Published on 4, December, 2025
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The University of Sunderland is celebrating being part of an award-winning podcast.
The Ballad of the Crocodile and the Underpass, which launched in November 2024 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Washington New Town, has won this year’s North East Culture Award for Best Heritage Project.
MA Radio, Audio and Podcasting graduate Joe Simmons and Dr Caroline Mitchell, Professor of Radio and Participation at the University, have been working with members of the Washington Heritage Partnership to support the production of the podcast.
Dr Mitchell has been supporting the development of the Washington community podcasting group in preparation for her research about senior podcast listeners and producers.
Dr Mitchell, who attended the awards ceremony at the Stockton Globe theatre, said: “I’m over the moon that this creative research and community co-production partnership has been recognised for the 2025 NE Culture Award for Heritage.
“Podcasting is a great storytelling medium, and I am pleased that Joe and I were able to support the development of the Washington podcasting group to enable a genuinely community co-produced model of heritage podcasting.
“Learning about podcasting and producing them on regular basis is an important part of citizen digital inclusion. I'm also pleased that after the success of the award-winning ballad podcasts the group, now called 'The Crocodile Collective’, will be producing regular podcasts in coming months and continuing to build a new model of intergenerational heritage podcasting.”
Joe, who graduated from the University last year, said: “As an MA Radio, Audio, Podcasting student who was also from Washington, I was really happy to get involved in this project from the start. I provided production support to the group and produced my own ballad podcast about shopping and leisure, based on interviews with my late nanna who worked at the Savacentre.
“Now I’ve graduated, I continue to support the group while working part time at Washington library teaching audio editing to members of the public.”
The Ballad of the Crocodile and the Underpass – Stories of Washington New Town was produced in partnership with Sunderland Culture, Washington Heritage Partnership, Community Opportunities, We Make Culture, Tommy Anderson (Baseline Shift) and made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
This award-winning podcast and performance project, hosted by Arts Centre Washington, was produced to celebrate 60 years of Washington New Town featuring residents’ memories and stories, and songs by Paige Temperley, David Brewis and young musicians from We Make Culture.
Listen to all 10 episodes here.
For more information on studying MA Radio, Audio and Podcasting at the University of Sunderland, click here.