Let’s start this newsletter by featuring some uplifting and entertaining podcasts to distract you this weekend.
Why?! No reason.
At Least You Didn’t… features hosts Caroline Verdon and Annabelle Buckland revealing embarrassing things that they have done in the past to make us all feel that little bit more human. Meanwhile London Pub Reviews might make you think that you’re tuning into a handy guide to the best drinking establishments, but it’s actually wit and rather tipsy observations from Tim Key, who you might recognise from This Time with Alan Partridge.
If you’re contemplating wine at the moment (I don’t blame you) there’s Wine Blast with Susie and Peter, where two wine experts you might recognise from Saturday Kitchen give recommendations without being frivolous. Their latest episode features their favourite wines of the year, which is a handy listen if you haven’t been to the shops yet. Meanwhile for younger ears there’s The Santa Daily, giving daily updates as Santa prepares for the big day. You’ll be pleased to hear that despite all of the news of late, he’s still on course for course for the big day.
GUESTS 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.
- Sally Wainwright OBE, behind Gentleman Jack, Scott & Bailey and the much loved Happy Valley (which is returning for a third series next year!) is on The Failing Writers Podcast, giving her writing secrets.
- The Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke is on Folk on Foot, the Matthew Bannister podcast celebrating folk music and the countryside. O’Rourke speaks about where he was brought up and how he has found inspiration in his work from the Great Irish Famine.
- Brian Cheksy, the founder and CEO of Airbnb, is on The Travel Diaries with Holly Rubenstein talking about how the company has changed the way we travel and he talks about his favourite trips.
- On Breaking Social, a podcast that features interviews with notable content creators and business experts, has Social Chain’s Steven Bartlett from The Diary Of A CEO to talk about his career and his approach to making content for the internet.
- Ben Winston, the producer of James Cordens’ ‘Late Late Show’ (and the executive producer behind the recent Adele specials and the Friends reunion) talks on Events That Made Me about how he makes shows that resonate so well with the American public.
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.
My Family, Mental Illness and Me – Dr Pamela Jenkins, a researcher at the Mental Health Foundation, is behind this excellent podcast that explores different forms of mental illness and how it affects them through the perspectives of another member of their family. As well as being a sensitive exploration into different issues such as what it is like to have bipolar disorder, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, it is also a reminder that mental illness doesn’t just stop at the person experiencing it on a daily basis, but also that there are many people going through the same thing and know exactly what it is like. Episodes include interviews with Kayleigh Llewellyn, behind the excellent BBC Three drama In My Skin, which is based on her own childhood experiences.
BBC Good Food Christmas Podcast – Cooking the Christmas lunch for loved ones can be a stressful experience for any first time cook, but the chef Tom Kerridge is here to help make the experience stress free with the launch of his new BBC Good Food podcast. Each episode looks at how you can ace a different part of the meal, from the turkey (or alternative main) to the nibbles that you serve whilst everyone is waiting. If you’re willing to pay through Apple Podcast subscriptions you can follow along with easy to follow audio recipes, where you pause after each step. Hearing a recipe is far easier than trying to spot exactly where you exactly are on a mobile phone screen, especially if your glasses are fogged up.
Spotify Podcast of the Week: Shot & Chaser Christmas episodes – Your short and sweet daily dose of something interesting across history, entertainment, tech, finance and food, has been featuring special Christmas content over the past couple of weeks. Learn from the experts on queries such as ‘Could I retire from a Christmas Number 1?’, ”Did Sainsbury’s invent the Christmas football game?’ and ‘How much does Christmas actually cost’? From tomorrow, there’ll be a crossover week where each host will guest on another host’s episode, and it’s going to be full of more weird and wonderful Christmas chat. This is a Spotify Original produced by Somethin’ Else. You can find the show on your Daily Drive playlist every weekday on Spotify.
How I Sexted My Boss – The popular comedy and advice podcast presented by Radio 1’s Jordan North and ‘posh etiquette expert’ William Hanson is coming out with daily episodes in the run up to Christmas. The chemistry between the two as they discuss everyday dilemmas is always entertaining and each of these specials look at different Christmas dilemmas, from how much you should be spending on a Secret Santa to whether people over the 30s should still have advent calendars (my personal view: we absolutely should, and this has got nothing to do with the fact that I got two advent calendars and I am currently eating one as I am writing this).
Breaking Atoms: The Hip Hop Podcast – A podcast that celebrates Hip Hop, from the trailblazers to the game-changers. Presented by Sumit Sharma and Chris Mitchell, the podcast features interviews with notable names and up-and-coming names within the industry, as well as providing immensely detailed narrative series on notable albums, such as Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint. The enthusiasm by the show’s hosts is infectious, whilst their detail and knowledge of the subject cannot be matched.
And that was the last usual newsletter before Christmas 2021! The next two weeks of the Great British Podcast Newsletter will be Christmas and New Years specials, featuring the very best festive specials from your favourite podcasts.
I just want to say thank you so much for reading this newsletter each and every week and for all of you for sending through your recommendations. Plus to Matt Deegan and everyone at the British Podcast Awards for all of their support.
Have a peaceful Christmas and New Year.
Get podcast recommendations every week in your inbox by subscribing for free.
