{"id":288,"date":"2020-02-10T15:04:59","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T15:04:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greatbritishpodcasts.com\/?p=288"},"modified":"2020-02-10T15:30:05","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T15:30:05","slug":"phoning-friends-pandemic-pickles-and-presidential-chit-chat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greatbritishpodcasts.com\/picks\/phoning-friends-pandemic-pickles-and-presidential-chit-chat\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoning Friends, Pandemic Pickles and Presidential Chit-Chat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let\u2019s start with some quick podcasting news. The Times have announced<\/a> a new daily news podcast coming later this year, joining The Guardian, The Economist and others. And BBC Sounds have also announced<\/a> a new slate of shows this week, including new series from Fearne Cotton<\/strong>, Sideman<\/strong>, Jacob Hawley<\/strong> and James Acaster<\/strong> and more. Look out for them in the Spring (which has to be around the corner, please stop winter at all costs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Here are some shows worth looking at over the next week:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Phone a Friend with George Ezra & Ollie MN<\/a> – George Ezra<\/strong> makes it look so easy with hit after hit constantly dominating the music charts. He\u2019s also an articulate, thoughtful and entertaining podcaster and has now released a new weekly podcast with his friend and musician Ollie MN<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They both share what is on their mind, the silly and serious, with the same intimacy as a phone conversation, hence the title. Their openness and the conversations on mental health are particularly insightful, George discussing the relief of hearing his recent OCD diagnosis followed by Ollie talking about his experiences of therapy. \u201cPart of the reason why I bothered seeking help in the first place was hearing word-for-word someone explaining what it is I have lived with<\/em>\u201d Ezra explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dan Snow\u2019s History Hit<\/a> – Dan Snow<\/strong> is known for his history documentaries on television, which he regularly presents with his father Peter. But do you know that Dan also presents an illuminating history podcast that delves into different history subjects, featuring historians and experts? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest episode looking at flu pandemics and how they have affected us through history, a subject that feels timely given the news. \u201cWe\u2019re good at talking about Dresden, we\u2019re good at talking about the First World War and the trenches<\/em>,\u201d Snow elaborates. \u201cAnd yet we\u2019re incredibly bad sometimes at taking a step back and looking at the things that are actually affecting the onward march of this species and the death of 50 to 100 million in the space of two years.\u201d<\/em> The episode looks into how many of these deaths could have been prevented and what lessons we can learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Americast<\/a> – British election coverage usually only lasts a few weeks. Meanwhile in the United States, it can feel like there are only a few weeks every four years when there isn\u2019t one. With only nine months to go until the 2020 election, Newsnight\u2019s Emily Maitlis<\/strong> and the BBC\u2019s North America editor Jon Sopel<\/strong> present a new podcast looking at how both the democratic and republican campaigns are progressing, with all of the wit and nerdy detail that made Brexitcast<\/a> (now relaunching as Newscast) ever so popular. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might be wondering why this podcast is needed when there\u2019s already a crowded market in US Election news. For me, it\u2019s their British outsider perspective, bringing the latest news into context of what is and is not important. They also explain some of the more confusing parts of the US democratic process for you, such as the Iowa caucus (the part of the campaign that Maitlis absolutely loves).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Page 94, The Private Eye Podcast<\/a> – Finally, a good podcast to listen to if you are a fan of the bi-weekly magazine, but it isn\u2019t just a rehash of its content. Instead, you\u2019ll hear special investigations and analysis on recent news events, episodes dropping when they wish rather than on a regular timetable. It\u2019s interesting that a magazine that has invested little elsewhere in digital, still sees podcasting as integral to its publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is a podcast that you think this newsletter should be looking at, let us know<\/a> and it might feature in a forthcoming newsletter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s some of the big guests on podcasts this week:
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