This week’s PodPod Earworms features an exciting range of podcast recommendations from our network of audio experts covering history, true-crime, romance… and a Taskmaster stats podcast.
Along with binge-worthy recommendations, we’ve also put together a list of the most exciting new podcast drops this week including a new season from Pop Culture with Chanté Joseph, starting with a recap of the Oscars, and all-new Audible original series on the stories of experts that have stopped major terrorism events from happening.
What’s in the industry’s ears?
Roger Bolton - Host, Roger Bolton’s Beeb Watch
I love The Rest is History, partly because Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook so obviously love doing it, and partly because it shows how much we don’t know, and that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Each age, each country, creates histories to suit their needs.
Mike Newman - Vice-president of UK content and production, Audioboom
The Coldest Case in Laramie from Serial Productions has gripped me this week - the production is so well done, with the pacing in particular really adding to the quality of the storytelling. Serial obviously has form in telling stories that do so much more than just re-counting a true crime tale and this is another great addition to their catalogue.
Liam Heffernan - Senior podcast editor, The Podcast Boutique
My recommendation is This Land - I'm a big fan of American history and this is a fascinating and super compelling series that uses a live Supreme Court case to explore Native American history. I've been bingeing it hard recently and I can't get enough.
Sophie Paluch - Podcast acquisition manager, Auddy
Modern Love - and I know this might be a controversial decision for some but I'm talking back catalogue here! Based on the Modern Love column in the New York Times, each episode a guest (usually an actor) reads out an essay about love in its many different forms. Each one is its own standalone episode, so just pick one that resonates with you and dive in. This is a podcast that made me want to work in podcasts!
Tommy Gleadell - Activation director, the7stars
As a mega-fan of Taskmaster, I was overjoyed when a second (yes, a second) Taskmaster-related podcast was launched. Taskmaster: The People’s Podcast is hosted by comedians Lou Sanders and Jack Bernhardt, the latter being a big fan of stats, as am I. Each week they hear from someone who’s affiliated with the series and discuss intricate stats that Jack Bernhardt has discovered. Does it make a statistical difference to the results if the contestant has brought a hot drink along with them, for example? This podcast is a must listen for any fellow Taskmaster obsessives.
Freshly dropped
An Idiot's Guide to Saving the World
The award-winning climate activism and education podcast, An Idiot’s Guide to Saving The World is back with a new season focusing on the UN’s 17 Global Goals, how they are being achieved, and how people can get involved. The first episode of Radio Wolfgang’s weekly series debuted on Wednesday and featured co-hosts Gail Gallie and Loyiso Madinga in conversation with Potsdam Institute Climate Impact Research director and professor Johan Rockstorm and Bye Bye Plastic Bags and Youthopia founder Melati Wijsen.
Bang On It
BBC Radio 4’s latest culture and entertainment show Bang On Itlaunched this week on Wednesday and is hosted by award-winning comedians and close friends Laura Smyth and Michelle de Swarte talking about their newest obsessions of the week. The first episode covers all their takes on things that start with B’s - Boundaries, Body Make-Up, Burgers and Booking. The episodes will continue to be released weekly on Wednesdays.
Pop Culture with Chanté Joseph
Series two of The Guardian’s hit weekly podcast, Pop Culture with Chanté Joseph, launched yesterday after a two-month break, catching the end of the Awards season with a recap of the Oscars. Joseph spoke to Michael Schulman, author of Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears about the event in the latest episode and asks the question on if the Academy Awards can help change the narrative for people of colour.
CBS News Roundup
In celebration of the World News Roundup radio broadcast’s 85th anniversary, a CBS News Roundup podcast has launched which features headlines from World News Roundup and its late editions on weekday mornings and evenings, as well as headlines from the Weekend Roundup on Saturdays and Sundays and a regular segment from the Kaledioscope podcast. An anniversary-special episode on the history of the World News Roundup also premiered on 12 March.
Countered Terrorism
Countered Terrorism is a new six-part Audible original docu-series that goes behind the scenes and unpacks how counter terrorism units experts derailed and foiled a number of major terror plots in history by uncovering clues and running investigations against them. The series debuted 16 March and is available as a complete boxset on Audible with episodes featuring exclusive interviews, dramatic reconstructions narrated by actor David Harewood, and an immersive soundtrack
