We\u2019re on day 56676 of the lockdown, we\u2019re all cutting our own hair and life\u2019s greatest thrill is the possibility of a Greggs or a Nando\u2019s reopening in your local area for takeout. 2020 is wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As always, we\u2019ve divided this email into two, starting with podcasts that will help you during the lockdown, followed by podcasts that might be recorded under lockdown, but don\u2019t talk about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there is a podcast that you think this newsletter is needing, do let us know by\u00a0filling in this form<\/a>. We listen to each one we receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GOOD CORONA PODCASTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Things Unseen: Ramadan in Lockdown<\/a> – The coronavirus have resulted in many Ramadan traditions, such as community gatherings to break fast, impossible. In this engaging faith podcast, journalist Remona Aly<\/strong> speaks to Islam scholar Abdal Hakim Murad<\/strong> about how rituals have changed for 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lockdown Parenting Hell\u00a0<\/a>–\u00a0Rob Beckett<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Josh Widdicombe<\/strong>\u00a0present a new witty series to make parents feel less alone.\u00a0\u201cWhat I want is us to feel better by venting here and people who listen to feel better by thinking \u2018well it\u2019s not just us finding lockdown parenting difficult,<\/em>\u201d says Widdcombe. \u201cAnd if you\u2019re listening and you don\u2019t have a child, you\u2019re thinking \u2018bloody hell my life is good.<\/em>\u2019\u201d An ideal listen for those with young children (but don\u2019t listen to this with them in earshot).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kermode on Film<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0We are all familiar with\u00a0Wittertainment<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0Kermode<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Mayo<\/strong>, but Kermode also presents a weekly podcast with fellow film boffin\u00a0Jack Howard<\/strong>\u00a0full to the brim of film recommendations to keep us busy, many which are ideal for lockdown. They have also just started two partner on their favourite underrated films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Podcast Radio Hour with Amanda Litherland<\/a> – If you\u2019re still looking out for good lockdown podcasts for this week, I dropped by (virtually) on the latest PRH on BBC Radio 4 Extra. Both presenter Amanda Litherland<\/strong> and I talked about and played excerpts from our favourites, which included Audible\u2019s Locked Together<\/a>, Homeschool History,<\/a>Everything Under The Sun<\/a> and FT Culture Call<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Americast<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0And finally, more of a public service announcement than anything, but the BBC\u2019s US Election podcast has resumed after a short break. Newsnight\u2019s\u00a0Emily Maitlis\u00a0<\/strong>and North American Editor\u00a0Jon Sopel<\/strong>\u00a0provide the latest analysis of the Biden vs Trump 2020 race, which has been affected by the coronavirus, with extra episodes if there\u2019s breaking news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NON-CORONAVIRUS PODCASTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tales from the Tannoy<\/a> – Ever wondered who voices those announcements you hear every single day, from self-service checkouts, to train stations, to programme announcers? In this fascinating and engaging new series, Elinor Hamilton <\/strong>(who you can hear throughout the London tube network) interviews other famous voices you can hear in public across the country, voices that you might find eerily familiar. In the first episode, Hamilton talks about her late husband Phil Sayer<\/strong>, who was a voiceover artist and made announcements alongside Hamilton for a number of years. \u201cHe\u2019s still working alongside me in tube tunnels every single day<\/em>,\u201d she says. \u201cI love the fact that we\u2019re still together, even though we can\u2019t be together in person<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Good Service on All Other Lines<\/a> – Another tube related podcast, but this one is entirely fictional. Writer and comedian David Head <\/strong>and singer-songwriter Matt Glover<\/strong> are behind this funny and moving five part story about the lives and loves on the 23:47 train leaving from London Marylebone, a story that was originally performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018. At a time when the simple commute feels alien, this story helps make everything feel that bit more normal again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *In* For Lunch with Jay Rayner<\/a> – The Observer food critic Jay Rayner<\/strong> has always believed that the most engaging and enlightening conversations take place over a good restaurant meal, so he launched a podcast series doing just that. But with restaurants closed for the foreseeable, what can he do for the return of the third series? By turning it into a takeout meal recorded in two separate locations, of course. In the first episode of his new series, Rayner interviews the musician George Ezra<\/strong>, ordering a surprise meal so big you can hear Ezra cackling with fear. \u201cThis might just be your longest episode yet as I work my way through this,\u201d <\/em>Ezra says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Katherine Ryan: Telling Everybody Everything<\/a> – A very \u2018does what it says on the tin\u2019<\/em> podcast, with the comedian telling you what is on her mind that week in a huge monologue, sometimes with more than one episode dropping at the same time (\u201cA lot like Netflix, but without a hundred shows glorifying serial killers,\u201d<\/em> she says. \u201cIf I see one more show about a handsome bon vivant running round killing women, I think I am going to lose my mind.\u201d<\/em>) It\u2019s an eloquent, no nonsense and a surprisingly deep listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The podcast that the British Podcast Awards and the Wellcome Trust have given funding this week, as part of an initiative to encourage more conversations around public health, is Quirky Voice presents Anyone F’Coffee<\/a> presented by Sarah Golding<\/strong>. The episode looks at endometriosis, a condition affecting women that can cause severe pain and fertility problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n