Podcasts: The Ultimate Edutainment

Recently a quick question on LinkedIn sent me into a bit of a tailspin: for somebody who listens to a lot of spoken word content I suddenly realised I wasn’t sure what I’d recommend, and since I changed my app recent(ish)ly I couldn’t go back to check what I’ve listened to lately. I’m always searching for new things but am very specific in what I like, so here’s an explanation of what makes a good listen to me. If you have your own recommendations I’d be glad to hear them, but at the very least here’s a good number of hours of quality listening for you to dive into here.

Scripted

Honestly, this is my favourite category of podcast, and content in general – I vastly prefer people’s fully formed ideas than going on a thought journey with them – and so the series listed under this title are very much my ultimate recommendations.

You Must Remember This

Karina Longworth is the undisputed queen of podcasts: not only is You Must Remember This a triumph of storytelling and research, she also hosts Love Is A Crime and It’s The Pictures That Got Small. I don’t think there’s an episode of this show I haven’t listened to at least three times, and the series on Charles Manson was so influential that a year after it aired we had two movies, a TV show and a Lana del Rey album inspired by it. This is a podcast for everyone: the delivery and production values are so perfect, the facts are unimpeachable and the topics are so diverse that I can’t think of a single person in my life I wouldn’t preach about this show to. I will be on my soapbox about this show forever.

Myths and Legends

If you’re more of the ‘bedtime stories’ persuasion, this is a podcast with just enough jokes and the right amount of new information to not overload your brain. I’m not a fan of Fictional, the other output from this producer duo, because I’d rather read the books (I’m not an audiobook fan, either) but I go through phases of listening to a lot of their myth retellings.

A History of Delusions

This limited series was completely fascinating – a cross between true crime and factual, and well done. I won’t go back and listen to it again, most likely, like I do the others on this list, but it was a rare podcast that got both me and my partner interested – it was neither too grisly for me nor too historically minded or conceptual for him.

A Street in London

This one I actually might listen to again: London history is fascinating, especially when you live here, and this is one of those shows I didn’t want to miss a single word of.

Lolita Podcast

Lolita podcast was heartbreaking, fascinating and challenging. I cannot recommend enough listening, whether you’re interested in gender studies, literature or film. It’s a great introduction to comparative literature as it explores the power of different media, time periods and perspectives naturally and with nuance and sympathy, but it’s also a really entertaining deep-dive into a fascinating pillar of culture.

Revisionist History

So I actually stopped listening to this due to an incident involving crying on the 253* but the episodes A Good Walk Spoiled and The Satire Paradox are classics of the form that everyone should hear. I find some episodes more interesting than others (I didn’t expect to be interested in the baseball ones, but not finding the Elvis Costello one to my taste surprised me) but broadly I think Malcolm Gladwell is a good host, and when he finds a good topic he really does it justice. If anybody has read his books, I would appreciate knowing your thoughts, as I can’t decide whether to put the time into reading them or not.

Experts

Since I’m not really a fan of listening to people waffle or just have a chat, if I don’t go for scripted content I tend to gravitate towards experts. I love accessible non-fiction, and I think podcasts and YouTube have widened access to factual content which I am glad to take full advantage of.

In Our Time

Honestly, the structure on this is so perfect I considered putting it in ‘scripted’: the guests are all experts who are prepped and compered well, so the interplay between them is so natural it’s as if they’re following a script. I also love the experts they bring in, who are all academics focussed on different aspects of the same topic, making the discussion detailed and complex. I broadly prefer the history episodes, but this does a great job of making complex ideas accessible so some of my favourite episodes have been on maths or philosophy.

Everything Is Emo

This show is the opposite of In Our Time: instead of being an overview of a hundred subjects with fresh experts each week, we get emo queen Hayley Williams walking us through albums and artists that inspired or moved her. I loved her ability to discuss both ‘high’ and ‘low’ art with equal seriousness. For people of my age and persuasions this will be a huge nostalgia trip, but even having been ‘on the scene’ I learned a lot. Music theory is one of my favourite topics, and I enjoyed this show so much I’ve gone looking for the same treatment of other albums that don’t mean the same to me (a la Zane Lowe’s Radio One show, back in the day).

Ringer Dish: Every Single Album, Taylor Swift

OK. I disagreed with some opinions on this (naturally), but broadly I enjoyed the enthusiasm and the fresh perspective on something I enjoy.

Last Word

This is a recommendation from my mother, really, as she loves this show, but it does give you a great insight into people you might not otherwise know about and major players in fields you know nothing about. If you like to learn, it’s a good listen.

New Yorker Radio Hour

I only really listen to this one intermittently, but it’s a great one for doing the dishes. The topics are really varied and the guests are exactly the kind of people you want to hear from. It reminds me quite strongly of traditional talk radio, so you can jump in and out of an episode without losing much.

Griefcast

This is the other podcast that had me crying on the bus that time, so I haven’t listened to it for a while, but Cariad Lloyd is a great host who gives her guests exactly the long leash they need whilst always being there with the right prompt. This show really shows the diversity of human experience and values personal perspective so listen if you need some help with emotional literacy or are particularly interested in the uniqueness of life it’s great, and it is more uplifting than it sounds to hear people discuss their loved ones in great detail (though once in a while you really do get a traumatic episode – still valuable and informative, but tread carefully if you’re an emotional one).

Poetry / Creativity

My favourite genre of documentary is arts and history, but I think podcasts are especially good for engaging with creative practitioners as the casual weekly format is like being privy to constant interviews and chats. They make you better by filling your head with contemporary artists and criticism and make art – and understanding art – more accessible to us all.

Talk Art

I really love this show, and I would listen to it a lot more if the incidental music were not some quite jarring house (it’s good music, it’s just not very relaxing, which is what I turn to podcasts for…) Not only are Russell and Robert fantastic hosts that come at art from the perspective of being enjoyers rather than gatekeepers, the guests they have on are fantastic. My favourite episode was Zawe Ashton, and I always enjoy the consumers of art more than the creators or curators, but this podcast certainly has something for everyone.

Faber Poetry Podcast

I love the structure of this podcast: by asking guests to bring ‘talismans’ you get to know the poets really well as it prompts them to discuss both their inspirations and their methods, and the ‘postcards’ are a great punctuation that open you to the poles of the poetry world. In addition, being Faber, the guests are of a really high calibre and you learn a lot. This is also where I learned I was pronouncing the name of one of my favourite contemporary poets (Ishion Hutchinson) wrong (oops), so we can really see the benefits of listening rather than reading content.

Ear Read This

This might be cheating as Ash, the host, is somebody I actually know, and this podcast actually catalogued an event I was at in 2022, but it’s always nice to hear artists and scholars go off on one about their specialisms. The passion in this one is evident, and Ash is just enough host / prompt / enthusiast himself.

The Verb

I actually like Ian McMillan more as a spoken word poet more than a written one – I think his passion shines through and his accent changes the metre. This is another poetry podcast that has great guests and the discussions they have will prompt you as well as give you considerations for how to edit your own work.

Unreleased songs (the podcasts that aren’t)

The main reason I find it very difficult to work out what I listen to is because my ‘most played’ podcasts are all unreleased songs. This is how people share this kind of content without getting copyright strikes (or, more accurately, it takes LONGER to copyright strike them) and since b-sides and unreleased songs are some of my favourite music, give it a try. Search for your favourite (big-name) musician in the podcasts and find yourself a treasure trove of music.

Creators I Look Out For

Sometimes I don’t mind listening to some waffle, though I broadly go for people whose other work I like too. These are names I’d search; the people I wouldn’t mind listening talk nonsense for a bit.

Julia LePetit

Julia is my favourite contemporary artist and, as she moves into game development and storytelling, I’m interested in those projects, as well as the process behind her art. I also find her work ethic quite inspiring, so if somebody interviews her I’m listening to what she has to say.

Natalie Wynn / Contrapoints

I love Natalie. She manages to articulate perspectives I already hold and challenge other ideas in my head, and the production values on her YouTube are so high that whilst I’m glad she holds herself to that standard I always appreciate her popping up on podcasts so I can be challenged in between.

Rachel Syme

Again, this might be cheating as I was one of the members of Rachel’s pandemic Penpalooza so it feels like we’re friends (even if we’ve never met) but Rachel writes on fashion, beauty and celebrity for The New Yorker, GQ and other publications, which is exactly my speed – I want life’s frivolities taken seriously. If Rachel pops up (as she did on You Must Remember This), then I’m confident I’ll enjoy it.

BBC Radio 4

Look, I was raised on The Today Programme and Women’s Hour, for my sins, and I do still appreciate the programming. I’m less interested in the comedy and drama than I am in factual, but even if the perspective is somewhat establishment leaning (I cannot defend Women’s Hour’s recent actions and would actively recommend not tuning in) the production values are high and you’re going to get what’s offered from the description. Whether you want that is up to you.

 * I began my bus journey by listening to an episode of this where I heard somebody die due to a Toyota malfunction, then heard the worst possible stillbirth story when I changed it to a different show, and the only other podcast I had downloaded was Death In The Afternoon, which ALSO happened to have a rare deeply sad episode next. I cried so hard I missed my stop and ended up in Walthamstow. I didn’t listen to any podcasts at all for about a year after that.

On This Topic:

• Can I shill my own work here? Work I’ve done that’s been inspired by the podcasts here include this on Mama Cass and this on the name Lola; I’ve written poems to Hayley William’s work and tried to share my own ‘talisman’ stories.
• I wasn’t joking when I said I love music theory: here’s another recommendation if you are an ignorant like me who wants to get into it.
• One of my favourite YouTube shows is Tasting History, and I think you could listen to it like a podcast if you were so inclined.

To-Do:

• Finish scripting my own podcast and move forward with that
• Pack a suitcase
• Contact people – maybe make a list of people to contact??

Today’s Culture:

• Summarising a Heinrich Heine poem is always a wild ride that involves delving into 19th century geopolitical nuance and celebrity. The one I’m working on this week – Germany: A Winter’s Tale – is not as wild as Atta Troll, but it’s still kind of insane.
• Breakfast Aufschnitt is not generally done in the UK and I question why. It is delicious and nutritious. Eat cold cuts for breakfast, even when you’re not in a hotel.
• This bookshop.