podcasts
Brought me to tears: Tortoise Media's Sweet Bobby podcast reviewed
Eleven years ago, Kirat Assi received a message on Facebook from a man named Bobby. There was a family connection…
When will the Nineties revival end?
We’ve been living through a nostalgia for the 1990s that has lasted longer than the decade itself. That was back…
It's amazing how little insight Paul McCartney has into the Beatles' genius
The Paul people are out in force these days. A New Yorker profile, a book and a new documentary have…
The astonishing stories behind today’s culture wars: Radio 4’s Things Fell Apart reviewed
Martin McNamara, the writer of Mosley Must Fall, a play on Radio 4 this week, must have had a jolt…
The genius of Caveh Zahedi
365 Stories I Want To Tell You Before We Both Die is a podcast that experimental filmmaker Caveh Zahedi started…
In 1980s Bennington it was a badge of dishonour not to have slept with your professor
It is incredibly hard to convey the fleeting invincibility and passionate self-significance that we feel on the cusp of adulthood.…
The best podcasts to help you become a better painter
There’s a great documentary film on Netflix at the moment about the late artist Bob Ross, he of the happy…
The best podcasts where girls sit around talking about ghosts
‘I’ve actually seen ghosts.’ This statement comes less than ten minutes into the first episode of Dark House, a limited-series…
Made me buzz like an electron: Science – Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda reviewed
Given my affection for M*A*S*H, I can’t think why I haven’t listened to Alan Alda’s podcasts before now, besides the…
Why do some women find killers irresistible?
Why do some women find killers irresistible?
How the good intentions of Title IX ended up punishing the innocent
How do we have difficult conversations? Especially in an age of polarisation, where everything is immediately politicised? But also where…
A podcast that will rescue your relationship: Where Should We Begin? reviewed
Let me give you a free piece of relationship advice: just break up. If it’s more work than pleasure, if…
Must all history programming be 'relevant'?
When it comes to history programming, television’s loss is increasingly audio’s gain. People moan to me most weeks over the…
Contains moments of spellbinding banality: Radio 4's The Poet Laureate has Gone to his Shed reviewed
The interview podcast is a genre immoderately drawn to gimmicks, as the logical space of possible formats is gradually exhausted.…
A podcast that listens to what anti-vaxxers think rather than lecturing them
Work is our new religion. There are people whose primary job is writing listicles of celebrity gossip, illustrated with gifs…
Floods you with fascinating facts: Trees A Crowd reviewed
Listening to Trees A Crowd, a podcast exploring the ‘56(ish) native trees of the British Isles’, solved one of childhood’s…
The best theatre podcasts
All the world’s on stage again so where to go to for insight into what to see and why? Podcasts,…
Wallace Shawn's Designated Mourner feels like watching the news
Pity the aesthete, the flâneur and the opera-goer. Those who find the contents of their own heads so dull and…
Much smarter than your average podcast: Passenger List reviewed
Passenger List opens with a carefully structured ripple of breaking news bulletins: a mysterious catastrophe, an unconvincing official explanation, the…
The best food podcasts
You have to hand it to Ed Miliband. After bacon sandwich-gate, he might never have eaten in public again, but…
The best podcasts to be enjoyed at 4 a.m.
Now that all of the billionaires are going into space, the night sky holds a special new kind of allure.…
The joy of Radio 4 Extra
The best thing on the radio last week was, without question, Kind Hearts and Coronets. You may have missed it…
The podcast that makes the world strange, mysterious and compelling again
It’s interesting that we have decided shaming and yelling are the easiest ways to change people’s minds. Which is not…
Insane and fascinating: BBC World Service's Lazarus Heist reviewed
The narrative podcast remains a form in search of a genre. The template set by the hit show Serial —…
Seldom less than gripping: Banged Up podcast reviewed
Prison-based podcast Banged Up, now in its second series, is far more uplifting — and less soapy — than its…
