Home office too quiet? Here are our podcast recommendations
Produced by: BBC Sounds
If, by chance, your office is usually filled with two grumpy, bickering men who love and hate each other in equal measure then you’ll feel instantly transported back to work by the nation’s most beloved film critic and his partner-in-radio. Far from just being a rundown of the week’s Box Office Top Ten, Kermode and Mayo’s conversations meander in and out of in-jokes, showbiz anecdotes and warm-hearted listener emails to form a podcast that is almost three hours in length per episode and as close to good old-fashioned radio as podcasts get.
Produced by: Cheerful
The clue’s in the name with this one. Listen to it if you need cheering up (and let’s face it, who doesn’t right now?). Regardless of what you might think of his political career, Ed Miliband proves himself to be not just a talented interviewer but also incredibly engaged in the world around him. But like Kermode and Mayo, it’s when Miliband and Lloyd go off-script that’ll really have you smiling. To step beyond mere podcast recommendations and recommend one episode specifically, ‘To be Icelandic’ (Ep. 75) is a gem which offers a look into an oft-overlooked nation’s political and everyday practices.
Produced by: Plosive Productions
Don’t be fooled by the baby-face, comedian Ed Gamble has been in the podcast game a long time. Long before he started making regular appearances on Mock the Week, his podcast with ex-comedy partner Ray Peacock regularly topped the charts (albeit with a listenership only a fraction of the size of today’s big hitters). It was only a matter of time then before he would dominate the format again, and lo and behold, he has. Every week, he and soon-to-be-household-name James Acaster invite celebrities to their dream restaurant, where they’re invited to select their perfect starter, main course, dessert, side and drink. Think ‘Desert Island Discs’ but for foodies.
Produced by: BBC Sounds
‘Why can’t some people recognise faces?’, ‘What did dinosaurs actually sound like?’, and ‘Is hypnosis real?’ are just some of the questions that Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry attempt to answer in this fascinating podcast series by the BBC. Don’t be put off by the fancy titles, these episodes are for anyone and everyone. Tune in and out at your convenience, but one thing’s for sure: even if you’re not really listening, Dr Fry’s irresistible laugh is bound to have you laughing to yourself in the kitchen, even if you’re not quite sure why. Plus, you’ll be joining such famous listeners as the one and only Stephen Fry who puts it high in his own list of podcast recommendations.
Produced by: Gimlet
Where better to be recommended a podcast about the internet than on the internet? The team behind Reply All are all esteemed reporters in their own rights, having contributed to publications like Time Magazine, The New Yorker and This American Life, yet you wouldn’t know it by listening to their humble ramblings on Reply All. While certain techies may be disappointed by the show’s fairly lightweight approach to ‘the internet’ which seems to comprise largely of social media, the fun of the show is in the fact that online, as in real life, anything can happen.