My flatmate denies that we are now in Autumn. Despite the ferocity of the weather, he still calls this period we\u2019re all in \u2018late Summer.\u2019 Half the time he\u2019s still wearing shorts. I admire his optimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we are all spending a bit more time indoors, this is the best time of year to get stuck into some good television. Luckily, there\u2019s been a lot of it lately, from the much anticipated third season of Succession <\/em>(if you haven\u2019t seen it, watch from the very start) to the third American Crime Story <\/em>series airing on BBC Two, this time looking at Bill Clinton\u2019s Impeachment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are good podcasts recapping television too. Speaking of Succession<\/em>, comedian Sara Barron and broadcaster Geoff Lloyd have got their own called Firecrotch & Normcore<\/strong><\/a>. As there hasn\u2019t been an episode in two years, the podcast is a good place for a recap. Comedian Chris Addison is their first guest<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Taskmaster fans, there\u2019s a weekly Taskmaster: The Podcast<\/strong><\/a>, hosted by Ed Gamble and featuring recent victims (I mean, comedians) who have featured in the series. For Strictly fans, there\u2019s Strictly Confidential<\/strong><\/a>, which features backstage interviews hosted by Joe Sugg and Kim Winston. And for Bake Off fans, there\u2019s The Bake Down<\/strong><\/a>, featuring the legendary bakers Howard and Jane Beedle.<\/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 How to be Sad with Helen Russell<\/strong><\/a> – <\/strong>A provocative title, but the logic makes sense. If we want to be happier, we need to learn how we can also handle sadness. In this series, happiness researcher and author Helen Russell interviews experts who know a lot about our emotions about how best to handle the highs and lows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each episode is well structured, covering topics such as the perils and pitfalls of seeking perfectionism in all aspects of our life, to the necessity of rest during the week. I particularly liked an interview with Dr Julie Smith, who uses her work as a mental health professional to share advice and knowledge to her 2.8 million TikTok followers. They have a great discussion about how pushing sadness away means that it often manifests itself in another way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen it comes to bigger things or more significant things, those feelings often need to be processed in a more complex way. If we don\u2019t do that, they don\u2019t necessarily disappear or go anywhere,\u201d says Smith. \u201cIf you start pushing things away with something like alcohol or food, then you have to keep pushing it away. The minute you stop, it all comes flooding back and it takes its chance to stay in your conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This Is Gay<\/strong><\/a> – <\/strong>A very funny, occasionally surreal sketch show that explores LGBTQ life and culture. Hosted by Kirk Flash and starring Peter Clements, Syrus Lowe, Katherine Cowell and Asha Reid, each episode explores a different topic connected to the community, the first one is \u2018Pride\u2019, sketch host Kirk Flash describes it as \u201cthe annual opportunity for An appeal of the series is not just the consistent jokes and observational humour, but also how inclusive it feels. It\u2019s a sketch comedy show that doesn\u2019t make jokes at other people\u2019s expense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Spotify Podcast of the Week – Idris Elba guesting on <\/strong>Who We Be TALKS_<\/strong><\/a>. – <\/strong>‘The one and only Idris Elba joins Harry and Henrie on Who We Be TALKS_<\/a> to talk about his prolific career, his struggles, taking risks and playing roles as varied as Nelson Mandela, Stringer Bell and Luther. We also hear about his recent work in Sierra Leone and his plans for a long awaited movie…check out this episode exclusively on Spotify. The Who we be TALKS_ podcast is released every Tuesday and explores and celebrates artists, music and black culture.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bed of Lies<\/strong><\/a> –<\/strong> This time last year in this newsletter we featured a great investigative podcast series by the journalist Cara McGoogan. The award-winning series looked at one woman\u2019s search for the truth after her partner went missing, which resulted in her finding out that he was undercover in a role sanctioned by the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She\u2019s now got a new series and with that a new investigation, this one looking at the infected blood scandal of the 1970s and 1980s. Back then a new medical treatment was unveiled, hailed to be a \u2018wonder drug.\u2019 However it ended up harming many of the people it was meant to help, infecting the same people with Hepatitis C and HIV. As a result, thousands died. Shockingly, it took years for the story, which resulted in deaths all over the world, to come to light and no government or company has ever claimed liability for what had happened. Could lives have been saved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDeath is at the heart of this story,\u201d says McGoogan. \u201cIt\u2019s a story of poison, greed and lies and it is one of the biggest medical disasters in history.\u201d Two episodes are out so far, with new episodes weekly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Am I Normal? with Mona Chalabi<\/strong><\/a> – <\/strong>My final podcast pick for this week is this well-produced and engaging podcast by data journalist Mona Chalabi. In this series she uses numbers and statistics to help us answer those questions that we often face in life, from \u2018how many friends do I need?\u2019 to \u2018should I move house or stay put?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a rather personal episode, she explores how long it usually takes for any of us to get over a breakup<\/a>, after recently having gone through a breakup herself. As she soon finds out, it is way more complex than she first thought. Partially because the studies that declare how long it should take can be using fairly unreliable data, but also because at the end of the day we are all individuals, and we all take breakups in a different way. There\u2019s one thing we can all agree on though. \u201cBreakups are shit,\u201d says Chalabi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, if you are looking for some new television shows to watch, there are a number of podcasts covering the latest releases. There\u2019s the Pilot TV Podcast<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>with Boyd Hilton and James Dyer, plus the Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>featuring Jane Garvey and Rhianna Dhillon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s also BBC\u2019s Must Watch<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>podcast each week, where I review TV shows alongside Nihal Arthanayake and Hayley Campbell. Episodes are out each Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\ncompanies<\/s>, I mean people, to celebrate equality, visibility and respect for everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n