Mike Cooper and Emma Clarke reflect on radio production and imaging work from the perspective of a radio voice artist.

There's a discussion about the current trends in radio ad writing and a heartfelt plea for brave creativity and a lower word count.

Also, BBC Manchester's John Ryan reports from the recent Radio Academy event on The Future of Radio Imaging and we share some creative bits and pieces that have caught our attention on the radio recently.

This month you'll hear Arden Hanley (intermittent coughing), myself (sponsored by Lemsip) and Chris Nicol (as beautifully uncongested as Britain's airspace). We play and talk about loads of great audio from the UK, New Zealand, Germany and Ghana. We also consider what the Sony Radio Academy Award nominations mean for radio producers.

Absolute and Jack are two stations with a sense of humour and a belief in authenticity. We meet their production guys and play some audio from both stations. This programme was recorded in a pub which felt very 'on-brand' but makes it sound a bit odd in places.

Kiss v BBC Radio 3. This month in the Earshot Creative Review we bring BBC Radio 3's Kerry McCarthy and Matt Lomax together. As you'll hear, they got on rather well despite reading from opposite ends of the radio production stylebook.

Speaking of books, there's a review of The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, recommended for busy but disorganised radio promotions people, and a fish tale - the true story behind the groovy jingle for Daniel's Fish and Chips.

In this edition, James Stodd of PureTonic Media reveals how he promoted BBC Radio 3’s Purcell week with some office noises, Dan Snaith shows how he use focus groups to generate material for a BBC News campaign and we only just manage to resist singing along to a groovy fish and chip shop ad from Dorset’s Wessex FM. There’s also a chance for you to choose the strapline for the Earshot Creative Review.

The historic first edition is just days away featuring the multi award-winning creative genius of James Stodd and the Sony Radio Academy award-winning writer, producer and voice artist Dan Snaith. Plus, a catchy ad for a Fish & Chip shop in Weymouth. If you work in radio promos and imaging and would like to contribute to a future edition just email [email protected]