Picks of the week
Spencer & Vogue
“Why are we doing this … why do you want an insight into our life?!” So asks Spencer Matthews – formerly of Made of Chelsea, now an inescapable part of the reality TV firmament – at the outset of his new podcast with TV presenter wife Vogue Williams. Weirdly, Matthews spends the majority of this first episode, out now, rallying against fellow reality stars. Yet, ironically, Spencer & Vogue does what the best reality shows do, drawing you into everyday dramas which, truly, you could live without.
Hannah J Davies
The Shift
Author Sam Baker’s new podcast promises to tell “the no-holds barred truth about being a woman post 40” and steers well clear of menopausal cliches. The soft-voiced but straight-talking Marian Keyes is a real gem of an interviewee, raging and swearing as she goes. “If menopause happened to men, they’d be given ten years off work between the ages of 45 and 55,” she says. Baker has an anything-goes interview style as she nudges the women to be refreshingly frank and often angry in these much-needed conversations. Hannah Verdier
Producer pick: No Such Thing As a Fish
Chosen by Danielle Stephens
The world is a very strange place right now, and it can be overwhelming to try and keep up with the current news cycle, or follow a series that documents why and how someone did something awful in the past.
As part of a promise to myself to switch off last week, I downloaded No Such Thing As a Fish. This podcast is made by some of the geniuses behind the BBC’s QI, which – for anyone who hasn’t seen it – provides entertainment through wacky facts discussed by a panel of comedians.
I got lucky with the podcast’s most recent episode, No Such Thing As A Cardigan For Ginger Rogers, because their guest was none other than the host of QI, Sandi Toksvig. For an hour, I listened to the presenters (Dan, James and Andy) and Sandi laughed and gasped their way through several bits of information that were so utterly bizarre I had to Google some of them afterwards.
Very little is required from the listener to enjoy this series, so if you’re looking to take an interesting break, pop an episode on and learn something new.
Talking points
For fans of dark fictional tales: English Touring Theatre’s new podcast F**ked Up Bedtime Stories (for adults) sees the likes of Paapa Essiedu explore “the weird and wonderful world of dreamscapes and nightmares and the impact that lockdown has had on our sleep cycles”, through a selection of seven sideways short stories.
Why not try: Seat at the Table | Lunchwatch | On The Ground
