Last Friday was Earth Day \ud83c\udf0e, bringing into sharp focus the challenges humanity faces ahead and the things that we can do to protect and help the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The climate and music industry podcast Sounds Like A Plan<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>speaks to the singer and environmentalist Nick Mulvey<\/strong><\/a>, who talks about the Earth\/Percent initiative to raise funds and awareness for the climate crisis. Meanwhile Deborah Meaden and Felicity Hannah from The Big Green Money Show<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>interviewed Rolls-Royce CEO Warren Easy<\/strong><\/a> about whether zero-emission flights will ever become a reality. The podcast has a really great knack at cutting through the public relations noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The slow news company Tortoise and the Centre for Net Zero have joined up to launch Inside the Energy Transition<\/strong><\/a>, which looks at the rise of renewable energy and breaks myths about sustainable power. Climber Sasha DiGiulian<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>joined Red Bull\u2019s Why I Run<\/strong><\/a>, to talk about the healing appeal of running through nature, whilst runner Erik Ahlstr\u00f6m<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>talks about the trend of \u2018plogging,\u2019 which is picking up litter whilst you run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NOTABLE NAMES ON PODCASTS THIS WEEK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have listened to a great guest on a podcast, let us know by filling in <\/strong>this form<\/strong><\/a> and it might get featured in an upcoming newsletter.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are our podcast picks for the week ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want your podcast featured, or you have a great recommendation, all you need to do is fill in this <\/strong>simple form<\/strong><\/a> and might get featured in a future newsletter.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Line of Fire with Ramita Navai<\/strong><\/a> – <\/strong>What are the personal costs of being a foreign correspondent and reporting from a war zone? And what can you learn about the human condition from the things that you see on the front line? These are the questions at the heart of this new podcast presented by the Emmy award winning journalist Ramita Navati. In each episode she asks a war reporter about the risks and challenges they have faced and how it has continued to affect them the moment they return home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her most recent interview is a moving and remarkably candid conversation with Stuart Ramsay, the Sky News foreign correspondent who has recently returned from Ukraine, after he and his team were ambushed<\/a> by Russian soldiers whilst positioned in a car. The interview breaks down what happened in the ambush, minute-by-minute. It is, quite simply, unmissable audio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI remember it so clearly, whether it is my imagination but I swear to god I could see the bullet that hit me,\u201d he says. \u201cI remember saying to myself \u2018I am going to die now. And I wonder if it is going to hurt.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal and Society<\/strong><\/a> – <\/strong>History podcasts are all the rage at the moment and this new series is a fantastic romp through the history of sex and scandal. It is presented by sex historian Kate Lister, who reminds listeners that sex and scandal did not start in the 1960s but way way way <\/em>earlier, with the first episode looking at the Medieval era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She\u2019s joined by Dr Eleanor Janega to talk about why the Church was so strong on rules because the rest of society were at it like rabbits and why some of the terminology about some people assumptions about what does and what does not count as sex can be traced back to that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you would expect, there are \u2018adult themes and explicit words\u2019 throughout the episode as well. Kate adds, \u201cI think I would disappoint you if there wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taskmaster: The People\u2019s Podcast<\/strong><\/a> – <\/strong>Not to be confused with Taskmaster: The Podcast<\/strong><\/a> (which looks back at every single episode in the history of the show and is already well established), this new podcast hotels by Lou Sanders celebrates the superfans who have been obsessed with the show for a number of years. It is a nice little way to look at the culture the show has generated, without the podcast retreading <\/p>\n\n\n\n Her first guest is the journalist Jack Bernhardt, who not only has loads of facts about the show on hand (\u201chalf of the people who win the first episode go on to win the whole series\u201d) but has also completed all 220 tasks in Taskmaster to work out how hard these tasks actually are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talking Derry Girls<\/strong><\/a> – <\/strong>Now that the third (and final – sob) series of Derry Girls has returned to television, the Talking Derry Girls podcast can go back to what they do best, which is celebrating and highlighting all the references the much loved sitcom drags up about the Northern Ireland town (from Mo Mowlam to the Good Friday Agreement). Presented by Jeanie, Pauline and Marie-Louise, the latest series also begins with a fantastic interview with the writer and creator of Derry Girls, Lisa McGee. It is a joy to listen to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And finally, I was back on BBC Radio 4 Extra\u2019s Podcast Radio Hour<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>this week to give my recommendations for the last month, many of which have appeared in this very newsletter. It is a good way to listen to some great British podcasts rather than just read about them, so listen to their most recent episode<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>to hear snippets of Rabbiting On<\/strong><\/a>, Putin<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Eureka!<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>and Let\u2019s Get Frank<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also spoke to India Rakusen <\/strong>about the captivating BBC Radio 4 series 28ish Days Later<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n