No one expected the headlines this week to say that the plot of Succession is playing out now in real life, with media giant Rupert Murdoch announcing that he is stepping down as chairman of Fox and News Corp, with plans for his son to head both companies. So it’s no surprise that one of our industry recommendations this week is a podcast that delves into the life and legacy of Murdorch’s career.
Other recommendations this week range from sports podcasts to true crime and more while this week's freshly dropped launches showcase strong voices from experts in their fields including professional sports players and veteran journalists.
What’s in the industry’s ears?
Tom Davies - Host, Proper Mental Podcast
I’m absolutely loving Dead Eyes at the moment! It’s hosted by Connor Ratliff who, in 2001, was fired from TV show Band of Brothers because Tom Hanks (who was directing) thought he had “dead eyes”. He tells this story by chatting to people who are either connected to the show or to Tom Hanks in some way and ends with a 90-minute episode with the man himself.
James Hacking - Founder, Socially Powerful
My favourite podcast and one I listen to religiously is Under The Cosh - an incredible football podcast that delves into the stories of players who weren't the big household names. They weren't the stars on the pitch, but were the big characters off the pitch enjoying the journey to the max. They spent most of their careers in the lower leagues - regional heroes.
Ellie Clifford - Development producer, Persephonica
I'd like to recommend The Girlfriends. I loved this spin on a true-crime podcast, told with a warmth that's often lacking in these stories. And I liked that it put women at the centre of the story more successfully than I've heard before. It's very well produced and I found the host really captivating. I couldn't stop listening.
Paris Parmar - senior campaign manager, Attachment London
I love to tap into Deux U by Deux Moi for my weekly fix of celebrity pop culture conjecture. Whilst the content isn’t 100% factually correct it feeds our innate human desire to understand and feel closer to today's celebrity culture, and has built an impressive community of followers who seek relevant celebrity intel.
Ed Palmer - Managing director, St. Luke’s
After a 70 year career, Rupert Murdoch has just announced his retirement. So I’m listening again to The Sun King. This is jaw dropping listening about the man who ‘gave them what they want’, who inspired Logan Roy, and who fundamentally changed the media landscape.
Freshly Dropped
In Retrospect
Emmy-award winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett have teamed up to co-host a new cultural podcast titled In Retrospect, produced in partnership between The Meteor and iHeart. Each episode, the co-hosts revisit pop culture moments from the 80s and 90s and discuss how it shaped them and what it taught the world. The podcast debuted its first episode on Thursday this week and will continue to release weekly.
Call Her Daddy
Spotify’s hit interview podcast Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper returned for its fourth season on Thursday this week, with video available to watch exclusively on Spotify. The first interviewee of the season is TikTok viral creator Alix Earle who will also soon be launching her own podcast under Cooper’s Unwell network.
Screaming Creativity
WPP, one of the world’s largest advertising companies, launched a new podcast titled Screaming Creativity on Wednesday, hosted by its global chief creative officer Rob Reilly. Each episode features Reilly speaking to exciting people in the business of creativity which includes the first guests of the podcast, Ogilvy global CEO Devika Bulchandani and Mondelēz International global senior vice president of consumer experience and digital commerce, Jon Halvorson.
Snooker Club
Snooker Club, a new sports podcast hosted by seven-time world champion snooker player Stephen Hendry and comedian Mark Watson launched this week on Thursday. The podcast will continue to release fortnightly throughout the 2023/2024 season, recapping highlights from the games, answering questions from fans, taking on challenges, and interviewing celebrity snooker fans.
Am I Doing It Wrong?
Acast and Buzzfeed UK have released the second podcast that’s part of their multi-podcast partnership titled Am I Doing it Wrong? on the human anxieties that people get about trying to get their lives right. The podcast, which launched on Thursday, is hosted by Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson and each episode features insight from guests and experts that will help listeners feel less worried and wiser by the end of each episode.
