Picks of the week
Confessions of a Match Fixer
BBC Sounds, episodes weekly
“I drove across London with piles of cash in my car and learned which footballers could be made to throw a match,” says Moses Swaibu as he opens this confessional podcast. The ex-professional footballer admits he had the power to control scores and make millions for overseas betting cartels. Now you can hear the regret in his voice as he tells Troy Deeney how he went from promising young player to a betrayer of the sport he loved. Hannah Verdier
Scripts
Radio Atlantic, all episodes available now
Can a “safe” opioid save you after another one has destroyed your life? If buprenorphine helped people come off heroin in France, why didn’t it work in the US? The Atlantic’s Ethan Brooks asks these questions in a sensitive and thought-provoking examination of sobriety medication. HV
Unsung: Sport’s Hidden Stars
Widely available, out now
After forming in 2016, the Refugee Olympic Team made history at Paris 2024 when boxer Cindy Ngamba won the team’s first medal. In this special episode of the series that celebrates unsung sporting heroes, her fellow refugee Olympians badminton player Dorsa Yavarivafa and swimmer Matin Balsini share what such a journey is really like. Hollie Richardson
A Fine Mess
Widely available, episodes weekly
Philanthropist and investor Sabrina Merage Naim has a seemingly perfect, high-powered life, but she’s not feeling great. So she invites guests to help her face the big issues “with curiosity instead of dread”. Questions around AI, cannabis legalisation and what success means are all here, with contributions from comedian Samantha Bee and reformed “girl boss” Samhita Mukhopadhyay. HV
Master Plan
Widely available, episodes weekly
Former speechwriter to Bernie Sanders and co-writer of Don’t Look Up, David Sirota and his super-sharp team have spent two years investigating corruption and scandal in the US supreme court. From Watergate to the 2020s, this podcast shows the impact of corruption on everyday life and offers a terrifying vision of future possibilities. HV
There’s a podcast for that
This week, Charlie Lindlar chooses five of the best podcasts on great love stories, from the tangled tales of celeb couples like John and Yoko to Dolly Alderton’s gripping miniseries
Significant Lovers
Reformed Twilight podcasters Melissa Duffy and Kelly Anderson (Mel and Kel to listeners) host this show delving into Hollywood romances, which they pore over in borderline-obsessive detail. As well as the classics (John and Yoko, Brangelina) there’s plenty here for millennials, via Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson, Alex Turner and Alexa Chung, and Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. The pair’s investigative skills and earnest emotional investment in each couple makes every episode a heartbreaker one way or the other.
Hooked Up to Hitched
Page Six’s podcast about sturdy celebrity marriages ran from 2020 to-2022, yet – with apologies to Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet, among others – mostly holds up today. Reporters Eileen Reslen and Brian Faas dig into the love stories of famous figures from the entertainment world, and ask how their marriages persevered through long distance, scandal and the occasional affair. Where other pods trifle over every twist and turn in true tabloid style, Hooked Up to Hitched is remarkably short – each episode whisks fans on a shotgun wedding-like dash through history in under 10 minutes.
Past Loves
Away from red-carpet romances, Past Loves reveals the often-untold love stories of influential politicians, scientists, authors, royals and even ballet dancers. Host Holly Smith invites expert guests to take listeners on “a trip into the most gut-wrenching and heartwarming depths of history to explore affection, infatuation and attachment across time”, from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, to Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas. Get stuck in to hear the truth about the private lives of public figures who, behind the scenes, changed the world we live in.
Love Stories
Recorded in 2019, this relatively short 17-episode series does exactly what it says on the tin, with columnist and author Dolly Alderton talking with stars about the loves of their lives. Guests from Stanley Tucci to Ruby Tandoh and Lolly Adefope open up to Alderton, with the show unafraid to talk about the relationships that didn’t end up as happily-ever-after stories – after all, sometimes the ones that “fail” can be the most formative. Although the episodes are few, the guests’ candidness and Alderton’s skill at holding conversation makes each one gripping.
Love and Luck
This marathon audio drama, which runs to 100 episodes, was curtailed by Covid but remains a wonderful tale of two gay men who find love against the odds. Taking the fascinating form of voicemails between lead characters Jason and Kane, Love and Luck is a timeless queer show with real depth. Over its mammoth run, the show confronts that stage where relationships aren’t quite “official”, all the tiny details that go into moving in together, family rejection, and more. About those hundred episodes? Each one ranges from five to 50 minutes, so consider this a thoroughly bingeable listen.
Why not try …
A gossipy, stranger-than-fiction look at real-life detective work in Private Eyes.
With the Paralympics on the horizon, “armless archer” Matt Stutzman and Olympian Michael Johnson team up for Rising Phoenix, interviewing top para-athletes including Team GB’s Kadeena Cox.
What does “wilderness” really mean today? Check out NPR’s new series How Wild to find out …
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