The ‘Edinburgh Fringe for podcasts’ arrives

Good afternoon and welcome to today’s Tribune. Since Monday was a bank holiday, we’re running Monday’s edition today!

Expect: insights into Crossed Wires, a weekend-long podcast festival that could be the ‘Edinburgh Fringe for podcasts’ — and our resident data genius Daniel Timms crunches the stats to tell us the political affiliation of our readers.

As well as that, The Times weighs in to defend Sheffield as a getaway destination and a drum’n’bass legend visits for his world tour.

Catch up and coming up

For our weekend read, Victoria spoke to Bill Stephenson, a photographer who spent more than 40 years primarily documenting this city’s working-class communities, before hanging up his camera three years ago to focus on digitising his extensive archive. “In some ways,” he told The Tribune, he thrived off the city’s industrial decline. “I’m not saying that’s a silver lining, but I’m very glad I was here to be able to document it.” You can read that piece here.

Last week, due an unfortunate encounter between Dan’s bicycle and the tram tracks, we only sent out one edition to paying subscribers. Fortunately for them, it was a fantastic piece from our freelancer Mina Miller, who reviewed the food on offer at the new Cambridge Street Collective foodhall. An excerpt from that piece is below.

When I pop it into my mouth I’m not sure where the beef fat ends and the butter begins. The crab toast is fresh but I can only taste dill – the caviar, lemon and chervil are too subtle. Food hall fare is usually brash, bold and salty – so this might be best enjoyed on its own terms. I look forward to coming back with a friend on a less hectic day and trying all the small plates, which seemed designed for two, at a leisurely pace. At some point I find myself wedged between the bar and the Chinese dragon dancer, who’s flanked by a flock of young children and a loud drummer. The din is such that I slide off my stool and make my way to the bar upstairs.

This week, now that Dan is back up (but not quite yet running), we’ll send out the piece on cycling that landed him in hospital. To help fund a new way of doing local journalism funded by paying members rather than clickbait and celebrity, please consider becoming a member (if you haven’t already). It costs £1.71 a week or 24p a day if you pay for 12 months up front (£89).

Big picture: Colourful couture

Meadowhall was transformed into a colourful fashion show last week as the shopping centre welcomed Cultural Styles Week to Sheffield. Organised by Welcoming Cultures, the event was a celebration of the fashion, music, dance and arts of the city’s diverse communities.

The big story: The ‘Edinburgh Fringe for podcasts’ arrives

Top line: The first ever edition of Crossed Wires, a weekend-long podcast festival, is about to take place. According to production company founder Dino Sofos, though listening to podcasts is typically a solitary activity, he and his fellow co-founders had noticed more fans “wanting to experience community, to go and meet the other people that are listening to shows”. Over the last few years, live shows have been increasingly selling out. “They are bigger than some rock shows,” he claimed.

For some, the fact Crossed Wires is taking place here, rather than in London, is a hugely exciting opportunity for the city. Others, however, have been put off by the price of tickets, especially given the event was partly funded by the council and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).

Big names: Promotional materials for the festival promise it will be “podcasting’s biggest party,” while co-founder Alice Levine — herself a co-host of the immensely successful My Dad Wrote A Porno — even compared it to the Edinburgh Fringe. Certainly, the lineup includes names that wouldn’t look out of place at the annual performing arts festival in Scotland, such as journalist Jon Ronson and comedian Katherine Ryan. “Expect to bump into the voices you always have in your headphones at one of the food pop-ups,” reads one press release, “or rub shoulders with your favourite presenters at one of the many after parties.” 

The price you pay? Immediately, some prospective punters were taken aback by the cost of tickets. “As a massive fan of the AMAZING Doc Fest, I found the announcement of the podcast festival to be an exciting complement,” wrote one critic on Reddit. They were surprised, however, to find out the event they’d hoped to attend would set them back more than £40.

• There’s an argument to be made that this is simply what it costs to see the kind of talent that Crossed Wires has attracted to Sheffield. Jon Ronson, for example, is a bestselling author who was interviewed about his podcast by the New York Times; booking him was never going to be cheap. 
• That said, tickets for Crossed Wires do seem to be slightly more expensive than what people in Sheffield could otherwise expect. Events at the City Hall typically cost £30-£40, so this is at the upper end. For example, Katherine Ryan’s live podcast Telling Everybody Everything this Sunday costs £40.50 for a ticket in the central stalls — the equivalent for her comedy tour Battleaxe in February is £35.95.
• The pricing may also reflect a target audience for Crossed Wires that stretches well beyond Sheffield. As a report from the SYMCA in February notes, “the ambition is for this festival to be the go-to, annual event for podcast fans around the UK and beyond”.
• Judging by Ticketmaster, the prices aren’t stopping tickets selling. The majority of the tickets for events being staged in the Oval Room in City Hall — a venue with a capacity of 2,271 — have already gone, with several days left for last-minute sales.

Something for nothing: Organisers stress that for every paid event on the current programme, there is also one that costs nothing at all. In a move possibly inspired by the popularity of The Fringe at Tramlines — a festival co-founded by Crossed Wires co-founder James O’Hara — the new festival also offers a fringe programme of free events “with the podcast stars of tomorrow” at smaller venues around the city. Most of these are being hosted at Bethel Chapel, part of the new Heart of the City development, including a show by Greg James and Alice Levene, and a DJ set by South Yorkshire’s very own Self Esteem — as well as many others with less big names. Separate to the festival weekend, co-founders Alice Levine and Dino Sofos plan to visit colleges across South Yorkshire throughout the year, delivering workshops to encourage young people into the industry.

Thousands in funding: The creation of Crossed Wires festival was supported by £325,000 from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Sheffield Council, funding which is mainly in the form of a convertible loan — meaning the debt could be paid with shares in the company running the festival if it succeeds — and intended to support the first three years of events. As stated in this document from late 2021, the £175,000 for this year’s event includes £20,000 to hire the City Hall and the Crucible theatre, £105,000 to book high-profile performers and £50,000 for staffing costs. 

A member of the city’s creative sector, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Tribune that he and many others were surprised to see an entirely new festival secure this funding, especially at a time when established local organisations — such as Theatre Deli, to which he has no direct connection — are struggling to stay afloat. “On paper, it sounds fantastic but that money could easily have gone into a space that really needed it and was supporting far more local people,” he argued. “It all leaves a slightly sour taste in the mouth.”

When contacted for comment, South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard told The Tribune that the region currently “accounts for less than 1% of the UK creative industries output,” making it vitally important to invest in new events that would help grow the sector. “The Crossed Wires Festival will help cement South Yorkshire’s world-leading strength in the cultural and creative industries; putting us at the forefront of a growing, hugely innovative and exciting podcasting industry.” He added that the funding awarded came “out of devolution monies” and that the decision went through “rigorous assurance and appraisal mechanisms” before being approved by the Mayoral Combined Authority in February.

Our take: Regardless of whether, as some allege, the funding could have been better spent elsewhere, at the end of the day a successful event in Sheffield is still a success for Sheffield. If Crossed Wires does become a major national event on even half the scale of the Edinburgh Festival, it will bring a lot of visitors, and potentially investment. At a time when the city is in danger of losing the World Snooker Championships it’s good for us to have some other irons in the fire, and podcasting is a media sector that’s experiencing a boom at the moment.

General election 2024: The Tribune readers’ view

Last week, we put out a request for people to let us know how they were planning to vote in the upcoming election on July 4th. Clearly you’re a politically engaged bunch — almost 500 of you let us know your thoughts.

Firstly, who are Tribune readers currently minded to vote for? Among those who completed the survey, Labour are the clear favourites, with 62% declaring for them at this stage. They were followed by the Greens (20%), and then the Lib Dems (10%). Among those living in Sheffield Hallam, a key Lib Dem target seat, the proportion intending to vote Lib Dems rises to 17%, but if Tribune readers are representative of constituents in the area, they still have some way to go.

One question we didn’t ask, but should have, is to what extent people are voting tactically. Given this is a stronger pro-Labour slant than has been seen in recent local elections, it might suggest some are going to vote Labour as a mechanism to keep the Conservatives out; despite being the most recent party of government, the Tories are only being supported by 3% of Tribune readers who filled out the survey. 

Second, what scope is there for that to change during the campaign? How open are readers to being persuaded as politicians set out their stalls? 

47% of readers said they were certain they wouldn’t change their mind during the course of the campaign. This was a bit higher among those declaring for Labour at this stage (54%) and quite a bit lower among those indicating support for the Greens (28%).

Next, what issues are motivating readers? Health/the NHS came out as the clear top issue, 82% of readers putting it as one of their top three priorities. That was followed by the environment, and then the economy. At the other end, defence, immigration and crime were chosen by fewest readers.

Finally, we asked Tribune readers what they thought the most likely outcome of the election was. Most of you expected a Labour majority, with a 70/30 split between those who expected a majority of under 100, and those who expected a major landslide of over 100 seats. Roughly 15% of readers thought a hung parliament was likely — most of these anticipating that Labour would be the biggest party in that Parliament.

All data based on a survey of 492 Tribune readers, conducted between the 24th and the 28th May.

Our media picks 🔗

Could AI help cure ‘downward spiral’ of human loneliness? 🤖 A computer scientist at the University of Sheffield argues we should be more open to the idea of human-machine relationships, as reported by the Guardian. Tony Prescott, professor of cognitive robotics, argues AI chatbots could help solve the loneliness epidemic — and should be seen as no more strange than someone forming a bond with their pet. These artificial companions could even help people form human friendships down the line, he argues, “by scaffolding feelings of self-worth and helping maintain or improve social skills”.

Students are catching their universities in bed with arms companies 🚀 The Sheffield Campus Coalition for Palestine — the activist group behind the tent city that was the subject of last Monday’s briefing — published a report last week on the University of Sheffield’s “complicity” in apartheid and genocide. The report, which focuses on the institution’s ties to the arms trade, alleges that the university allows arms companies to influence teaching and research areas in exchange for funding, a claim the university denies. Novara Media reports that a launch event for the report hosted by the local University and Colleges Union branch was subject to heavy security, while face coverings and placards were banned.

We know the UK’s worst cities to visit — here’s why they really aren’t so bad 👎 The Times stuck up for Sheffield recently, alongside some other maligned cities, in response to a survey labelling it one of the worst in the UK to visit. Consumer group Which? asked nearly 4,000 members to rank 25 of the largest cities from best to worst weekend destination and, unbelievably, Sheffield was in the bottom ten. But as Harriet Walker, The Times’ Sheffield-born fashion editor points out, those who don’t like this city are simply those who aren’t in the know. “It’s a low-key and hip insider’s city,” she argues, “so you need native recs.”

Home of the week 🏡

Perfect for a large family where almost everyone loves long baths, this semi-detached home in Broomhall offers six double bedrooms and five bathrooms. The bedroom in the converted cellar has its own entrance, making it a good option for a lodger, and solar panels. The asking price for this home is £800,000 — find out more here.

Tribune Tips: If you want to tell us about a story or give us some information, please email editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk. We are always happy to speak to people off the record in the first poll instance, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity.

Things to do 📆

👻 On Wednesday, join Adrian Finney of Strange Britain on a special midweek ghost tour of Sheffield. Normally taking place on Fridays, this tour has been arranged for half term and all children go free (as long as they are with a paying adult — £10). The tour involves talk of violent deaths, historical suicides, scary ghosts, and even the origin of a swear word, so please book at your own discretion. The tour begins at Tudor Square at 7pm and takes about 90 minutes.

🩰 False Note, artist Freya Dooley’s current exhibition at Site Gallery, encompasses sound, moving-image, writing and performance in interconnected works that explore the themes of replacement, communication and connection. On Thursday evening, Dooley and musician Emma Daman Thomas will perform a live piece of synths, voice, samples, fragments and false notes based on the exhibition’s score. The performance is free and runs from 7-8pm.

🎛️ This Friday, drum and bass legend LTJ Bukem comes to Network Sheffield on the latest leg of his world tour. Bukem was huge in the 90s but, as dance music tastes have waxed and waned over the last 25 years, he has stayed true to his musical roots. Tickets are 12.50 and the night runs from 11pm-4am. Expect lots of 40 somethings trying (and failing) to dance like they did in their teens and 20s (if I hadn't broken my hip I may well have been among them).