It might be a year late (what isn’t), but Euro 2020 is finally underway. As you would expect, there’s a whole raft of podcasts covering the contest, so here’s some of the best ones to look out for in the next few weeks.
BBC Radio 5 Live are launching a Daily Euros podcast, with analysis from their presenters and experts Emma Saunders, Mark Chapman and Steve Crossman. 5 Live’s That Peter Crouch Podcast is also becoming That Peter Crouch Euros Podcast for the competition, with frequent analysis and nonsense from Crouch, Chris Stark, Tom Fordyce and more.
The Guardian’s Football Weekly has been tweaked into Football Daily, starting with a guide of what to look out for. Sky Sports Euros Podcast will be following England, Wales and Scotland five episodes a week, whilst The Athletic’s Beyond the Headline podcast series is launching Euros Stories, with anecdotes from famous competitions gone by (including Euro 96).
The England team have also got their own podcast, helpfully called The Official England Podcast, featuring exclusive interviews with Harry Kane and other members of the team. English former footballer David Seaman has also launched his own, called Seaman Says, which features him chatting to some of his former teammates. If you want a daily update on the team, there’s The England Show, also by The Athletic.
GUESTS ON PODCASTS THIS WEEK
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- The Mid•Point with Gabby Logan, which celebrates the benefits of middle age that no-one tells you beforehand, has just returned for a third series. The first episode is with the comedian Ruby Wax on being public with her mental health and why you don’t regularly see her on TV: “I lost my job in TV, because I was 50. And you’re not allowed on TV after that. Because, you know, it’s too upsetting to people.”
- Actor Sam Claflin is the latest guest on The Joe Wicks Podcast.
- So, What Do You Do?, a new careers podcast hosted by Ben Hansen-Hicks, speaks to ABC News’ Foreign Correspondent, James Longman. He shares tips about how to get into broadcast news.
- The band Tame Impala are on The FADER Uncovered Podcast with the music producer Mark Ronson, talking about their breakthrough.
- Oti Mabuse from Strictly has just launched her own podcast called The Rhythm of Life. The first episode is a two part episode with Strictly star Bill Bailey.
- Iszi Lawrence is a special guest on Comic Cuts – The Panel Show talking about her upcoming Netflix series.
Here are our podcast picks for the week ahead
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Hashtag Trashbag – The supremely talented broadcaster Dotty, who has recently flipped from BBC Radio 1Xtra to Apple, has now launched her own Audible podcast. In each episode she’s joined by a celebrity guest (including Nick Grimshaw, Munya Chawawa, Katherine Ryan, Kae Kurd and Tolly T) where they both let rip into those small frustrations we all collectively loathe and should bin as a society, in a style similar to Room 101.
The joy comes from how passionate Dotty gets about the smallest of frustrations, from animals with human names (“what is the point of a cat called Colin?,” Dotty says) to preamble in meetings (“[having] kids just set you up for preamble,” she says, “because people are like, ‘they must be itching to get out of lockdown…’ I’M ITCHING TO GET OFF THIS CALL SUSAN.”)
As this podcast is only available on Audible, so you will need to be a subscriber to listen. Until now Audible have mostly been a destination for storytelling and documentary series, so it’s interesting with this series under their belt where they are heading next.
Cheat! – We are always compelled to hear stories of people who end up doing something wrong and then have to experience the consequences. This new podcast, from the makers of David Dimbleby’s The Fault Line and Power: The Maxwells, looks at those who have cheated. Not those in relationships, but rather people who have been a part of some of the biggest scandals in modern history. Those stories you might have caught in the news then have forgotten about.
One story featured here is about a young trader called Navinder Sarao, who caused a trillion dollars to be wiped from the US stock market back in 2010. To some, he is seen as a criminal, but to others he’s seen as a Robin Hood style figure who went against the system. At its heart of this story (and the series) is one question: is it ever really acceptable to break the rules?
Spotify Podcast of the Week – If you, like me, absolutely cannot wait for the start of the Euros, then I’m pleased to say we have the perfect playlist for you! The latest addition to our family of music and podcast playlists (after Daily Drive and Daily Wellness ) is Football Now, is a brand new mixed media playlist containing personalised music and curated football podcasts that launched this week in the UK & Ireland (and Germany where it’s called Das Fußball-Update). Amongst the podcast content in the playlist, we’ve commissioned a brand new daily Spotify Original, The Teamsheet, where well-known football fanatics will curate their dream 5-a-side team (plus manager and kit!) across a week of episodes. We’ll also be including podcasts from The Big Interview with Graham Hunter, UEFA, Wireless and The Athletic amongst others.
Which? Investigates – We all know the consumer champion Which?, from them pointing out consumer company’s flaws and for their stickers on dishwashers . They’ve now got a new consumer podcast, hosted by their science journalist Greg Foot, exploring sustainability. In particular, what environmental boasts from companies live up to their expectations.
The first episode looks at the possible upsides to plastic. I know what you’re thinking. There are upsides? “The biggest reason plastic is still used is that, in lots of ways, it’s a great material,” says Foot. “It’s cheap, it can be flexible, it can be strong and it protects what is inside. And here’s the thing: that protection stops the food inside from going off.” For example, plastic wrap extends the life of a cucumber on the supermarket shelf sometimes three times longer than what it would be without. If a cucumber was thrown away and left to rot, it could release methane gas, a harmful greenhouse gas. But does non-recyclable plastic adequately offset any methane gas harm to the planet? And, of course, wouldn’t it be all better if we didn’t have any wasteful food (and the plastic wrap covering it) in the first place?
Hear Myself Think – I don’t need to explain why this past year has been on our mental health. This new podcast initiative, by Streatham Space Project (and funded by Arts Council England) introduces younger listeners to a mindful activity each episode, with the ambition of making those difficult days a little bit lighter.
Each episode is voiced by a different fictional character. There’s Get Ready for Bed with Kesra (voiced by Shamail Ali from Homeland) and Make a Hot Drink with Kim (voiced by Cherrelle Skeete from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). Other episodes look at the benefits of heading outside and from tidying up your room. Whilst the tips are not anything particularly new, it’s a worthwhile reminder that the simplest of changes or routines can make the biggest difference to how we feel.
A couple of weeks ago we announced the nominations for the British Podcast Awards (supported by Amazon Music). Now you can celebrate the biggest night (or afternoon) in podcasting by attending the ceremony along with the nominees at Brockwell Park, London on Saturday July 10th. The ceremony will be in a covered tent, a bit like Bake Off, with a bar, food and summer fair games. Tickets cost £50 and it includes a complimentary drink and a picnic full of snacks for you to enjoy. Just head to the British Podcast Awards website to purchase your tickets and for more details.
Finally, if you want to listen to the best bits of some great British podcasts, listen out for the latest episode of Podcast Radio Hour. I joined BBC Radio 4 Extra host Chris Pearson where we both played and talked about some of our favourite podcasts from the month of June (featuring podcasts that have been mentioned in this newsletter – including What The Denmark, Human Resources, Sound Heap and The Retrospectors.)
We also spoke to Alan Cumming about his new podcast Shelves and Greg Jenner about his new Audible podcast series A Somewhat Complete History of Sitting Down.
