and kind of place sounds around this microphone. in 1922, the idea is that the bbc had to make programming that would inform, entertain and educate the world. and because it was a public broadcaster, it kind of had quite a lot of freedom to decide what programming could be developed but also, it meant that they developed their own technologies to be able to make such a wide range of programmes for the biggest audiences. and, of course, way before television came radio, and what do you need to broadcast a voice to the nation? one of these. and one of the most iconic mics ever is the bbc marconi type a. and trust me when i say it s iconic, i mean it is an icon literally. one of our panellists, joe leates, really likes this microphone i mean, really likes this microphone and he spent the last few months uncovering its story, and here it is. not many are around these days especially ones that work as it became tradition at the corporation to empty the insides and plate