Producer and host Dave Pickering began his career in audio at Lancaster University, where he hosted a show on Bailrigg FM. As a Creative Arts student, he set up his own theatre company at university, which produced several original plays and cabaret nights, many of which dealt with themes that would later recur in his work. At every single one of these shows, his father, Peter, was in the audience, touring student bars with the cast and reflecting on the shows. Peter, too, was integral to Dave’s career and development as an artist, and the fact that he is no longer able to share an understanding of what Dave produces is a big driving force behind the show.

Dave has been nominated for multiple radio awards and has been featured on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 5. The show is a spin-off of the successful conversational interview podcast, Getting Better Acquainted. The artwork (above) is produced by Dave’s brother, Tony, adding a further personal dimension to the show.

Dave's latest production is a podcast entitled Down to a Sunless Sea: Memories of My Dad and was launched on March 24^th 2020. Part funded byThe British Podcast Awards Fund and The Wellcome Trust, Dave's podcast documents his relationship with his father and investigates the themes of death, dementia, old age, mental health and change.

He comments: "As the UK grapples with the reality of lockdown and family is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, this deeply personal narrative will resonate with a broad range of listeners. The weekly show features 18 episodes and combines clips from over 10 years’ worth of conversations between father and son with new interviews with experts in medicine, mental health and science. The result is a rich and personal journey detailing one story of dementia and examining it through the lens of science and medicine."

Described as “a fundamentally human-centred story” by Pulse Award mentor Martin Zaltz-Austwick, this show will resonate with a wide range of listeners and shed light on the effects of dementia on a family.

Down to a Sunless Sea: Memories of My Dad is available on iTunes, Spotify and all major podcast listening services. You can also access it here: https://podfollow.com/sunlesspod/view.

Website: http://downtoasunlesspod.com/