Greg James, host of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, Tailenders and The Fast and the Curious, wrote an interesting piece in iNews last week, all about the potential risks of opening up too much about your personal life in podcast interviews.
“I’ve found myself listening to quite a few podcasts recently that make me feel like I’m listening to a deeply private therapy session,” he wrote. “But instead of a trained professional asking the questions, it’s the man from Dragon’s Den nodding and saying “wow”. I’ve shouted out loud at such exchanges. ‘WHO IS THIS FOR?!’ ‘WHY ARE YOU SAYING THIS!?’’
“Mental health professionals train for years to be worthy of your confessions, and they know how to handle them, whereas an audience of strangers probably doesn’t. So treat your dark thoughts with the respect they deserve.”
He makes an interesting point. Some podcasts are great at approaching sensitive subjects. On the Marie Curie Couch, for instance, feature trained bereavement experts asking celebrity guests asking all the right questions, so they can approach loss in the right way. I have also found solace from hearing guests open up about difficult subjects. When I lost a close friend late last year, I took a lot from listening to the Rev Richard Coles on How Do You Cope?… with Elis and John talking about the loss of his partner, and how grief can knock you out of step with the rest of the world.
But where is the line of revealing too much? Podcasts are unlike any other medium, in which listening through your ears provides a form of intimacy between the guest and the listener. Podcast production is also usually small too, so if you’re a guest you may not be thinking about the number of people who would end up listening. I guess the line of revealing too much comes down to whether the guest later goes on to regret it.
Notable names on podcasts this week:
- Economist and philosopher Daniel Chandler, talks democracy vouchers and more with NishKumar and Coco Khan on Pod Save the UK
- Meanwhile Nish Kumar himself, is on Dish with Nick Grimshaw and Angela Harnett.
- Izzy Judd talks about the fertility challenges her and her husband Harry Judd faced with Anna Richardson on It Can’t Just Be Me
- Observer writer Kenan Malik is on The We Society talks about the history of racism and his book ”Not So Black and White: A History of Race.”
- Fleur East is the latest guest on the aforementioned On the Marie Curie Couch, a podcast where contributors talk about grief and the people who they have lost.
- Rhys Thomas, director of Marvel’s Hawkeye, is on The Xennial Dome (a podcast about those who were born between 1977 and 1985.)
- Change Africa Podcast, a podcast that explores the opportunities for growth within the continent has just started a new series beginning with Lucy Quist, author of the ‘The Bold New Normal’.
- Hollyoaks and Brookside actor Alex Fletcher is on The Capsule #InConversation
Here are our podcast picks for the week ahead
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Rylan: How To Be A Man – Exploring the changing nature of masculinity, this new BBC Sounds series features Rylan interviewing well-known names about what masculinity means to them. It is a rather fascinating topic and one that Rylan relishes in: “Does the average bloke even exist any more? Are we allowed to ‘man up’? Can boys still be boys? What does toxic masculinity actually mean?”
I like the quite wide range of guests that are asked to take part, so the views on masculinity range too. There’s Amir Khan on how boxing is viewed as a form of entertainment (“I go in there to hurt people, even though I have such a good heart,” says Khan) and the interior designer Llewelyn-Bowen on being flamboyant (“The 20th Century was incredibly controlling in terms of society,” says Llewelyn-Bowen. “There was a real definition of what was lower class, middle class, upper class, what was male, what was female, what was masculine what was feminine.”) Make time for this one.
Sliding Doors 25 – To mark 25 years of the film Sliding Doors, this special mini-series looks back at the romantic movie classic starring Gwyneth Paltrow, a film featuring different timelines according to whether the main character caught her tube train.
Made in partnership with Transport for London (inspired choice), the podcast features interviews with the people behind the film and celebrity fans such as Laura Whitmore and Dan Walker. There’s also an episode looking at the rather surprising negative reaction when it first came out.
The Power Test – It feels like there is a new podcast about politics and Westminster out every week at the moment, but this one has a different focus than many of the others.
Hosted by broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika and political commentator Sam Freedman, this new series specifically zones in on the tactics Labour needs to master to beat the Conservatives at the next General Election. There are two episodes out so far. One looking at whether it is at all possible to make Brexit work and the other being whether or not Labour is ready to govern.
Shedunnit – Hosted by Caroline Crampton, this well-researched podcast looks at detective fiction, the inspiration writers drew from and the ingredients that make such a great and compelling novel. All of the classics are weaved in, with many recommendations for further required reading.
