Not every agency is founded by a superstar academic and Booker Prize trustee, alongside an award-winning BBC audio documentary maker. But Tempo+Talker isn’t built like most agencies. We specialise in helping organisations turn complex stories into audio, video and digital content that actually lands.
So who are Tempo + Talker?
🎙 Craig Templeton Smith🎙
Craig is an audio storyteller with nearly 20 years’ experience, first crafting longform content for BBC Radio 4, and later working on projects for The Economist, The Guardian and other major media outlets and institutions. His work has been recognised by The Orwell Prize for Journalism, The British Podcast Awards, and many other leading prizes.
His career spans deep-dive documentaries, film festival reporting, and podcast series for some of the biggest bands to come out of the UK – including Pink Floyd, Oasis and Joy Division/New Order.
Since founding Tempo+Talker, Craig has expanded his focus beyond broadcast – helping brands, cultural organisations and high-impact individuals find their voice in a crowded digital world. His consultancy-led approach combines strong narrative structure with a sharp understanding of how content moves across platforms – from podcasts to social to campaign assets.
Whether he’s leading the development of a branded podcast, overseeing the creation of a Hero Moment for social, or advising teams on how to turn their strongest ideas into standout content, Craig brings editorial rigour, creative flair and a deep belief in the power of audio to cut through.
📚 Shahidha Bari📚
Shahidha is an academic, broadcaster and cultural critic with a rare gift for taking complex ideas and communicating them in a clear yet entertaining way. She’s a presenter on BBC Radio 4, regularly hosting Start the Week, Free Thinking and Front Row, where she interviews leading artists, thinkers and cultural figures.
Her background is deeply interdisciplinary – a Professor of Fashion, Philosophy and Culture at UAL, and writer whose work explores everything from identity and aesthetics to politics and pop culture. She’s the author of Dressed: The Philosophy of Clothes, and a contributor to outlets like the Financial Times, Guardian and New Statesman.
She also serves as a trustee of the Booker Prize Foundation, helping to shape one of the most prestigious cultural platforms in the world.
Whether she’s presenting live, chairing public debates, or shaping slow-burn interviews, Shahidha brings clarity, critical thought and warmth – the kind of voice that connects ideas to audiences with genuine impact.
Why they built Tempo+Talker
After years working across broadcast, academia and editorial campaigns, Craig and Shahidha came together with a shared frustration: that brands and institutions were underusing their own voices.
Brilliant podcasts were going unheard. Stories were being told – but not shared.
So they built Tempo+Talker to change that.
Enter: the T+T Audio Plus Strategy
It’s our end-to-end model for helping brands make smarter use of their audio + video content – not just creating it, but scaling it:
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🎧 Audio storytelling with narrative structure, editorial polish, and purpose
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🎬 Vertical Hero Moments – short-form, social-first edits that travel
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📢 Content amplification – turning longform into scroll-ready assets
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🧠 Story strategy – aligning every output with brand voice and campaign goals
Backed by a brilliant global team
While Craig and Shahidha shape the vision, every production is made possible by our globe-spanning team of producers, directors, editors, social media strategists, digital marketing specialists and sound designers. We work with experienced professionals who bring sharp instincts, deep craft and trusted hands to every stage of the process.
Why it works
Because we’ve done it before – on national radio, at cultural institutions, and across campaigns that needed to cut through. T+T projects aren’t just creative – they’re coherent. And we help brands, broadcasters and institutions tell stories that earn attention.
Takeaway:
If you’ve got rich, thoughtful content that deserves more than a one-off play – or if you’re sitting on stories but not sure how to tell them – that’s where we come in. Let’s make it land.
Contact us for a chat: infor@tempotalker.com
