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Radio prep, every day · Mon, 02 Nov
Walk into the studio with something to say.
Ten stories every morning, already turned into radio: a recap, three caller questions and a hot take. Keep what fits your show. Two minutes, and you are ready.
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Free. No sign-up to read. Used in 40+ studios.
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Heard on
The podcast · new episode
Behind The Mike, the podcast
Conversations with the people who make radio.
Episode 12 · 41 min · 13 Sept
The 06:00 problem: how the best breakfast shows prep
0:00Sample player · iono.fm embed goes here--:--
Sound familiar?
Prep is the part of radio nobody sees. It is also the part that eats your morning.
Great story, no angle.
The article is interesting. But what do you actually ask the caller from Benoni?
Weekends are scraps.
Monday gets the prep. Saturday gets whatever is left in the group chat.
The fix
Behind The Mike does the reading, the summarising and the angle. You do the radio.
Ten stories every morning, each one already turned into something you can say out loud. Keep what fits your show. Walk in ready.
What you get, every story
Not an article. Prep.
Every story is already turned into radio: a hook, a three-sentence recap, three questions written for callers, a hot take to open with, and the publisher to credit.
- Hook. 5 to 10 words you can read as a tease
- Recap. Three sentences. Enough to sound informed.
- Questions. Three, open, written the way people talk
- Hot take. One line to say with a straight face
- Credit. The original publisher, one tap away
Hook
Scientists Found the Exact Age You Stop Caring What People Think
Science
Recap
A long-running wellbeing survey has pinpointed the age at which concern about other people's opinions drops sharply, and it is earlier than most people guess. The researchers say the shift is less about confidence and more about running out of energy to pretend. Respondents past that age describe it as the best thing that ever happened to them.
Questions for your show
- 01At what age did you stop caring what people think, or are you still waiting?
- 02What did you pretend to like for years just to fit in?
- 03What is the one opinion you would still change your behaviour for?
Hot take
You do not become braver with age. You become tired, and it looks the same from the outside.
CreditNew Scientist Run sheet
How it works
Two minutes. Three steps.
No sign-up needed to read. The run sheet is yours the moment you add a story.
Why younger men are dating older women
Run sheetThe four-day week nobody wanted to end
Run sheet01
Read today’s ten
Live at 06:00, every day. Each story is already prepped. Tap Run sheet on anything that fits your show.
Keep
Her future husband was hiding in an old photo
SkipKeep
02
Or swipe through them
Quick pick shows the ten one at a time. Keep or skip. Two minutes, and it remembers where you got to.
01How often should you wash your towels?
02The wedding crasher mystery, solved
03Scientists say your dog knows when you’re sad
Copy Print
03
Take the run sheet in
Your picks, in order, with questions and hot takes. Copy as show notes or print for the booth.
Thursday, 17 September · live now
Today’s 2, at a glance.
From the booth
Presenters who stopped prepping at 4am.
“I open it at 04:50 with coffee and by 05:10 my breakfast show has a spine. The questions are written the way people actually talk.”
Breakfast presenter · Skyline FM
“The hot takes are the thing. One line, said with a straight face, and the phones go for twenty minutes.”
Drive host · Radio Karoo
“As a producer I used to send my presenter six links. Now I send a run sheet. She reads it in the lift.”
Content producer · Cape Coast Radio
“Weekends included. That alone is worth it. Saturday shows used to be scraps.”
Weekend presenter · Jozi Nights
“Quick pick took me two minutes on the taxi. I walked into the studio with eight stories and a plan.”
Mid-morning host · Bay FM
- 10
- stories every morning
- 30
- caller questions a day
- 2 min
- from open to run sheet
- 7 days
- a week, weekends too
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Plans
Free to read. Premium when you want the edge.
Free
R0
- Ten stories a day, live at 06:00
- Questions, hot takes, credits
- Quick pick and your run sheet
- Rate or hate, notes from the booth
Premium · coming soon
First month freeR149 / month
- Early access at 05:00
- The full archive, searchable
- Printable run sheets and show-notes export
- No ads, and premium-only deep dives
- Station accounts for whole teams
Brands: your message, heard by the people who decide what a nation hears. Advertise
Questions
Before you ask.
Is it free?+
Yes. Reading, the run sheet and Quick pick are free. Premium, coming soon, adds early access at 05:00, the full archive, printable run sheets and no ads.
Do I need an account?+
No. Your run sheet lives in your browser. Create a free account and it follows you to the studio machine.
Who writes the prep?+
Mike Bower, a working radio practitioner, with AI doing the reading and Mike doing the angle. Every story links to the original publisher so you can credit it on air.
What about my station’s own stories?+
Use what fits and skip what does not. Ten a day is a floor, not a script. Station editions with private prep feeds are on the roadmap.