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Helen Zaltzman is an English
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
er, broadcaster and writer. She produces the linguistics podcast ''The Allusionist'', the entertainment podcast ''
Answer Me This! ''Answer Me This!'' was a comedy podcast by Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann made between 2007 and 2021 in which they answered questions submitted by the general public. It was one of the first independent British podcasts to gain success, and led ...
'', and the ''
Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...
'' recap podcast ''Veronica Mars Investigations''.


Career


''Answer Me This!''

Zaltzman began the comedy podcast ''
Answer Me This! ''Answer Me This!'' was a comedy podcast by Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann made between 2007 and 2021 in which they answered questions submitted by the general public. It was one of the first independent British podcasts to gain success, and led ...
'' with
Olly Mann Oliver Louis Mann is a British writer, presenter and gadget correspondent. He is best known as the presenter of the weekend evening show on LBC and for his work with longtime collaborator Helen Zaltzman with whom he presented the award-winning ...
in 2007. The duo met in 2000 studying at
St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is the newest college admitting both undergraduate and graduate students. Tracing its roots back to 1868 (although th ...
. The podcast began in Zaltzman's living room in
Crystal Palace, London Crystal Palace is an area in south London, England, named after the Crystal Palace Exhibition building, which stood in the area from 1854 until it was destroyed by fire in 1936. Approximately south-east of Charing Cross, it includes one of t ...
, with assistance from Martin Austwick (a.k.a. "Martin the Sound Man"). In 2009, Zaltzman and Mann made history by being the first podcasters to be given their own national show on
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
, ''Web 2009 with Helen and Olly''. They went on to present several other specials for BBC 5 Live. The podcast won a silver
Sony Award The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...
in 2010 and gold in 2011, and in 2012 a European Podcast Award. It has been voted one of the Top 10 Comedy Podcasts in the World by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. It has received critical plaudits in numerous publications including '' Q'', ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', '' Time Out'', and ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
''. Due to the podcast's success,
Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...
published a companion book in November 2010.


''The Allusionist''

In January 2015, Zaltzman launched a new linguistics podcast called ''The Allusionist''. Zaltzman was the first British broadcaster on the ''
Radiotopia Radiotopia is a podcast network founded by ''99% Invisible'' host Roman Mars and run by the Public Radio Exchange. The network is organized as a collective of some two dozen shows whose producers have complete artistic control over their work. P ...
'' podcast network. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' describes the Allusionist as "an antidote to all the whither-life-and-how-to-understand-it podcasts". The Allusionist was iTunes UK's best new podcast of 2015. At the 2018
British Podcast Awards The British Podcast Awards is an annual awards ceremony intended to celebrate outstanding content within the British podcast scene. The British Podcast Awards is owned and operated by Haymarket Media Group, which also owns several media businesses ...
it was named ‘Smartest Podcast’ and Zaltzman was awarded ‘Podcast Champion’. ''The Allusionist'' left the Radiotopia network in October 2020.


''Veronica Mars Investigations''

In August 2019, Zaltzman launched an episode-by-episode recap podcast of the TV show ''
Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...
'', with co-host
Jenny Owen Youngs Jenny Owen Youngs (born November 22, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released three albums and a handful of EPs both independently and via Nettwerk Records, and has toured worldwide. Youngs is also a songwriting collaborator whos ...
, musician and co-host of '' Buffering the Vampire Slayer'' podcast.


Other audio

Zaltzman is a regular on ''The Bugle'' podcast, and has appeared on podcasts including ''The Bugle Presents... The Last Post'', ''
Jordan, Jesse, Go! ''Jordan, Jesse, Go!'' (often abbreviated to ''JJGO'') is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which began airing in 2007. It is hosted by comedian Jordan Morris, a television writer, producer, and actor, and Jesse Thorn, a public radio host. The show ...
'', ''The
Chuck Tingle Chuck Tingle is a pseudonymous author, primarily of niche gay erotica. The stories mainly take the form of monster erotica, featuring romantic and sexual encounters with dinosaurs, imaginary creatures, anthropomorphized inanimate objects, and e ...
Podcast'', '' Hello from the Magic Tavern'', ''Ologies'', ''
99% Invisible ''99% Invisible'' is a radio show and podcast produced and created by Roman Mars that focuses on design. It began as a collaborative project between San Francisco public radio station KALW and the American Institute of Architects in San Francisco ...
'', ''
Potterless Potterless is an audio podcast created by Mike Schubert. The podcast follows Schubert as he reads the ''Harry Potter'' series for the first time. Each episode covers a section of the book series and later the movies and fan material as Schubert ...
'' and ''ZigZag''. Mann and Zaltzman were the internet correspondents on
BBC 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...
's ''Saturday Edition'' and on Steve Wright in the Afternoon. She was a panellist on the third series of
Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...
's ''
So Wrong It's Right ''So Wrong It's Right'' is a British radio programme presented by Charlie Brooker in which panelists aim to give the "most wrong" answer to a question. They describe stories from their lives, conceive of new ideas on a theme and criticise aspects ...
'' and won. She hosted the Radio 4 show ''Four Thought'' during 2016–2017. She has appeared on ''
Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...
'', ''
The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4. History ''The News Quiz'' was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently, it was chaired by Barry Took from 1979 to 1981, Simon Hoggart from ...
'', '' The Richard Bacon Show'', ''Transatlantic'' with
Rory Bremner Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sati ...
and Ian Collins's radio show, and was a correspondent on the
2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
for
BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 November 197 ...
. She has been a guest on numerous podcasts, including
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
's ''Media Talk'' and
Maximum Fun Maximum Fun is an independent podcast and radio show production organization founded and run by Jesse Thorn. The organization originated with Thorn's college radio show '' The Sound of Young America'' which continued in an adapted format and wit ...
's ''International Waters'', ''Potterless'', ''
Judge John Hodgman ''Judge John Hodgman'' is a weekly, comedy, comedic court show podcast hosted by John Hodgman and Jesse Thorn. The show is distributed online by Maximum Fun. The program features host John Hodgman acting as a judge (with Jesse Thorn as bailiff) ...
'' and guest-presented a special edition of the
Radio Academy The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chair ...
's ''Radio Talk''. Zaltzman was a judge in 2012 on the Sony Awards. In May 2013, Zaltzman began hosting a monthly podcast for Sound Women, an organisation which campaigns against gender discrimination in the radio industry. In September 2020, Zaltzman hosted the Duocon 2020 Livestream, a world-wide live conference for the language learning platform Duolingo.


Writing

Zaltzman is a comedy writer, with radio credits including ''
The Now Show ''The Now Show'' is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the week's news. The show is a mixture of stand-up, sketches and songs hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. The show used to feature regular appearances by J ...
'', ''The Milk Run'' on Radio 1, and ''
Newsjack ''Newsjack'' was a British satirical sketch show which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra between 2009 and 2021. It was hosted by Miles Jupp (2009-Mar 2011), Justin Edwards (Sep 2011-2013), Romesh Ranganathan (2014), Nish Kumar (2015-2016), ...
'', and TV credits including ''
Celebrity Juice ''Celebrity Juice'' is a British television comedy panel game on ITV2, broadcast since 24 September 2008. The show is written and presented by Leigh Francis in the role of his alter ego Keith Lemon, and its current team captains Laura Whitmore ...
'', ''
Keith Lemon's Lemonaid ''Keith Lemon's LemonAid'' is a British television entertainment series hosted by comedian Leigh Francis as his character Keith Lemon. It aired on ITV from 7 April to 19 May 2012. Each week, with the help of a celebrity guest, Lemon makes p ...
'', '' Britain Unzipped'', and ''Animal Antics.'' She has written for ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'', ''
Classical Music Magazine ''Classical Music'' is a trade magazine for the classical music industry. It co-sponsors the annual ABO/ Rhinegold Awards for backstage work in music, held for the first time in January 2012 - and has a network of correspondents worldwide. Its ...
'', ''
The Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people, or individ ...
'', ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'', ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.


Performance

Zaltzman is a crafter, and has painted numerous posters for comedians' Edinburgh shows. She has created props, including a giant inflatable
Boggle ''Boggle'' is a word game invented by Allan Turoff and originally distributed by Parker Brothers. The game is played using a plastic grid of lettered dice, in which players look for words in sequences of adjacent letters. Rules One player begi ...
set; dinosaur costumes; and dolls of
Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. ...
,
Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...
, and
Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
. Zaltzman has acted in plays at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
, and will occasionally perform live comedy, most often with
Josie Long Josie Isabel Long (born 17 April 1982) is a British comedian. She started performing as a stand-up at the age of 14 and won the BBC New Comedy Awards at 17. In 2006, Long won the If.comeddies Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh Festival Frin ...
and
Robin Ince Robin Ince (born 20 February 1969) is an English comedian, actor and writer, known for presenting the BBC radio show ''The Infinite Monkey Cage'' with physicist Brian Cox (physicist), Brian Cox, and his stand-up comedy career. Education After ...
. In 2007, during a three-week run of Long's show ''Trying is Good'' at the
Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...
, she sat onstage embroidering a quilt depicting scenes from the show. In 2010, Zaltzman and Mann wrote and starred in a series of videos around Britain, ''Great British Questions'', in association with
Visit Britain VisitBritain is the name used by the British Tourist Authority, the tourist board of Great Britain incorporated under the Development of Tourism Act 1969. Under memoranda of understanding with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the offshore is ...
. In April 2017, Zaltzman delivered a talk entitled 'Writing as a form of time travel' on the main stage at TED2017.


Personal life

Zaltzman is the younger sister of comedian
Andy Zaltzman Andrew Zaltzman (born 6 October 1974) is a British comedian and author who largely deals in political and sport-related material. He has worked with John Oliver, with their work together including '' Political Animal'', '' The Department'', ...
and the daughter of South African sculptor Zack Zaltzman. She is of
Lithuanian-Jewish Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent area ...
descent, and identifies herself as an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
. She was raised in
Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...
and won a scholarship to
Sevenoaks School Sevenoaks School is a highly selective coeducational independent school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. It is the second oldest non-denominational school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432, only behind Oswestry (1407). Over 1,000 day pupils ...
, then studied Old and Medieval English at
St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is the newest college admitting both undergraduate and graduate students. Tracing its roots back to 1868 (although th ...
. In April 2011, she married musician and physicist Martin Austwick after a nine-year relationship.


References


External links

*
Helen Zaltzman
on Twitter {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaltzman, Helen Living people English writers English comics artists English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent English women non-fiction writers English women journalists English atheists English podcasters British women podcasters Jewish atheists 1980 births British female comics artists Date of birth missing (living people)