With us now firmly in the August Bank Holiday (thank god), I thought that it might be a good idea to remind you of some great binges that we have featured in GBP newsletter over the last few months, in case you have some spare time for a bit of a binge.

If you’re looking for some good chat and comedy podcasts to listen to this weekend, there’s the surreal Three Bean Salad (with Mike Wozniak, Henry Parker and Benjamin Partridge), the informative She Said, They Said (with Alex Woolhouse and Shivani Dave) and the entertaining Ain’t Got A Clue (with Marcus Bronzy and Kae Kurd). There’s also the absorbing therapy series Conversations with Annalisa Barbieri.

In terms of good investigative or historical podcasts, there’s a new series of Nick Hilton’s The Town That Knew Too Much (this time looking into Cambridge’s historical links to spies and espionage), the health podcast A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand and great storytelling from British Scandal (which has just started a  new series looking back at the impact of The Profumo Affair). Journalist Nicky Woolf has a fascinating (and horrifying) exploration into QAnon in Finding Q

If you want something for the kids to listen to, there’s the philosophical series The Old Man in The Boat from Fun Kids and the book podcast Puffin Podcast: Mission Imagination. This newsletter is, of course, nothing without your recommendations, so if there’s a great podcast you’ve heard in recent weeks and months and want others to know about, just fill out the form below.

NOTABLE NAMES ON PODCASTS THIS WEEK

If you have listened to a great guest on a podcast, let us know by filling in this form and it might get featured in an upcoming newsletter.

Here are our podcast picks for the week ahead

If you want your podcast featured, or you have a great recommendation, all you need to do is fill in this simple form and might get featured in a future newsletter.

Bees in a Pod with Rob BeckettThis podcast about saving the bees feels more like a chat show than a typical podcast about saving the environment, but that makes it one of its strengths. Presented by Rob Beckett, the Radio 2 show features him joined by scientists and experts who discuss how bees pollinate, how the hive works and why they are so essential to our survival, but in a loose, chatty and unstructured way. As you can imagine, the podcast is full to the brim of bee facts (here’s one: male bumblebees only do two things: have sex and get drunk) and a ‘bee of the week’ (which celebrates a species of bee, rather than one bee chosen out of random). This podcast is another reminder that you can do a podcast on a relatively serious subject but not feel obligated to do it in a serious tone at all.

Just so you know, this podcast is only available to listen to on the BBC Sounds app or on the BBC Sounds website.

Isy Suttie’s The Things We Do For LoveA podcast that captures the idiotic, ridiculous, cliche yet also pure and unforgettable things we do when we fall in love with somebody else (especially in those early days, when you’ve given up all hope of trying to act cool with them.) The comedian Isy Suttie asks well-known names for anecdotes about their loves and relationships, but there’s no place for judgement and ridicule. 

The main takeaway from the podcast is that whilst we all have embarrassing moments and moments, many of them are necessary to learn and build from. Recent guests on the podcast include Bridget Christie and Alan Davies.

Spotify Podcast of the Week – Wrighty’s HouseIan Wright’s phenomenal Wrighty’s House is in its third week back after a well-deserved post-Euros break. This episode, Ian is joined by Ryan Hunn and Mayowa Quadri to chat about a variety of things, including but not limited to Tammy Abraham’s move to Roma and his impressive debut, the new Spiderman trailer, Ralph Hasnhüttl’s waistcoat, Graham Potter’s beard and yesterday’s Liverpool v Chelsea match.

Thinking Straight – In 2018 the government announced that they were going to ban conversion therapy, but three years later no such ban exists. In this new seven part series by The Times and The Sunday Times, reporter Emily Sargeant looks at all of the ways conversion therapy continues legally in private all over the Britain (including at village churches and Harley Street clinics) and how the lack of of an outright ban is continuing to ruin people’s lives. At the heart of the piece are several questions: why is there a delay? Is it because of incompetence, or does it come from elsewhere? And if it is banned, are there loopholes in which it can still continue? Four episodes are out now and now episodes are out weekly.

Dane Baptiste Questions Everything – This is a conversations podcast where the comedian Dane Baptiste and his producer Howard Cohen have an expert (or geek) on to discuss a topic that they know a lot about. And the title of the podcast is not an understatement. He really does question everything. Recent episodes include discussions about the future of Afghanistan, whether we truly have free will, how to have a good death at the end of life and what lessons we have learnt from the pandemic. Ed Milband was also a recent guest in an illuminating discussion about the future of the British Left. I admire the open-minded approach in the discussions and the relaxed attitudes of the show’s hosts.

Before we go, just to let you know that the London Podcast Festival is back on the 10th September this year. A key part of it is the Podcast Maker Weekend, supported by Spotify, featuring loads of tutorials for audio makers who want to get into podcasting or want to improve their podcast skills.

Sessions include: intro to podcasting, directing podcasts, how to do personal storytelling, sound design, history podcasts, how to do remote recording (essential for 2021). Nearly all of the events are taking place at Kings Place, but there are a few sessions for those who are unable to attend in person. Tickets are £6.50 and you can find out more details on their website.

Categories: Weekly Picks