podcasts

The podcast that makes the world strange, mysterious and compelling again

29 May 2021 9:00 am

It’s interesting that we have decided shaming and yelling are the easiest ways to change people’s minds. Which is not…

Insane and fascinating: BBC World Service's Lazarus Heist reviewed

22 May 2021 9:00 am

The narrative podcast remains a form in search of a genre. The template set by the hit show Serial —…

Seldom less than gripping: Banged Up podcast reviewed

8 May 2021 9:00 am

Prison-based podcast Banged Up, now in its second series, is far more uplifting — and less soapy — than its…

This is the golden age of the grifter – and there's a podcast for every con

24 April 2021 9:00 am

Truly we are living in the golden age of the grifter. From Fyre Fest to the WeWork empire to Theranos…

Refreshingly unfettered: LRB Podcast's Close Readings on Patricia Highsmith

10 April 2021 9:00 am

I’d forgotten what a rich and deep and characterful voice John le Carré had. Listening to author and lawyer Philippe…

Claudia Winkleman’s new Radio 2 show gets off to a brainless start

6 March 2021 9:00 am

Last Saturday on Radio 2 Claudia Winkleman was inaugurated as the host of what was formerly Graham Norton’s mid-morning spot.…

The funniest current affairs show since Brass Eye: Into the Grey Zone reviewed

20 February 2021 9:00 am

It was something a friend said to me about The Revenant, Leonardo diCaprio’s bloody-minded and brutal Oscar vehicle: ‘The problem…

Enjoyably tasteless: Power – The Maxwells reviewed

6 February 2021 9:00 am

This year marks three decades since Robert Maxwell fell naked to his death from the deck of his yacht, The…

Is the hottest new podcast, The Apology Line, worth sticking with?

30 January 2021 9:00 am

With the arts world still largely in hibernation, the launch of a big podcast is as close as we get…

Pleasant, cheerful and a little exhausting: Graham Norton on Virgin Radio reviewed

23 January 2021 9:00 am

In my parents’ house, the radio is always tuned to one of two stations: Magic FM and LBC. When Magic…

Englishness vs California dreaming: Meghan and Harry's Archewell Audio reviewed

16 January 2021 9:00 am

On Archewell Audio, Harry and Meghan’s new podcast, ‘love wins’, ‘change really is possible’, and ‘the courage and the creativity…

The world’s greatest podcast: Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History reviewed

12 December 2020 9:00 am

It’s well known that you should never meet your heroes because they will only disappoint you. Less commonly said, but…

Inane, modish and safe: The White Pube podcast reviewed

28 November 2020 9:00 am

The White Pube started life as an influential art blog, written by Zarina Muhammad and Gabrielle de la Puente. The…

Enjoyably bad-tempered: The Lock In with Jeremy Paxman reviewed

21 November 2020 9:00 am

‘I used to be Mr Nasty! That was good! Mr Nasty was easy!’ Jeremy Paxman bellows at Michael Palin on…

Boldly going where hundreds have gone before: Brave New Planet podcast reviewed

14 November 2020 9:00 am

Since technology is developing at such light-speed pace, why does it feel so strangely slow? There is a sense that…

The shocking story of Charles and Mary Lamb: Slightly Foxed podcast reviewed

7 November 2020 9:00 am

The Slightly Foxed podcast, like the quarterly and old bookshop of the same name, is almost muskily lovely. It’s the…

A cautionary tale about how democracy can subvert itself: Bunga Bunga reviewed

24 October 2020 9:00 am

Italy has long captivated romantics from rainy, dreary, orderly northern Europe. Goethe, Stendhal, Keats and Shelley all flocked to Italy…

Tacky and incomprehensible: The Sandman audiobook reviewed

19 September 2020 9:00 am

Listening to the tacky and incomprehensible audio-adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel seriesSandman, I couldn’t stop thinking about the 19th-century…

A podcast about the literary canon that actually deepens your knowledge (sort of)

29 August 2020 9:00 am

While most of life’s pleasures can be shared, reading is lonely. It’s more than possible for six friends to enjoy…

Wholesome, intimate and suspiciously vague: The Michelle Obama Podcast reviewed

22 August 2020 9:00 am

Back in March, I made a long-odds bet that Michelle Obama would be the Democratic party’s vice-presidential nominee. I knew…

michelle obama podcast

The Michelle Obama Podcast is wholesome, intimate and suspiciously vague

21 August 2020 2:28 am

Back in March, I made a long-odds bet that Michelle Obama would be the Democratic party’s vice-presidential nominee. I knew…

Hats (and knickers) off to the hosts: The Naked Podcast reviewed

15 August 2020 9:00 am

I spent half an hour this week listening to a woman make a plaster cast of her vulva. Kat Harbourne,…

Louis Theroux’s podcast reveals a master at work

25 July 2020 9:00 am

I always want to know more about Louis Theroux, which is odd, since I’ve seen so much of him already.…

The best podcasts for all your corona-gardening needs

18 July 2020 9:00 am

The American diet was probably at its healthiest in the second world war. Fearing interruption to supply chains, Washington launched…

Why haven’t podcasts cracked the recipe for audio drama?

4 July 2020 9:00 am

In Beeb-dominated Britain, the commercial triumph of podcasting — epitomised by Spotify’s recent £100 million deals with Joe Rogan and…