Radio
The lying game
I shied away from conspiracy stuff during the Trump era. Not the theories themselves, but the huge volume of content…
Vital statistics
In a week of slim audio pickings, I spent time reacquainting myself with some of the BBC classics and can…
Do the Right thing
Subversive is a podcast that documents the world of the ‘New Right’, a strange development in conservatism. Host Alex Kaschuta,…
A dose of sanity
Listening to BBC Radios 3 and 4 over the past week has been like meeting an old friend who, after…
Pod wars
The competition between news-led podcasts is nearing boiling point. If you tuned in to The Media Show on Radio 4…
Never let it go
Who doesn’t love Eurovision? All that razzmatazz. The ghastly frocks and gloopy pop songs, the false bonhomie and bare-faced bias…
Porn and pyjamas
It was recently reported that almost 8 per cent of global internet traffic is to pornographic websites. The rise of…
Striking a false note
The blurb accompanying the Radio 3 series World of Classical, inviting us to ‘join the dots between classical music traditions…
Smoke and mirrors
I go back and forth on tobacco companies. On the one hand, they are merchants of death. On the other,…
Shelley addict
Last week I heard the actor Julian Sands give a virtuoso performance of work by Percy Bysshe Shelley to mark…
Overmilking the crime cow
Nothing new under the sun. Or at least it feels that way these days, doesn’t it? The movies are TV…
Style and substance
One of the New York Met Gala stylists is sharing tips for wearing a corset to an evening do. ‘Breathe…
Playing chicken with your conscience
Jade Goody appeared on Big Brother in 2002. She was a short, loud, blonde-haired woman who broadcast her every thought…
Fresh knickers
Last April Fools’ Day, Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo wound up their award-winning film review show on BBC Radio 5…
Soldiery stuff
The Battlegroundpodcast on the wars of the 20th century, said presenter Saul David happily, ‘will have lots of bombs and…
Nattery and nice
Have you ever taken a piece of advice? I’m not asking a rhetorical question. Have you ever once in your…
Rebel yell
Ordinarily, if a podcast purports to be revelatory, you can assume it is anything but. There’s a glut of programmes…
User friendly
‘I like to have a martini,/ Two at the very most./ After three I’m under the table,/ After four I’m…
Old Marr, new Marr
Andrew Marr got his voice back this week. That may come as a bit of a surprise to everybody who’s…
Wicked smaht
When I was ten years old I had a babysitter who was a beautiful graduate student at an Ivy League…
Cringe benefits
The tagline of This is Dating, a new podcast from across the pond, is ‘Come for the cringe, stay for…
Smart and smarter
Tyler Cowen is a man who leaves you at once in awe and perturbed. He is the Holbert L. Harris…
Ill gotten gains
I have heartburn. I probably have heartburn simply because both my parents also had a lot of heartburn, and I…
Big cats and bad hairdos
The prestige podcasting era began in 2014, when the true-crime Serial gripped us with the ‘did-he-dunnit’ mystery of whether Adnan…
Disappearing doilies
This week marks the beginning of modernism season on BBC Radio 3 and 4, which means it’s time for some…
