Learning a language can help make international travel just that little bit easier, so let’s start off this week’s newsletter with a quick look at language podcasts that can help you top up your knowledge.
Coffee Break Academy helps you learn a language whenever you have a spare moment, with handy 20 minute episodes (hence the podcast’s title.) There’s a wide variety of languages you can learn, including Swedish, Spanish, Chinese and Italian.
There’s Learn Italian with Joy of Language, featuring conversations between Katie and Matteo. It also features lots of tips and tricks (such as that one of the best ways to learn a language is by watching their television with the subtitles on.) The Naked French Podcast has a similar format, but in French of course. Meanwhile The Fluent Show helps you get excited and motivated by learning another language (the hosts have learnt 15 languages between them. Meanwhile, let’s not talk about my GCSEs.)
For those who want to improve their English, look no further than Luke’s English Podcast. Episodes feature a mixture of conversations and stories read aloud. The British Council has podcasts called Language Assistants, which help you improve your vocabulary if you are at an immediate level. Head to their website for more info.
And if all else fails, there’s Duolingo. But for the love of god keep that owl happy.
Meanwhile… a couple of weeks ago we mentioned British podcasts that were going on tour. And we missed a big one! Jordan North and William Hanson’s Help I Sexted My Boss is heading abroad, to Benidorm of all places, with 20 of their listeners. As you would expect, the podcast will be covering the fallout.
NOTABLE NAMES ON PODCASTS THIS WEEK
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- DJ Fat Tony is on On The Mend with Matt Willis this week, talking about his experience of sobriety and what his recovery means to him.
- Lily Allen is on Alan Carr’s Life’s A Beach this week, a podcast where guests share their favourite travel stories.
- Former England rugby captain and podcaster Jonny Wilkinson, psychotherapist Samantha Pennells-Nkolo and world record-setting adventurer Aldo Kane are all on Navigating Now, a podcast by The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award exploring the world out there and helping to get the young generation inspired.
- Peter Nixey, Founder of Intentional.io, is on 40 Minute Mentor looking at the importance of a mentor and mentee relationship.
- Fiona Valpy, author of ‘The Cypress Maze’ is on Dan Simpson’s Writer’s Routine, where authors talk about their writing process.
Here are our podcast picks for the week ahead
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It’s Not You, It’s Them… But it Might Be You – Lalalaletmeexplain, author of the dating guide Block, Delete, Move On has flown up the charts with her own podcast in recent weeks. Listening to it, it is easy to see why. All of it is thanks to her candid, honest and entertaining advice and her natural talent as a broadcaster. I cackled when a recent bit of advice ended with her saying “own it, and if he doesn’t like he can f*ck off.” It feels as if you’ve known Lala for ages after only listening for a short while, a skill that very few people can manage to pull off.
Episodes are out three times a week, roughly twenty minutes each. On Mondays there’s a discussion on a big topic, from the current state of sex education to Caitlin Moran’s book on men. On Wednesdays she tackles your love, relationships and sex problems and on Fridays, Lala explores the ups and many, many downs of dating.
Terribly Famous – A new Wondery show that looks at the life of some of the world’s biggest celebrities and the pitfalls that come with global fame, including the fact that it can all go completely wrong at a moment’s notice (I mean, just look at Lizzo this week.)
The first episode, hosted by comedian and actors Emily Lloyd-Sani and Anna Leong Brophy, looks at Adele, a star so famous that you don’t need to know her surname (I’ll save you a Google … it is Adkins.) Using Wondery’s well known storytelling format, the hosts recount some of the major moments of her career, from her meteoric rise following the release of her first album to the unexpected delay of her Las Vegas residency at the last minute. You can listen to newer episodes first on Amazon Music and on Wondery+, a subscription service available on Apple Music.
Ibiza: What’s the Big Deal? – In recent weeks BBC Sounds have been dropping an illuminating series looking back at the history of hip-hop music in the UK and the rise and dramatic fall of 90s Britpop. Now BBC Radio 1 has launched a new series, with episodes only 15 minutes a piece, looking at how Ibiza went from being a sleepy little island to the epicentre of the British club music scene.
DJ Sarah Story heads to the island (it’s a hard life) and meets DJs who have performed on the island and have ended up becoming global stars. Episodes give you a sense of an atmosphere and the clubs and sights worth visiting on the island, in case you happen to be visiting any time soon. Listen out for the voices of David Guetta, Eats Everything, Pete Tong, The Blessed Madonna and Arielle Free.
Get Birding – Our final recommendation this week is the return of this fantastic series looking into how ornithology (also known as birdwatching) can make us feel and connect us with the world around us. This new series, now fronted by wildlife ambassador and podcast presenter Kwesia (City Girl in Nature), is great for the way that it weaves a natural soundscape with light music production and heartfelt and honest observations. If you are an outsider to this activity, like I am, it won’t be long until you are drawn into admiring this world, and heck maybe tempted into it.
It also taps into the issues currently facing the community, such as the safety risk and fears that are currently being faced by solo female birdwatchers.
