Yep, we’re in the bit between Christmas and New Year when all the days merge into one and you can’t tell what exactly is going on (so basically like it has been since March then).

John Oliver, host of the hugely successful “Last Week Tonight” on HBO in the US, returned to the podcast that helped make his name: The Bugle, for a special show with Andy Zaltzman. As you can imagine, there was a lot of ribbing of Oliver’s success. Also, it was recently announced that Zaltzman will be the new host of The News Quiz in the New Year, so look out for that too.

Meanwhile the My Dad Wrote A Porno / Dear Joan and Jericha Christmas special dropped on Christmas Day. In the special episode Julia Davis and Vicki Pepperdine swung by with some Agony Aunt advice. MDWAP is never a family listen, but as you can imagine in this episode especially so.

If you’re wanting some good audio binges between Christmas and New Year, here’s a bumper guest section of good stuff that is out there:

GUESTS ON PODCASTS THIS WEEK:

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Here are our podcast picks for the week ahead

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The Log Books –  The Best New Podcast from the British Podcast Awards returns for a second series. A partnership with the LGBT Switchboard (a confidential listening service), this podcast tries to tell the history of the community through anonymous call logs of the organisation in their archives. It provides a fascinating and rare insight into LGBTQ+ history, one that is not regularly taught in schools and a subject only occasionally explored in mainstream television and radio (one of which is coming out soon: look out for Russell T. Davies’ “It’s a Sin” coming out in the New Year).

Whilst the first series looked at the 70s, the second series looks at the devastating HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s. It’s a heartbreaking but necessary listen, not just to hear about the lives that were lost and those who were affected, but to also learn shocking accounts of individuals made unemployed for revealing their status, or scapegoated by the media (and that’s not just from the tabloids, but from Woman’s Hour as well). The fourth episode is a great listen too, with lighter stories highlighting how humour was a great survival mechanism. “If you can’t laugh, you’ll cry,” explained Tash, one of the hosts.

Constantly EvolvingIf you’re looking for some motivation for the year ahead, look no further than this BBC Sounds one hosted by the rapper Eve. In each episode she speaks to people who have made it in their industry on how they made it, as well as looking at topics such as how to have a growth mindset and how to deal with disappointment. Recent guests have included comedian Mo Gilligan on staying focused on your goals, as well as Paralympian Olivia Breen on how to overcome disappointment, after experiencing a difficult Rio 2016.

Spotify Podcast of the Week: Rose and Rosie: Parental guidance follows comedy duo and married couple Rose and Rosie in their journey to start a family. Having left S1 of Rose and Rosie: Parental Guidance on a serious cliffhanger, your favourite WLW are back at the most wonderful time of the year to spread festive queer! With sneak audio appearances from Megan Jayne Crabb, dodie, Ben Hunte, Jessica and Claudia Kellgren-Fozard and Hollywood Medium Tyler Henry, the girls have goss left, right and centre to share with all! Expect updates, exclusives and maybe even a word from the magical man in red himself…

Ask an ArtistHaving something creative to do can be a real blessing in getting through the last year. If you’re lucky enough to be highly skilled at it, this podcast might help in making it a full-time career. Hosted by professional artists Laura Boswell and Peter Keegan, you’ll hear advice on issues such as time management, ‘making a body of work’ and marketing it afterwards. They also frequently interview other artists doing different things, in the hope that the advice is tailor-made as possible to what you want to do. A great listen if you have artistic aspirations for 2021.

Radio in ColourFinally, a great podcast that focuses on the experiences of Black and minority ethnic people in radio, full of advice for those who are interested in a career in it too. I like how they drill into the specifics of how to enter the industry as well as what the reality is like for presenters and producers. This time of year is when we look at our jobs and careers and work out what else we can do or where we can go next, so I hope that younger interested listeners will find a lot of this useful.

A podcast to look out for in early 2021: Lou Mensah’s Shade is returning for a new series early next month. The series will explore Black Lives Matter and the images that came from the protests in 2020, along with photographers and editors from publications such as TIME and i-D Magazine. An upcoming episode will also feature an interview with Nicola Green, who was President Obama’s campaign artist.
That’s all from the podcast newsletter for this week … and this year! I just want to say a quick thank you for all of the great podcast suggestions you’ve sent us over the last year, as well as all your many emails and messages. It’s been a difficult year for us all, so your company is much appreciated. I also want to thank Matt Deegan from the British Podcast Awards for all of his help with this newsletter.

Categories: Weekly Picks