The gripping Tunnel 29 is on 3 million downloads and counting, Tom Stoppard’s new play is his most personal - and the Turner prize gets woke
Launched this autumn, Tunnel 29 has become the most unlikely
BBC podcast hit. This 10-part story about the digging of a tunnel under the
Berlin Wall in 1961 to help people escape from the east to the west has so far garnered more than 3 million listeners. Admittedly it has been plugged hugely on Radio 4 (where the series also ran in late October) and even on BBC TV, but Tunnel 29 is nonetheless a truly exciting yarn.
It has worked too because its writer/presenter, Helena Merriman, was given a free hand to report in a more informal style, without losing any authoritative air. Her podcast’s immersive approach, coupled with atmospheric
music, creates a sense for the listener of being right there in the tunnel, experiencing the dangers.