Yeardley Smith’s Paperclip Ltd launches podcast network Audio 99
Award-winning production and development company Paperclip Ltd founders, Yeardley Smith and Ben Cornwell have launched a new podcast network, Audio 99.
Audio 99 will operate as a subsidiary of Paperclip Ltd but will remain independent with projects that share the first-hand experiences of ordinary people who are having an extraordinary impact on their communities.
It is in the process of developing and releasing a slate of new shows, with the first, a historical true crime series called Beyond Recognition: The Ruxton Murders set to release on 19 July.
Based on the forensic science bestseller, Ruxton: The First Modern Murder by Scottish detective Tom Wood, the series explores the 1935 disappearance of a young mother and her maid, whose deaths resulted in one of the most important investigations the world had ever seen at that time.
The case led to groundbreaking forensic techniques which changed how violent crimes are solved. Paperclip Ltd optioned the rights to Wood’s book in 2022.
Audio 99 is also producing the first season of the talk series, Can’t Yeardley Wait! The show, hosted by Smith in her living room, has her sitting down to have inviting, funny, honest conversations with guests she is passionate about getting to know.
Guests include actors, writers, athletes and people at the top of their game across a wide variety of professions. They share their favourite personal stories that listeners haven’t heard before.
Seasons 15 and 16 of the award-winning true crime podcast Small Town Dicks, which has now exceeded 50 million downloads and The Briefing Room season three will all now be under the Audio 99 banner.
Co-founder Yeardley Smith said: “Audio 99 is about true stories told by the people who lived them. With Audio 99 our mission is to continue to bring our listeners the kind of podcasts they want to stay in the car and keep listening to, well after they’ve arrived at their destination because they’re totally hooked.”
Ben Cornwell added: “Building on the success of shows like Small Town Dicks and The Briefing Room, Audio 99 projects will continue to be driven by storytellers. We’re drawn to the first-hand accounts of people who have had a wide variety of life experiences.
“We look forward to building out Audio 99 with new shows rooted in these core pillars. We are open for business and ready to take pitches!”
Paperclip Ltd co-founders Yeardley Smith and Ben Cornwell will run the Audio 99 podcast network together, alongside Head of Podcasts Gary Scott, former programme director at NPR-flagship KCRW and founder of Inside Voices Media, as well as Head of Audience Monika Scott, a veteran social media expert who also worked at KCRW. Chapter, a leading media and podcast consultancy, is providing strategic assistance.