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We didn’t win an award, but we came home with so much more! Own My Life at the Independent Podcast Awards
Eight women, one brilliant podcast, a night in London and a whole lot of unexpected wins.
We were absolutely delighted to be finalists in the Limited Series category at the Independent Podcast Awards, celebrating the very best of independent podcasts in 2025/26.
The awards took place at Kings Place in London, and what a lovely opportunity it was to celebrate independent podcasting, spend time together and recognise the power of stories to make a difference.
The story behind the Own My Life podcast
Our podcast is the brainchild of the brilliant Abi Thomas, freelance radio and podcast producer and, importantly, an Own My Life facilitator.
Having witnessed the transformational power of Own My Life through running a course with women, and experienced it herself through attending our training, Abi wanted to find a way to spread the Own My Life sisterhood far and wide.
And so, the Own My Life podcast was born!
Each episode features a woman who has attended an Own My Life course (some of whom have gone on to become facilitators themselves). Through their experiences and stories, listeners get to understand some of the core concepts of Own My Life, while hearing directly from women who have lived them.
It's a powerful way of sharing the learning, reaching more women and helping them recognise that they can own their lives too.
A night in London, and some wonderful company
There were eight of us from the podcast team at the awards, and it was a real joy to spend time together with such a brilliant bunch of women. For those travelling from further afield, we even got to enjoy a night away in London!
Although we didn't take home the award in our category, there were so many worthy winners to celebrate.
One of our favourites was War Hall: A Theatre of the Mind, a wonderful podcast telling the story of Walthamstow Assembly Hall, built during the Second World War and danced in during the Blitz. We're all about resistance to abusers at Own My Life, and what bigger resistance to the destruction of war, than building somewhere to dance?!
Hosted by 96-year-old Londoner Angela Allen, who lived through the air raids and is one of Britain's most respected script supervisors, it's a fascinating piece of storytelling. Her co-host, John Thomas, also created this wonderful short film about why Fender guitars made during the Second World War sound like magic. (Spoiler: because women made them!)
We got to whoop away for the winners sat in front of us (the podcast A Dose of Wellbeing) and were also delighted to meet finalist Louise Dawtry at the after-party who has the podcast What's The Charitea? Leading conversations about the joys, challenges and tribulations of working in the charity sector.
The wins that really mattered
Of course, a trip to London doesn't come without a little adventure!
We spent precious time together, conquered fears and anxieties, and even survived an accommodation cancellation, a mad dash across London to find somewhere else to stay, and Natalie's spectacular inability to follow Google Maps.
But when the team reflected on the experience after returning home, it became clear that the biggest wins had very little to do with awards.
Here are just four of the reflections shared by women:
“My wins that immediately come to mind are: I showed up, I experienced all sorts of 'firsts', I conquered some fearful thoughts, I laughed, I enjoyed myself in great company with real people who have real lives and I learned what not to do next time. I was present with you all and there's no place I'd rather have been than in London with the Own My Life sisterhood.”
“My win is travelling through London with ease, staying grounded through everything and making it home earlier than planned. Appreciating my peaceful life by the sea 💙”
“My head was trying to think of any excuse not to come to London because I was scared to travel on my own and be in London when it went dark. I faced many fears and grew massively as a person. I walked around London in the dark, I went for a Costa coffee in the morning on my own, I met some amazing, strong, beautiful women and even became the navigator to get around London. I kicked fear and anxiety in the bum and feel amazing for it. Thank you for the opportunity to gain some personal growth and for a funny, crazy adventure.”
“I pushed myself out of my comfort zone in every way possible! New places, new people, new food and plenty of hugs! 😅☺️ Every single one was terrifying, yet turned out to be completely worth trying. 😁 Guess this means I have to start pushing myself even more now! 🤣”
Whew!
Who knew that the wins we came home with would turn out to be so much more important than the award we didn't win?
Because that's what Own My Life is all about. It's about women recognising their own strength, discovering what they're capable of, challenging the things that hold them back and finding the confidence to live life on their own terms.
And we got to see all of that happening, right there in London.
A podcast that makes a difference
Reflecting on the podcast and what it means to her, Abi said:
“I make shows which are listened to by millions of people, but the Own My Life podcast is the one that has led to the most messages saying about how much of a difference the project has made to them.”
We think that says it all.
Being recognised as finalists in the Independent Podcast Awards was a wonderful achievement, but knowing that the podcast is reaching women, sharing the Own My Life message and making a genuine difference is the real prize.
Thank you for being part of it
We are so grateful to everyone who has listened to or shared the podcast, and to our funders at the Community Foundation for making this work possible.
And, most of all, thank you to each woman who has trusted us with her story and shared it on the podcast. The hard stuff, the beautiful stuff, the moments of realisation and the moments of transformation.
Your stories are helping other women understand their own lives, recognise their own strength and discover what is possible.
We may not have won an award in London, but we came home with something pretty special: a whole lot of memories, some new adventures under our belts, and an even stronger sense of what happens when women come together.
Here's to the Own My Life sisterhood, to the power of women's stories, and to many more wins along the way!
Our podcast is available on all platforms, and can be listened to on our website here: https://www.ownmylifecourse.org/podcast
AI was used to edit this article.
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