1. Miss Me?
BBC Sounds
The effortlessly charismatic real-life friend duo of Miquita Oliver and Lily Allen stomps all over boring two-hander bro-casts. Their twice-weekly transatlantic catch-ups tackle everything from living with addiction to the joy of potatoes and the madness of house parties. My fave.
2. The Wonder of Stevie
Audible and Higher Ground
From the Obamas’ production company, this authoritative, joy-packed series on the life and music of Stevie Wonder not only features a high celebrity count but a wonderful host in Wesley Morris.
3. The English Disease
Stak
Sam Diss’s honest dissection of football hooliganism interweaves anecdote, research and original interviews. His thoughtfulness made this a series to be savoured.
4. The History Podcast: The Lucan Obsession
Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
Hugely familiar true crime tale given fresh zip by Alex von Tunzelmann, whose sharp scriptwriting and insightful interviews with Lucan friends and experts shake up this upstairs-downstairs cold-case murder to reveal the true nastiness within.
5. Three Million
Radio 4/BBC Sounds
Kavita Puri, humane and careful, investigates the 1943 Bengal famine, when the British government declined to help India (then a British colony) and suppressed BBC reports of what was going on. The 3 million refers to the number of people who died.
6. Marianna in Conspiracyland: Why Do You Hate Me?/Why Do You Hate Me? USA
Radio 4/BBC Sounds
The ever-dogged Marianna Spring made two Why Do You Hate Me? series this year. In both, she tries to get people who hold opposite attitudes, often fuelled by online disinformation, to meet up with and understand each other a little more. The second series looks at how divided Americans were (and are) over Trump.
7. Intrigue: To Catch a Scorpion
Radio 4/BBC Sounds
Documentary-maker Sue Mitchell and volunteer Rob Lawrie track down illegal people-smuggling kingpin the Scorpion and reveal the exact techniques used by the gangs who charge people thousands to get on to flimsy dinghies that cross the Channel. Genuinely revelatory.
8. Sport’s Strangest Crimes: Confessions of a Match Fixer
Radio 5 Live/BBC Sounds
Ex-pro football Moses Swaibu talks to Troy Deeney about how he gradually got caught up in fixing matches, making millions for international cartels and a fair bit for himself. A devastatingly honest account that stays in the mind.
9. Queer the Music
Mercury Studios
Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, warm and engaging, takes a deep dive into LGBTQ+ anthems by talking to the people who made them, or who were around at the time, before playing the track in full.
10. Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative
Radiotopia
Genre-ripping nonfiction series by Jess Shane that explores the relationship between documentary-makers and their subjects.
