You're about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about the

podcast I work on. I'm Dan Clark and I commissioned factual podcasts at the BBC.

It's a massive area but I'd sum it up as stories to help us make sense of the forces shaping the world.

What podcasting does is give us the space and the time to take brilliant BBC journalism

and tell amazing compelling stories that really get behind the headlines.

And what I get really excited about is when we find a way of drawing you into a subject

you might not even have thought you were interested in.

Whether it's investigations, science, tech, politics, culture, true crime, the environment,

you can always discover more with a podcast on BBC Sounds.

BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.

This edition of the Food Program is the second course of this year's BBC Food and Farming Awards.

Prepare to have your spirits raised at a time when optimism is in short supply.

Here's a group who show us what optimism actually is.

I'm Sheila Dylan and I hope you enjoy this podcast.

I'm excited to soon, win, see that I'm a chef myself.

Having watched it before, I can't believe that we're being past such a big event.

I'm delighted that it's in Wales first and foremost.

It's lovely that something quite so prestigious is here when we get to celebrate Welsh food at the same time.

I'm here for the general atmosphere to be honest.

So really exciting to see what's new, what's fresh.

You know, this part of Wales has got some fantastic food as well, so it's always good to see what's new.

Some of the best talent in the world, I think.

...