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Ill-advised by Bill Nighy
I stumbled across this podcast a few weeks ago and romped through the first season in short order. My Dad died recently, and I often feel sad. Ill-advised has helped me feel lighter. I have laughed out loud at both the questions and Bill’s dryly-delivered answers. I love the banned word portion (such as “pivot” and “like“, when used as fillers in sentences), while the book suggestions at the end are a perfect closer. Julie Hannaford, 59, librarian, Toronto, Canada
Fela Kuti: Fear No Man
This is an immaculately produced, in-depth exploration of the origins of Fela Kuti, his music and the impact it continues to have on West Africa and the world. A wide range of sources and archive material complete this wonderful journey through a pivotal period of Nigerian history. Pat, 38, product manager, south east London
Reclaiming With Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky knows what it’s like to be scrutinised by the media, and she approaches these conversations with people with a level of gentleness and relatability hard to find elsewhere. I suspect many people only know Lewinsky for one thing, so it’s nice to see how she’s introducing another side of herself to both audiences and the media. Mac, 27, works in public relations, New York City
Through the Square Window
This podcast is just a hell of a lot of fun. At first, it seems to be solely about nostalgia, but presenters Graham Kibble-White and Samira Ahmed’s real focus is how we look at the world today through the lens of the past. So they speak about what we loved on TV and talked about around the proverbial water-cooler, but also about why it worked then and why it might still be relevant today. It’s cosy, but its scope is large. The hosts work really well together, and you come away from this delightful listen feeling warmly enlightened. Nick, 60, graphic novelist, UK
Wisecrack
Wisecrack had me gripped in a way that I can only compare to the first series of Serial. In many ways it has all the tropes of a run-of-the-mill true crime podcast - a narrator with skin in the game, a sleepy town with sinister secrets, incessant and repetitive adverts. But it completely subverts the genre by constantly questioning how reliable our protagonist (British comedian Edd Hedges) is, and to what extent standup comedy routines can be expected to tell the whole truth.
It explores an incident Edd talks about in one of his routines, in which his old school bully commits a terrible crime then knocks on the door of Edd’s family home in the immediate aftermath. When producer Jodi Tovay hears his set in Edinburgh, she contacts Edd, and he eventually agrees to allow her to dig deeper into exactly what happened that night.
The production is excellent throughout, with engaging interviews from lots of the key people involved, and there’s plenty of entertaining transatlantic culture-clash banter to boot. I would massively recommend it to anyone who’s getting a bit fed up with the endless celebrities talking to each other format, and looking for something a bit more substantial to accompany long car journeys or dog walks. Hywel Sedgwick, 37, charity worker, West Yorkshire
Music Is None of Our Business
This is an authentic, unapologetic and entertaining chat between two friends – Dave and Jake, both aged 60 – who share a passion for music. It’s great if you want to explore something new beyond what is promoted in mainstream media. Justyna, Derby
Realms Unknown
Alice Fraser and a weekly comedian guest talk about sci-fi/speculative fiction and fantasy, the many sub-genres (I didn’t realise I was occasionally reading “romantasy”), what’s new, old classics to discover, where the genres get a bit ick and all the inevitable tropes. It’s all broken up with quick little fake ad skits. Fraser is my favourite comedian, who plays with words and meanings in a very faux-high-literature way. Campbell, 54, works in public health, Melbourne, Australia
Married to the Machine
This is a very human take on the AI revolution, with not too much jargon, plenty of clear-thinking and a lovely sense of humour. I would recommend to anyone looking for a companion to hold your (very real) hand through the maze of confusion. Walter, 52, TV producer, London
Harford: An Oral History
This podcast offering strange vignettes of life in a Welsh town is weird and surreal, but also really funny. Niclas, 40, works for the NHS, Swansea
Joe and James Fact Up
This banter sesssion between Inbetweeners stars Joe Thomas and James Buckley is silly, but most of all laugh-out-loud funny! Guy, 58, nurse, Norway
