podcasts
What happened to the supermodels of the 1990s?
‘What advice would you give to your younger self?’ has become a popular question in interviews in recent years. It’s…
Enjoyable and informative but where’s the drama? Political Currency reviewed
The first episode of George Osborne and Ed Balls’s new podcast, Political Currency, opened with an old clip of the…
The rise of vampirism in Silicon Valley
The Immortals, which begins on Radio 4 this week, is not for the faint-hearted. While it professes to be about…
Gripping tale of Ireland’s most polite bank robber: I’m Not Here To Hurt You reviewed
There should really be a special word for it: that vicarious fragility you feel when hearing of a minor decision…
The stuff of nightmares: Retrievals podcast reviewed
It is the stuff of nightmares, or a queasily dystopian film plot. A woman is undergoing a surgical procedure in…
The problem with podcasts
Can anything serious come from podcasts, asks Sam Kriss
Looking for a male role model? Check out the silverback gorilla
One so often hears about famous people who are horrible when they think no one important is looking – barking…
Shocked and moved me far more than I anticipated: Hoaxed reviewed
I shied away from conspiracy stuff during the Trump era. Not the theories themselves, but the huge volume of content…
Welcome to the weird world of the New Right: Subversive podcast reviewed
Subversive is a podcast that documents the world of the ‘New Right’, a strange development in conservatism. Host Alex Kaschuta,…
Rivals Wagatha Christie for its lowbrow twists: FT's Hot Money – Who Rules Porn? reviewed
It was recently reported that almost 8 per cent of global internet traffic is to pornographic websites. The rise of…
Why is the post-colonial guilt only applied to Western classical traditions? Radio 3's World of Classical reviewed
The blurb accompanying the Radio 3 series World of Classical, inviting us to ‘join the dots between classical music traditions…
A belter of a podcast, featuring a mad South African: Smoke Screen reviewed
I go back and forth on tobacco companies. On the one hand, they are merchants of death. On the other,…
The cruelty of reality TV was part of the appeal
Jade Goody appeared on Big Brother in 2002. She was a short, loud, blonde-haired woman who broadcast her every thought…
Boldly and brilliantly unoriginal: Kermode and Mayo’s Take reviewed
Last April Fools’ Day, Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo wound up their award-winning film review show on BBC Radio 5…
Enjoyably plummy and male: Battleground – The Falklands War podcast reviewed
The Battlegroundpodcast on the wars of the 20th century, said presenter Saul David happily, ‘will have lots of bombs and…
A podcast with real emotional heft: Philippa Perry’s Siblings in Session reviewed
Have you ever taken a piece of advice? I’m not asking a rhetorical question. Have you ever once in your…
A wonderfully unguarded podcast about the last bohemians
Ordinarily, if a podcast purports to be revelatory, you can assume it is anything but. There’s a glut of programmes…
Why we drink
‘I like to have a martini,/ Two at the very most./ After three I’m under the table,/ After four I’m…
Some of the best social commentary around: Celebrity Book Club with Steven & Lily reviewed
When I was ten years old I had a babysitter who was a beautiful graduate student at an Ivy League…
If you like First Dates, you'll love This is Dating
The tagline of This is Dating, a new podcast from across the pond, is ‘Come for the cringe, stay for…
The dark world of illness influencers
I have heartburn. I probably have heartburn simply because both my parents also had a lot of heartburn, and I…
A strange blend of farce and tragedy: Wild Things – Siegfried & Roy reviewed
The prestige podcasting era began in 2014, when the true-crime Serial gripped us with the ‘did-he-dunnit’ mystery of whether Adnan…
Disappointingly conventional and linear: BBC radio's modernism season reviewed
This week marks the beginning of modernism season on BBC Radio 3 and 4, which means it’s time for some…
The best podcasts about dying, or almost dying
If there’s any form of entertainment that I will reliably find time for, no matter how big the to-read pile…
