The Run of The Mill

The extraordinary stories of ordinary Mancunians

The Run of The Mill

Show Notes

In 2016, Caroline Dyer and Colette Burroughs-Rose shared frustrations with how the world was becoming more divided. They believed the political developments of the time — the election of Donald Trump and Brexit — had caused more friction in the world and there was a need for more nuanced conversations to help us reconnect. In the aftermath of this division, Heard Storytelling was born. It began with a series of live events in a pub in the Northern Quarter, where people were invited to share their personal stories in front of a live audience. Just last month, they launched their first podcast series, the Heard Storytelling podcast. They publish twice a week, with one long form episode on Monday which features a story and an interview with the storyteller, and on Fridays, they publish Briefly Heard, which offers behind-the-scenes insights into how a story was crafted.

In this special episode, Mollie sits down with Heard Storytelling's co-founder Caroline Dyer to discuss the inspirational Manchester stories that they discovered while making the podcast, the importance of being vulnerable with strangers and why storytelling matters.

Warning: this episode contains a mention of suicidal ideation.

Recommendations:

The Heard Storytelling Podcast Sobriety's Wake-Up Call: Karl's Story Follow Heard Storytelling on Instagram to keep up with their latest events, projects and announcements

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from The Run of The Mill

Oct 21, 2026

Hello and welcome back to Run of The Mill! This week, Jack is joined by new staff writer Alec Herron to discuss his latest piece about the history of the iconic CIS Tower, Manchester's first skyscraper. For the story Alec spoke to the former staff members of Co-operative Insurance, which inhabited the building for decades. They described a kind of vertical village, with a free canteen in the basement, a disco room, bowling alleys, saunas, a plush executive lounge, high-end restaurant and observation deck. Kind of utopian, also kind of Severance. Enjoy!

Oct 1, 2026

Welcome back to Run of the Mill! In this week's episode, Jack is joined by our newest staffer Ethan Penny, who has spend the week at Labour Conference in Liverpool watching Andy Burnham's enchanting hold over the national Labour Party in action. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 23, 2026

Welcome back to Run of The Mill! This week Jack and Ophira cover the holy trinity of the Manchester streetscape: cig butts, hire bikes and corn sellers. Plus: we call on you, the listeners, to send in your top alternate routes for when you're trying to avoid whatever bits Manchester City Centre you like least.

Sep 17, 2026

Jack and Ophira have been walking around Manchester asking people how much they earn. In today's episode, they talk money, the conclusion of the Mill impostor saga, seeing Gary Neville in the flesh, and applying for a job as Burnham's new No.10 North media adviser. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 10, 2026

Welcome back to the Run of The Mill! All sorts has been going on: a Mill-imposter has been trying to make Reddit think we're investigating people we aren't; we noticed Peppa Pig put the Factory Records logo on a medal and demand to know why, we look at how Greater Manchester's most scandalous council got control of the UK's biggest public pension fund and ask if Manchester's padel boom is on the verge of going bust. Ophira and Jack are on the mics, and if you want to read their and the rest of the team's work, go to: manchestermill.co.uk.

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