What makes a compelling listen? This week, all of our podcast picks fit this brief.
1. British Scandal: Julian Assange
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: Documentary and society
Do you remember anything about computer programmer and publisher Julian Assange? If not, then the latest season of Wondery’s British Scandal may be an informative listen.
British Scandal is the podcast where the stories that rocked the UK and sent shockwaves across the world, are told.
Over four episodes, hosts Alice Levine and Matt Forde tell the story of the man who founded the hugely controversial website, WikiLeaks, and became the central focus of a global media storm.
They also looked into whether he was a valiant campaigner in search of the truth or a dangerous publicity seeker whose headline-grabbing exploits put lives at risk.
Levine and Forde are passionate about the stories they tell. This helps to also make British Scandal a more compelling listen.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
2. Vogue & Amber
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: Comedy, culture and society
This podcast was exactly what I needed mid-week – a fun and light-hearted chit chat between two sisters.Vogue Williams’ sister Amber Wilson has joined as the new co-host on the podcast, ‘Spencer & Vogue’ after Spencer Matthews announced he is stepping away from hosting the podcast.
The two sisters do what all sisters do, make fun of each other and have some laughs – all in the name of love.
It feels realistic and unfiltered as Vogue openly admits she broke Dry Jan, which made me think… is anything that serious? Probably not. Let’s just own these things like Vogue has done.
From Nicole Kidman’s Babygirl to cinema snacks, sauna talks, the reality of being a parent and calling the emergency services for questionable reasons, the episode was a bundle of everything.
Chatty, informal and what I would describe as 42 minutes of ‘yapping’ (my favourite pastime), the podcast was extremely refreshing. As an Irish girl, living in London – I felt a sense of home listening to Vogue & Amber.
(By Sara Keenan)
3. The Paula Oyinkan Show
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: Life and self-help
Paula Oyinkan is on a mission to inspire women to become the best version of themselves at every stage of life. It’s why she created her new podcast, The Paula Oyinkan Show.
Oyinkan usually lets guests introduce themselves at the start of each episode but on this occasion, she asks Rahma Ali, a content creator and founder of Nasfia Abaya, to pick a conversation card, which got the pair talking about how they balance their work and personal life.
They then talked about picking up new hobbies, why it’s important to learn our craft, entrepreneurship, finding the root of our anxieties and worries, executing our ideas and fulfilling our potential in life.
Oyinkan opened up about self-sabotaging herself and explained why she thinks so many of us find ourselves – including herself – in this position. The Paula Oyinkan Show is a safe space where both guests and Oyinkan can feel the fear and do it anyway.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
4. The Victim 2 Victor Podcast
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: Self-help and wellbeing
What is the physical and emotional impact of abuse? And how do you heal from it?
After writing a book about her own experiences of abuse, Anu Verma started the Victim 2 Victor podcast to “flicker a ray of hope in the lives of those who have been through physical and emotional abuse and are now dealing with trauma”.
It’s now back for a second season with American author and retired Navy SEAL Commander Mark Divine, who founded SEALFIT, Unbeatable Mind and the Mark Divine Courage Foundation for veterans suffering from PTSD.
Divine and Verma speak about everything, from what makes an exceptional team player to taking your eyes off yourself and putting them on your teammate, which, as Verma suggests, goes against the self-love message that’s currently being pushed on social media.
They also go on to talk about Divine’s upbringing, why he doesn’t take meetings before 10am, selfishness versus selflessness, how to self-master, and being our full selves.
Listening to Divine talk about the way he lives his life was a reminder that so many things are on the other side of discipline.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
Spotlight on…
5. Tape Letters Scotland
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: Culture, history and society
Can you imagine the feeling of pressing play on a cassette tape that just arrived from some 5,000 miles away? The anticipation. The excitement.
It may not feel like such a big deal today because we can send and receive large files instantly, and can make audio and video calls whenever we want. But in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties, hearing the voice of someone you love, living so far away, was miraculous and almost impossible.
Tape Letters, the award-winning Steve Urquhart-produced podcast series, returns with a brand-new second season entitled Tape Letters Scotland. It was created as part of the Tape Letters Scotland Project, which aims to highlight the practice of recording and sending messages on cassette tapes as an unorthodox method of communication by Pakistanis who migrated and settled in Scotland between 1960-1980.
The first episode explores what Tape Letters are, why people exchange news and greetings with each other on cassettes, and how they do it.
It was captivating to listen to, particularly because it also featured original tape recordings and oral history interviews with Scottish-Pakistani families who used cassette tapes in this way. As a listener, you feel like another member of the family, partaking in the light and joy these messages bring into their homes.
Tape Letters Scotland is a necessary podcast archive and a reminder to continue documenting the most precious moments in our lives.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
