Picks of the week
The Rest Is Classified
Widely available, episodes weekly
The latest addition to Goalhanger’s stable of The Rest Is … shows focuses on espionage. It’s exactly what you’d expect: a slick, info-packed chat between two hosts with sparkling rapport – specifically CIA analyst turned spy novelist David McCloskey and veteran national security journalist Gordon Corera. They are looking at the 1953 Iranian coup, and it’s a hugely enjoyable tale of diplomacy, power play, drunkenness – and a man named Kermit. Alexi Duggins
’Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast
Widely available, episodes weekly
Saturday Night Live comic James Austin Johnson voices the green Christmas-hater in this festive podcast. It’s a fairly questionable bit of character comedy, elevated by the stellar guests brought on to join in comic banter. Episode one is Jon Hamm doing a game bit of “yes and” comedy, with subsequent shows featuring the likes of Danny DeVito, Tony Hawk and John Stamos. AD
The Trapped
Widely available, episodes weekly
It’s impossible not to be furious and distressed after listening to ITV News’ Daniel Hewitt’s podcast about social housing: there should be an outcry when a woman needs to use an umbrella in her home because the leaks are so bad. Hewitt goes to these hellish living spaces and confronts the politicians who are not helping. Hannah Verdier
The King of the Peso
Audible, all episodes out now
This retelling of a cross-border crime family’s story opens with a horrific car crash and goes on to detail corruption, power and bags of cash. What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillén is convincing and charming as Picho, the son of one of Mexico’s most notorious money launderers, who tells the tale. HV
Club Sandwich
Widely available, episodes weekly
Henry Southan and Jordan Sangha’s new romance captured hearts in last year’s Big Brother, and fans who continued to watch the “daahhling” pair eat their way around London’s finest restaurants on social media will be delighted to hear they now have a podcast. It’s loosely based on food but mostly it’s a lot of very entertaining bickering. Hollie Richardson
There’s a podcast for that
This week, Hannah Verdier chooses five of the best podcasts featuring advice from experts in their field, from private investigators spilling their secrets to financial advice from Britain’s most trusted man
Private Eyes
One of the greatest jobs for an inquisitive person must be private investigator. And one of the next best things to getting that job is listening to PIs Bari Kroll and Jennifer Rosant reveal the mystery of their jobs. Start with the episode on disguises, where they answer every question their friends have about how they blend in undercover. “Half the battle is getting out of your own head and feeling like: ‘I belong here, let me look like it,’” they say about robing up to track down people living double lives. Sometimes that means a quick change into swimwear …
Movers & Shakers
No one wants to be an expert on Parkinson’s, but this podcast is packed with them, including broadcasting legend Jeremy Paxman and retired high court judge Sir Nicholas Mostyn. The six friends who live with the condition meet up in a pub to share their experience on pain and challenges with the NHS as well as getting on with it and campaigning for their community. Early episodes can help people who’ve recently been diagnosed, but the best thing about this podcast is that it’s anything but grim, thanks to all the dynamic, likable and powerful personalities who sit down to chat.
Where Should We Begin?
Who knows relationships like Esther Perel? She sounds like a therapist should, with her Belgian accent that makes you instinctively sit up and listen, and she nails all aspects of modern love, from rushing into a lockdown relationship to finding your boundaries and setting them. Listening to her podcast is like eavesdropping on a therapy session and even if you’ve made your decision on the couple’s relationship, Perel is full of surprises, showcasing her sometimes unconventional wisdom. It’s a great way to nose into other people’s business while you pretend to learn about love languages.
Black History Buff Podcast
King Kurus is your expert host, brilliant storyteller and Black history buff for this straight-from-the-heart podcast. Throughout Black History Month, he delivers bite-size stories of key British figures, packing in their achievements and legacy in two-minute taster episodes: Mary Seacole, Stormzy and Malorie Blackman are all present. Earlier episodes go beyond the well-trodden history path and stray into proverbs, myths and legends from the African diaspora, and the way Kurus tells them is just spellbinding. There’s no shortage of great history podcasts out there and this one is something special.
The Martin Lewis Podcast
What Martin Lewis (pictured above) doesn’t know about the energy price cap or power of attorney isn’t worth thinking about. When the good egg of the money world isn’t hassling the government or getting excited about pension credit on the telly, he also fits in this podcast. Even if you’re allergic to managing your cash, Lewis’ enthusiastic and clear advice will permeate your credit card collection. His podcast mixes light and shade to perfection: one minute he’s holding your hand as you try to get an affordable mortgage deal, the next he’s asking what you did with your first pay packet.
Why not try …
If I Speak … , in which leftwing journalists Ash Sarkar and Moya Lothian-McLean ruminate politics and personal problems from a progressive perspective.
Afropean, a thrilling exploration of thriving Black diaspora communities in Europe from Brussels to Berlin by author Johny Pitts.
The Art of Deciding, journalist Bruce Whitfield’s guide to making good choices in our personal and professional lives.
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