Adam Stoner
85 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago -I create multi-award-winning podcasts at Fun Kids including Mysteries of Science and The Week Junior Show.
I write for Science+Nature magazine and have freelanced for Boom Radio, RadioDNS, and more. Millions have heard, seen, or read something I’ve made.
I sent the first radio programme to deep space, as featured in the 2023 Guinness World Records book, and am developing Send a Message to Space. Tap follow to get updates in your podcast app.
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Episodes
iPhone SE
June 13, 2020 10:23 - 5 minutes - 8.06 MBI don't usually write about tech gear. I usually write about tech principles. And I don't consider myself a 'gear head' whatsoever – I actually find that whole culture rather abhorrent – all of which makes this post very unusual. On April 24th 2020, Apple released the second-generation iPhone SE. In comparison to its current flagship models, the iPhone SE is a downgrade in handset design, sporting the same shell as the iPhone 8 – Touch ID and all – but is nearly identical computing-wis...
A radical future
June 10, 2020 07:00 - 5 minutes - 7.99 MBThis post was written before the reigniting of the Black Lives Matter movement. The ideas in this essay boil down to one central principle: the redistribution of power, which is vital to equality. * I've been doing lots of thinking in lockdown about the world I want to see when the current crisis is over. Remembering that business as usual has led to our current condition and that business as usual was failing us on so many other accounts, I wonder what the new normal should look lik...
British Podcast Awards nominations
June 07, 2020 07:00 - 19 minutes - 26.3 MBHello, my name is Adam Ayrton Stoner and this is Recently, a monthly email round-up letting you know what I've been doing, reading, watching, listening to and enjoying recently. Members can read this post (and see the things I mention) at adamstoner.com/023 I was buoyed to see several Fun Kids podcasts nominated at the British Podcast Awards earlier this month. The Santa Daily, presented by Father Christmas in the countdown to December 25th is up in two categories: Best Daily, agains...
Recently: 023
June 07, 2020 07:00 - 19 minutes - 26.3 MBHello, my name is Adam Ayrton Stoner and this is Recently, a monthly email round-up letting you know what I've been doing, reading, watching, listening to and enjoying recently. Members can read this post (and see the things I mention) at adamstoner.com/023 I was buoyed to see several Fun Kids podcasts nominated at the British Podcast Awards earlier this month. The Santa Daily, presented by Father Christmas in the countdown to December 25th is up in two categories: Best Daily, agains...
Black Lives Matter
June 02, 2020 17:00 - 1 minute - 2.21 MBWhen the COVID-19 health crisis began, we packed up our problems into neat little boxes and popped them in the corner of the room. 'We'll deal with those later,' we said. 'We have more urgent matters right now. People are dying.' As anyone who has ever done a house clear-out knows – and we've all had enough time to! – the rubbish doesn't throw itself away. The problem sit there until you deal with it. But in this metaphor, the problems aren't labelled 'Kitchen junk' and 'Old bedding',...
How I made my website
May 30, 2020 12:30 - 6 minutes - 9.01 MBThe amount of emails I get about how adamstoner.com is made are so numerous (about two to three per week now) that I though it best to just write a public post about it... My website is built using a Content Management System (CMS) called Ghost. Examples of other CMS include Wordpress and Squarespace. I’ve been using Ghost since 2016 and chose it over these other options due to how lightweight and simple its admin interface is as well as the coding language it’s written in. I find Wor...
Blockchain social media
May 16, 2020 09:30 - 3 minutes - 5.31 MBWikipedia describes the blockchain as: a decentralised, distributed, public, digital ledger that is used to record transactions across many computers so that any involved record cannot be altered retroactively, without the alteration of all subsequent [records] Wikipedia describes social media as: computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation or sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks On May 15t...
Recently: 022
May 05, 2020 14:23 - 7 minutes - 9.88 MBHello, my name is Adam Ayrton Stoner and this is Recently, a monthly email round-up letting you know what I've been doing, reading, watching, listening to and enjoying recently. Members can read this post (and see the things I mention) at adamstoner.com/022. This month, I've been: Producing and editing Stuck at Home for the UK's children's radio station Fun Kids, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts and for a short while on BBC Sounds. Providing guidance to friends on s...
Aesop's Rozu and Trunk Clothiers
May 05, 2020 14:23 - 7 minutes - 9.88 MBHello, my name is Adam Ayrton Stoner and this is Recently, a monthly email round-up letting you know what I've been doing, reading, watching, listening to and enjoying recently. Members can read this post (and see the things I mention) at adamstoner.com/022. This month, I've been: Producing and editing Stuck at Home for the UK's children's radio station Fun Kids, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts and for a short while on BBC Sounds. Providing guidance to friends on s...
Making radio from home
April 05, 2020 06:00 - 8 minutes - 11.6 MBRecently is my monthly newsletter letting you know what I’ve been doing, reading, listening to and enjoying. It’s usually only available for members — you can sign up for free at adamstoner.com. Members can read this post (and see the things I mention) at adamstoner.com/021. When I shared my last update, the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis was still a tragedy happening in a country with little resemblance to ours, millions of miles away. Today, in the UK, we're faced with thousands of fr...
Recently: 021
April 05, 2020 06:00 - 8 minutes - 11.6 MBRecently is my monthly newsletter letting you know what I’ve been doing, reading, listening to and enjoying. It’s usually only available for members — you can sign up for free at adamstoner.com. Members can read this post (and see the things I mention) at adamstoner.com/021. When I shared my last update, the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis was still a tragedy happening in a country with little resemblance to ours, millions of miles away. Today, in the UK, we're faced with thousands of fr...
The best journaling app
March 28, 2020 06:00 - 4 minutes - 10.9 MBThis post was originally published on adamstoner.com. It's called "The best journaling app" and you can read it at adamstoner.com/journal and below... I've tried journaling for years and I've used just about every journaling app there is, even going so far as to build my own. The habit has never stuck until recently and I put my newfound success down to one thing: Standard Notes. I've raved about Standard Notes in the past. It’s a beautifully minimal, open-source note-taking app that’...
Weapons of Mass Creation
March 15, 2020 06:00 - 5 minutes - 13.5 MBEveryone has their trade. Everyone needs their tools. I'm one of those arty-farty media types that calls themselves a creative. Ask any creative what software is imperative to their work and Adobe Creative Cloud will be top of their list, period. There’s not much worth quibbling about here – everyone uses these tools and for good reason: they’re brilliant. I predominantly use Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. Avid Pro Tools is an advanced, industry standard audio editing software....
Weapons of mass creation
March 15, 2020 06:00 - 5 minutes - 13.5 MBEveryone has their trade. Everyone needs their tools. I'm one of those arty-farty media types that calls themselves a creative. Ask any creative what software is imperative to their work and Adobe Creative Cloud will be top of their list, period. There’s not much worth quibbling about here – everyone uses these tools and for good reason: they’re brilliant. I predominantly use Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. Avid Pro Tools is an advanced, industry standard audio editing software....
Coronavirus and news anxiety
March 04, 2020 18:00 - 3 minutes - 8.32 MBThis post was originally published on adamstoner.com. It's called "Coronavirus and news anxiety" and you can read it at adamstoner.com/coronavirus and below... With the COVID-19 Coronavirus spreading, it's natural to feel anxious. News outlets hang on data and unfortunately that means they hang on death counts. The nature of modern news means these figures feel inescapable; push notifications for every new case can feel like the virus is moving closer and closer to where you live and ...
BBC Radio Gloucestershire and the School of Life
March 01, 2020 07:00 - 12 minutes - 29.3 MBRecently is my monthly newsletter letting you know what I’ve been doing, reading, listening to and enjoying. It’s usually only available for members — you can sign up for free at adamstoner.com. Members can read this post (and see the things I mention) at adamstoner.com/020. The back-to-back battering of storms Ciara and Dennis earlier this month proved largely uneventful for me and my travels. Disruptive but relatively low-destruction storms like these serve as a handy reminder that...
Recently: 020
March 01, 2020 07:00 - 12 minutes - 29.3 MBRecently is my monthly newsletter letting you know what I’ve been doing, reading, listening to and enjoying. It’s usually only available for members — you can sign up for free at adamstoner.com. Members can read this post (and see the things I mention) at adamstoner.com/020. The back-to-back battering of storms Ciara and Dennis earlier this month proved largely uneventful for me and my travels. Disruptive but relatively low-destruction storms like these serve as a handy reminder that...
All emails answered
February 15, 2020 19:00 - 1 minute - 2.65 MBThis post was originally published on adamstoner.com. It's called "All emails answered" and you can read it at adamstoner.com/emails and below... Since mid-January, I’ve been replying to 100% of my emails. Every single one. It’s something I gleamed from Derek Sivers who over the past ten years has replied to 200,000 emails from 86,000 people – including ones from me. Thanks, Derek. I used to hate email. It used to scare me. Far too formal. Far too pressing. Then, out of nowhere, I dec...
How to become a climate activist
February 07, 2020 03:00 - 3 minutes - 4.63 MBThis post was originally published on adamstoner.com. It's called "How to become a climate activist" and you can read it at adamstoner.com/climate and below... Understand the problem Watch Climate 101 with Bill Nye Watch Al Gore's 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth Read This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein Keep an eye on respectable news outlets and recognise and accept that extreme weather events and climate change are inextricably linked Find out more about global carbon b...
Coming soon
January 24, 2020 17:00 - 50 seconds - 783 KBHello. My name is Adam Ayrton Stoner and this is my podcast. In order to get this podcast into the places it needs to be, I need to upload and share some audio with you. Rather than saying "Hello this is my podcast and it's coming soon," I thought I'd share something I wrote on the eve of my 23rd birthday. Enjoy. Follow Adam Ayrton Stoner Web: adamstoner.com Newsletter: adamstoner.com/subscribe Twitter: @admstnr Email: [email protected]
Bodies into billboards
January 12, 2020 17:43 - 1 minute - 2.24 MBI'm not a fan of clothing emblazoned with huge brand names. Jumpers with the company name written across the front or designer logos that occupy a quarter of the garment turn your body into advertising real estate. When we buy clothing with brand names splashed across them in such ostentatious ways, you become ad space for some of the most powerful companies imaginable. Instead of wearing the brand names of some of these companies and turning our bodies into billboards for them, what i...
Community over audience
January 06, 2020 17:49 - 5 minutes - 7.78 MBIf the previous decade was about radically open social media platforms (as Andy McIlwain calls them) I have a strong feeling that this coming decade will be the complete opposite. Instead of status updates sent into the unmanageable and unfiltered void, I'm betting on a flip from audience to community, from reach to engagement, and from viewers/listeners/readers to paid-up die-hard fans. And I want you in on it. I've taken a decision that some of the mightiest publishing giants in the ...
Resolutions for 2020
December 31, 2019 18:03 - 4 minutes - 5.74 MBDespite the determination and focus they bring, I've never been very good at sticking to New Year resolutions. Rather than a lack of willpower, I put this down to a lack of accountability. I've been doing some work with non-profit organisations in the last quarter of 2019 and have seen firsthand how a deep-rooted need for accountability can help achieve goals. As an Individual Member of 1% For the Planet, I'm expected to upload donation receipts and proof of income. This radical transp...
Predictions for 2030
December 31, 2019 17:58 - 6 minutes - 8.62 MBInspired in part by Long Bets and the new decade, I'm making some predictions for the coming ten years. They're based around areas that I think will be the biggest points of improvement and decline for humankind: Power and population, politics, food, climate, travel, artificial intelligence and technology. Power and Population: By 2030, one country will have shutdown its citizens access to the internet for a total of at least 366 days – 10% of the decade. Freedom House report that we ...
Why I left Monzo
September 25, 2019 18:06 - 2 minutes - 3.65 MBToday is my last day with Monzo, the bank account that lives on your smartphone. There are several reasons why I'm opting to leave Monzo but one key reason is that I have more Current Accounts than I need. In the process of consolidating them and weighing up the pros and cons of each, Monzo didn't fare too well. I initiated a Current Account Switch earlier in the month and my account is in its final day of being absorbed into an account with a so-called 'legacy bank'. For the record, ...
Somebody stole my iMac
September 13, 2019 18:12 - 5 minutes - 7.5 MBSometime between the hours of 6pm on September 10th and 7:30am on September 11th, my iMac was stolen from my place of work. It was an unimpressive but effective break-in: a brick through the window, the computer under their arm, and out into the London air. The hours that followed my discovery were filled with the tedious task of both damage limitation – 'what was on my computer that might compromise my security if somebody were able to access it?' – and setting up a new machine. For ...
Encryption, security, privacy
August 14, 2019 17:23 - 8 minutes - 11.6 MBOver the past few months I've become increasingly more security and privacy conscious. This has led me to upgrade the tools I use on a daily basis to ones that support my ethos and make some kind of further statement about the world I would like to live in. In this post, I write about the tools I now use and share some thoughts on the society in which I use them. US Attorney General William Barr claims that 'making our virtual world more secure should not come at the expense of making ...
Self-destructing tweets
June 12, 2019 15:09 - 9 minutes - 12.9 MBRead the full version of this podcast at adamstoner.com/tweetdelete Twitter prides itself on being current. It is not a social network, it is an information network. It is quick, short, sharp and to-the-point and yet despite Twitter’s immediacy it also has an unnecessary permanence. At best, old tweets are of little value. At worst they’re a personal and professional liability. In July 2016, I had 63,000 tweets. One month later, I had less than 20. There’s a growing body of people who...
Who is Adam Ayrton Stoner?
January 01, 2019 18:00 - 1 minute - 2.32 MBHello, my name is Adam! I graduated with 1:1 BA (Hons) in Radio Production from the University of Gloucestershire in 2016 and have been producing radio, digital, and design content for the UK's children's radio station, Fun Kids, ever since. I also freelance as a brand and experience designer, working with clients such as RadioDNS, Digital Radio UK, and Clearwater Hampers. If you'd like to hire me to work on your project, get in touch using the contact details below. I'm interested i...
Michael Acton-Smith of Calm
November 17, 2016 07:08 - 3 minutes - 5.23 MBScience has proven that meditation increases immunity, decreases pain, increases positive thinking, decreases depression, increases social connection and emotional intelligence and decreases anxiety and stress. It also makes you more compassionate, feel less lonely, and improves your ability to regulate your emotions. Meditation also increases your grey matter, increases focus and creativity, improves your ability to multitask, and even improves your memory. So meditation is pretty good...
Sweatshop-Free Certification
October 10, 2016 07:12 - 6 minutes - 9.28 MBWe're accustomed to seeing a variety of logos on our products. Pick up any item and along with the brand name and variety you'll also be bombarded with other information: What is it made of? Where was it made? How much does it weigh? What size is it? What's the nutritional content like? Any potential allergies? How do I dispose of it? How do I store it? How do I wash it? Can I tumble dry it? and so on, and so forth. There are already logos out there to help consumers distinguish so-cal...
Is Beats 1 Redefining Radio?
May 19, 2016 12:46 - 28 minutes - 39.3 MB‘Defying Conventions: Is Beats 1 Redefining Radio?’ was originally submitted as part of a University of Gloucestershire Radio Production module. With the exception of two small typographical changes, the essay is posted exactly as it was submitted at adamstoner.com/beats1. Appendices have been redacted but bibliography and in-line references remain – get in touch if you need to chase anything. Read it at adamstoner.com/beats1
The Core of It: Severn Cider
May 04, 2016 09:46 - 4 minutes - 6.4 MBThrough a tiny little Cotswold village and down a single-file country lane exists one of Gloucestershire’s best cider producers. Based in the tiny civil parish of Awre, Severn Cider and Perry is a family-run business shared across three generations. Since 1956, they've been making cider at their family home-turned-cider mill. Boasting over eight different varieties of drink, this small outfit are the winners of countless regional and national awards, have sold-out of their handcrafted...
Core Blimey: Award winning cider
April 02, 2016 09:43 - 2 minutes - 2.78 MBI’m a bit late letting you all know, but Core Blimey Cider – the University of Gloucestershire’s social-enterprise that I’ve been working on for the past year – won Tone Radio an award earlier this week! In October, Silas – the Students’ Union Social Enterprise Co-Ordinator – and I, rebranded Core Blimey – a 6.4% medium-sweet cider, brewed locally by Severn Cider – as ‘Tone Radio Cider’, and started flogging it. It formed part of a marketing campaign to re-link the student radio stat...
Jem Finer of Longplayer
December 31, 2015 11:59 - 8 minutes - 11.2 MBRead this post at adamstoner.com/longplayer When I speak of this thing called Longplayer to people, I tend to get one of two reactions: amazement, or bemusement. Both respectable, because Longplayer isn’t your average piece of music – and Jem Finer, the composer behind it all, isn’t your average musician. While contemporary songs sit comfortably around the four-minute mark, Longplayer is a single composition with a track duration of one-thousand years. Starting 12:00 UTC on the 31st o...