Women in Sound podcast

Taking inspiration from the name of The Hypatia Trust's bookshop, Women in Word, and produced by Falmouth University interns, Astra Jeffree and Amy Colman, each episode of Women in Sound focuses on a different discipline through the lens of women working in that field from art to music to science.

It shines a spotlight on specific industries in which women are working, relaying their stories and achievements as a way to inspire and form a sense of community.

Whilst women make up more of the population in Cornwall, they also face extensive hurdles within the county. According to a report for Cornwall Women’s Fund (2021), poverty within communities is not necessarily the main issue that women face but the marginalisation as a result of a lack of access to services and support due to discrimination.

By amplifying the voice of women working within the county and inspiring and empowering other women as a result, we hope that the podcast will foster a sense of community.

Astra and Amy’s story:

"Back in April (2023), we both came upon a new and exciting opportunity to work with The Hypatia Trust via an internship scheme through Falmouth University, where we were both studying at the time. Having never met each other before, only brushing shoulders in our university common areas, we never thought that a new partnership and then friendship would be in our futures, but a few short months later we were then asked to bring community stories to life through a new podcast. 

Then ensued hours spent on Zoom, not only building a podcast but building trust in each other and a friendship fit to last. As fledglings in the industry, with Astra as a current student and Amy a recent graduate, this opportunity instilled confidence as the Hypatia team entrusted us with total creative control of the podcast. Without this confidence we wouldn’t be as keen and ready to take our next steps into our careers, which with the generous support of our audience could be a more permanent role as creators of this podcast.”

We spoke to Astra and Amy about their experience of making the podcasts:

Astra says:

“I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the fantastic project that is 'Women in Sound'. I am so excited to see the future of the podcast unfold. Its future is looking bright, once we secure the funding. The opportunity to be involved with such a fantastic organisation has been a privilege, and I really hope it continues. I have developed new and existing skills and my confidence has grown. I feel that being involved in this project has given me the experience to go out into the world and conquer any project thrown my way. Amy and I did not know each other prior to being employed on the internship scheme, but I know that we will stay friends for a long time after this.”

Amy says:

“It has been great fun working on this new podcast for The Hypatia Trust. Not only down to the creative challenge that it has posed and in which Astra and I have thrived, but also being involved with The Hypatia Trust has been transformational. Being supported and celebrated by your peers and supervisors is a great feeling and contributing to such a worthy organisation even more so. Astra and I are keen for the podcast to continue because we have a whole host of ideas for the potential future of the project. We really hope that you give it a listen and enjoy listening to it as much as we did making it!” 

Astra Jeffree - Producer, Host and Researcher

A current English and Creative Writing student at Falmouth University and trainee lecturer at Penwith College, Astra has experience in researching and developing ideas and adapting them to be consumable for many different audiences. A natural people person, interviewing and collecting research is a task which she finds not only interesting, but enjoyable. Having grown up in Cornwall, she has become closely attached to the stories of the local people. She sees the development of the community from her childhood memories when exploring the topics for the first two episodes, which is sure to continue when exploring new topics and making more content. Working on this podcast will give her a portfolio of work to use when applying for her Masters degree and eventually PhD, as well as the experience to further a career in research and production.

Amy Colman - Producer, Host and Editor

A recent graduate of a Journalism and Creative Writing degree, Amy has both technical and editorial skills that enabled this position to be a perfect fit to her. She is adept in Adobe Audition and so slotted into the role of Editor with ease. As an individual who had only lived in Cornwall for four years throughout my degree, the dynamic between Astra, Cornish born and bred, and Amy, lent itself well to having a compatible dialogue regarding the community and history of Cornwall that Amy is far less familiar with. With a mind to pursue audio production and podcasting into her career, this podcast will open doors for Amy and help build a solid portfolio of work.

Lally MacBeth – Hypatia Project Co-ordinator

Having founded The Folk Archive in 2020, and co-founded Stone Club in 2021, Lally has an abundance of experience founding and overseeing media projects that span across many facets. As a valued member of The Hypatia Trust team, she’s at the heart of the Trust’s aims and being at the inception of this project she oversees the operations of it.

The Hypatia Trust is now looking to secure funding to produce another 12 episodes of the podcast and explore themes such as Women in Nature and Women in Art.