Rethinking Charity
Another day, another award for our collaboration with Third Sector Magazine - Senior Producer Ollie Peart explains what makes this series so special…
When we give money to charity, whether it’s a person outside a train station vying for our attention, a regular direct debit or even bundling up some old clothes to donate to a shop, we spare little thought for the process that happens behind the scenes. One question we may never ask ourselves is “does charity even work”.
The team at Third Sector magazine aimed to speak to industry experts and gather first hand accounts on the problems baked into charity today. Their plan was to investigate whether the way charities operate was working - or even, in some circumstances - morally right.
The challenge for us was to try and piece together the colossal and complicated story of charity, with expert opinion and real life examples into a coherent series which clearly explained the challenges the sector was facing, and how it could deal with them. Our aim was to create something super interesting but also that would serve as a must-listen for anyone working in the charity sector.
But that all adds to what made this such a joy to work on, and why it won an award for best B2B podcast at The British Society of Magazines Talent Awards 2025.
Industries, including podcasting, should challenge ourselves. Is what we are doing right? Can we do better?
The series served not just as an example and inspiration for people working in charity, but for everyone. It’s worth challenging your views from time to time. You never know what you might learn.
“We greatly valued the support of Rethink Audio in producing our podcast documentary The End Of Charity, which has been met with great acclaim by our core audience and beyond. From their expert guidance on different audio techniques to bring the story to life in the planning stages to their skilful production and editing support, the Rethink team have been instrumental in taking our audio offering to the next level.
Louise, Ollie and the entire Rethink team were also exceptionally pleasant and friendly people to work with in co-creating a highly polished final product.”
The Brief
Two limited-run documentary series in 12 months: The End Of Charity & When Charity Goes Wrong
Exec production for Haymarket Media’s Third Sector publication
Consult with presenter/reporter Lucinda Rouse and in-house producer Nav Pal
NOMINATED: Best New Voice for Lucinda Rouse at APAs 2024
WINNER: Best New Podcast at The British Society of Magazine Editors awards 2025
When working on documentaries like this, teams can often find yourself overwhelmed with audio. Hours and hours of interviews which need to be meticulously pieced together to tell a story - even if you have some of the country's most knowledgeable journalists on charity on hand. We would question at every turn "does this contribution help tell the story, or is it a distraction?". Even if something sounded good, if it didn't serve a purpose or help piece together the puzzle, it was cut.
The idea was that even if you had zero interest in the charity industry, you would not only understand the story, but enjoy it too. And it worked.
It's simple, the journalists are the best around, and our contributors were diverse and expert. They knew, intimately, their part of the industry. What's more, they were happy to tell it like it is, even if they knew others wouldn't agree. Some might even call parts of what were said - controversial.
