‘Zain Likes to Talk’ began in 2023 and was born out of seeing barely any fun talk shows being presented on the station. I decided to change that; creating a show that originally featured a new guest every week speaking about a topic they really cared about and that would be interesting to hear. This came to fruition on the 24th October, with my first episode ‘Annie-Marie talks Friendships and Love’ - which reached just over 50 listeners - one of the highest of that week!

Every guest that came on was asked three questions - What’s the last thing you did that you were proud of?, What is one song you feel the most connected to?, and What’s one word to describe your whole life? These questions worked to get the guests thinking a bit deeper about their answers and themselves and helped set the tone for the light-hearted, but semi-serious conversation we were about to have. 

As episodes went on, I decided to start branching out and trying new things, all whilst still trying to maintain that focus on people and interviewing. Inspired by the community and driven by people, I began to implement audio submissions from viewers into my show. This began with the episode ‘Problem Solvers’, which had viewers send in issues they were facing in their lives that needed to be solved. We had ten submissions and the episode helped me understand the logistics of sourcing submissions and playing them on air. 

I later used audio submissions again in my interview episode with Sheff1 as one of the members of the Uni of Sheffield student-led F1 podcast couldn’t make it. I had the missing member send in audio which was used as part of a ‘most likely to’ game at the end of the interview. The episode was a mashup of the old interview style and the new audio submissions, and it all went together seamlessly.

My experimentation with the submissions was all leading up to the Valentines Special, which broadcasted on February 16th 2024. It involved four couples sharing their stories and was all put together live on air. The production of the Valentines Special involved inviting couples to the radio studio a week before the show, interviewing them and asking them questions about their relationship, and then using Adobe Audition to cut it down and make it seamless. It was a lot of work, but I was extremely proud of the end product. 

At the end of the show's first year, I managed to air 21 episodes, all with a different focus; From a Billy Joel night, to discussions about what it was like to be an international student,  and even letting viewers submit their own songs that they felt the most connected to - Zain Likes to Talk has not only given me first hand experience with using things like Adobe Audition and knowing how to act on air, but has also managed to attract many listeners and given many people the chance to talk about something they love on air.

The second year of the show has seen the return of the classic interview episodes, a sequel to the Problem Solvers episode (which has been praised for the unmatched chemistry between myself and the guest), and something new; an episode titled 'A Night in London.'

The premise of the episode is that I'm exploring London, taking in the sights and reminiscing on music that reminds me of the capital. It was a pre-recorded episode that involved a week of planning, scripting, recording, and editing on Adobe Audition to properly make it sound like I was in London.  The final result was great and something I am truly proud of.

The show officially ended on June 13th, after a total of 40 episodes, 43 guests - and only one sick day!