{"id":522,"date":"2020-05-31T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-31T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greatbritishpodcasts.com\/?p=522"},"modified":"2020-05-28T10:53:27","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T09:53:27","slug":"sir-david-attenborough-love-island-and-beautiful-strangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greatbritishpodcasts.com\/picks\/sir-david-attenborough-love-island-and-beautiful-strangers\/","title":{"rendered":"Sir David Attenborough, Love Island and Beautiful Strangers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So many great guests to look out for this week. In this newsletter we feature podcasts talking to\u00a0Sir David Attenborough<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Paul Mescal<\/strong>, but we’ve also heard\u00a0Daisy Edgar-Jones<\/strong>\u00a0on\u00a0How to Fail<\/a>\u00a0this week,\u00a0Rose McGowa<\/strong>n visiting\u00a0Louis Theroux\u2019s Grounded<\/a>\u00a0and Little Mix\u2019s\u00a0Jade<\/strong>\u00a0joined\u00a0Lewys Ball<\/a>. If you\u2019ve been looking for a distraction from endless discussions about eye tests and Barnard Castle, you\u2019ve come to the right place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if that\u2019s not enough audio, remember that there\u2019s also\u00a0The Shortlist podcast<\/a>, presented by\u00a0Rhianna Dhillon<\/strong>, featuring excerpts from all of the nominees at the\u00a0British Podcast Awards<\/a>\u00a0this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CORONAVIRUS PODCASTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economist Radio<\/a> – You\u2019ve probably wondered whether staying at home and not holidaying abroad will result in a greener climate. Emissions have dropped between 4-8% during the crisis, which is half of what the United States emits in a year. However, if we want to meet the Paris Agreement to limit the increase in global warming, emissions need to drop much, much more. In a recent episode<\/a> of The Economist\u2019s podcast, they crunch through the figures and provide some reasons to be hopeful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob Hawley\u2019s Jobcast<\/a> – In the latest episode of the coronavirus tinged series, Hawley speaks to Iain Stirling<\/strong> about Love Island being suspended this year as well as GP Dr Amir Khan<\/strong> on how non-frontline NHS staff have had their entire working lives changed because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Poetry Exchange<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0In an episode of the podcast where people share poems, a special episode features the musical score from Black Ballet\u2019s \u2018Then or Now.\u2019 Featuring poems from celebrated poet\u00a0Adrienne Rich<\/strong>, it would have been performed at The Barbican on March 23rd. Now, with that cancelled, you get to hear it for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NON-CORONAVIRUS PODCASTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Hot Right Now<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0Broadcaster\u00a0Lucy Siegle<\/strong>\u00a0and wildlife filmmaker\u00a0Tom Mustill<\/strong>\u00a0present a new podcast on how we can all improve our communication skills, so that we can create awareness about our changing climate so that we can influence other people\u2019s behaviour. So who better to ask about communication than the greatest broadcaster of our times:\u00a0Sir David Attenborough.\u00a0<\/strong>He gives advice on how to do wildlife narration (\u201cyou should pare the words down to the absolute minimum and allow the pictures tell the story\u201d<\/em>) and why Blue Planet II\u2019s influence on our plastic use was a big surprise for him (\u201caudiences are very difficult to predict, advertisers would pay a lot of money if they could \u2026 but they can\u2019t.\u201d)<\/em>\u00a0The biggest lesson from Sir Attenborough? To not give up.\u00a0\u201cYou just have to keep going at it,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m Grand Mam<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0?\u00a0PAUL MESCAL ALARM?\u00a0Connell<\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0Normal People\u00a0(everyone seems to have the hots for his silver chain but I didn\u2019t notice it) dropped by the upbeat podcast by\u00a0Kevin Twomey<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0PJ Kirby<\/strong>. Mescal talks about his fears taking on such a big adaptation of such an acclaimed novel and the utter, utter weirdness of doing both\u00a0Graham Norton<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0James Corden\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0chat shows from his own home alone, whilst being by himself in self-isolation. The chain, in case you are wondering? It was from Argos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her Spirit Podcast<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0BBC Breakfast\u2019s\u00a0Louise Minchin<\/strong>\u00a0and triathlete\u00a0Annie Emerson<\/strong>\u00a0host an uplifting interview series, aimed at women (but with male listeners too), with a focus on how to live a healthy, happy life. These interviews provide an interesting balance between sport and motivation, alongside thoughts on overcoming those big life hurdles. It manages to do this without the chat ever becoming heavy or deep in cliche. Recent guests have included\u00a0Kate Bottley<\/strong>\u00a0(on open water swimming),\u00a0Dame Sarah Storey<\/strong>\u00a0(on being the most successful female British Paralympian) and\u00a0Naga Munchetty<\/strong>\u00a0(on her love of golf).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beautiful Strangers<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0Finally, a great little podcast by\u00a0Jack Suddaby<\/strong>, featuring stories on what people have at one time loved, but then lost. I was gripped on the episode about a heartbreaking cocaine addiction and interested in the story about a woman who is allergic to water, which includes drinking to bathing. It\u2019s the production that really brings it up a level. Listen to these stories through your headphones. You won\u2019t regret it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, some words about our\u00a0Pulse Award. It\u2019s a collaboration between the British Podcast Awards and the Wellcome Trust, encouraging public conversations around health. We\u2019ve been featuring a different podcast every single newsletter, but in case you have missed, here\u2019s the full list:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n