. In some areas, more than half of young people grow up in poverty (56%) – more than double the national average.   Join Sophie as she tries to understand why and how this disparity arose in her hometown and what’s being done to halt the decline in living standards. With thanks to Frank Thompson, Kevin Sadler, Harry Blackman, Peter Ward, MP Jackie Doyle Price, Paul Swinney, The Tilbury Community Centre and Tilbury’s Irish Association.   Presenter: Sophie Ryan                                             Producers: Hunter Charlton & Ben Tulloh Assistant production: Anna Bud and Guy Gardiner Exec Producer: Arlie Adlington Artwork: Edd Wellesley-Davies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    25 min

About

Heartlands takes listeners on a journey through Britain painting a picture of what work - in the shadow of heavy industry - looks like in 2022. From the burgeoning film and TV industry in Glasgow, freeport workers in Tilbury and Amazon associates in Durham, we uncover which new industries are thriving and how working culture is evolving.  Told through the lens of 5 young presenters: Sophie, Hugh, Macy, Charley and Ché, this series explores youth employment and takes an unbiased snapshot of our post-industrial heartlands now.                                                             Producers: Hunter Charlton & Ben Tulloh Production Assistance: Anna Budd, Guy Gardener and Tess Davidson Exec Producer: Arlie Adlington Artwork: Edd Wellesley-Davies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.