Zakia Sewell

Zakia is a London-based audio producer, radio host, DJ, and writer whose work weaves together music, history, mental health, and identity. Her radio documentaries and podcasts—produced for platforms such as BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service, Tate, and Boiler Room—have explored everything from British folk culture to her mother’s experience of schizophrenia, to Sabar drumming in Senegal. In 2021, she received the Silver Award for Best New Voice at the Audio Production Awards, and in 2024, was named Radio Presenter of the Year at the UKAN Awards. A passionate music collector and long-time host on NTS Radio, Zakia has spent the past eight years sharing sounds through her shows Questing w/ Zakia and the NTS Breakfast Show. She DJs regularly across the UK and internationally, with performances at Dekmantel, Berlin Atonal, We Out Here, HORST, and more.

Her forthcoming book, Finding Albion—based on her acclaimed BBC series My Albion—will be published by Hodder Press in 2026 and explores British national identity, folklore, and myth. Zakia also leads workshops for emerging audio makers and collaborates with cultural institutions including the Stuart Hall Library, George Padmore Institute, and Timespan.

At the heart of all her work is a deep commitment to storytelling, sound, and the search for belonging.