Having followed Nishlord's advice in the latest Chart Music, I gave Tomorrow's World Audit Time a listen. It's quite impressive to be fair, and I've enjoyed all of the episodes and wait patiently for the next one.
I normally like the Distraction podcast from Defector, with Drew Magary and David Roth. Mostly sports, but not strictly. But yesterday they had a food writer on who is supposedly an Arsenal fan, so they shoehorned in talking about Arsenal to talk about sports in the episode, and it was painful. She definitely knew more about soccer than Drew and David, but she seemed to say that Arsenal under Wenger was always finishing 4th and annoying their fans, and she kept pronouncing it Wenger as "Wayn-er." Then at the end the issue of undefeated sports teams came up and she didn't even mention the Invincibles season! Also, David said that The Damned United was about Man Utd (admittedly, he said he never read it or saw the movie). Jesus Christ!
Alexei Sayle's recent podcasts have been excellent, with an A-Z of Leftist thought, and an interview with Jeremy Corbyn. The link works if you click on 'Google Podcasts'
The best thing I’ve discovered recently via Spotify podcasts is ‘Retrospect: 60’s Garage Punk Show’ which is actually a radio show from Free Radio in Hamilton, NZ presented by a guy called Phil Grey who just knows and loves this stuff. It’s absolutely great.
I enjoyed listening today to this ten part (but short and punchy episodes) series Death By Conspiracy, on disinformation and Covid denial, on the BBC today. It's straightforward, to the point, a good dispassionate investigation into someone who needlessly died from Covid.
Not a podcast as such but there was a fascinating five part Radio 4 programme recently discussing demography and how population trends effect the world economy. Amol Rajan presents and keeps things moving along nicely. It’s on Sounds App.
In my ongoing obsession with the Second World War I'm listening to The History of the Second World War, which is so comprehensive that at episode 85 we're just up to The Night of Broken Glass/Kristallnacht which happened in November 1938...
That sounds a bit like The British History Podcast by US academic Jamie Jeffers, which is so comprehensive he's only just recently got to the Norman Conquest at some 370 episodes in. It's taken him a full decade. At this rate he ought to catch up with the present in perhaps only another 15-20 years.
On a similar theme we’ve just watched the current series of three episodes of ‘Rise of the Nazis’ on BBC 2 (and iplayer) which focused on Hitler’s attack of the eastern front and the Battle of Stalingrad. Fascinating and harrowing on equal measure.
Rise Of The Nazis will be a must watch once again.
Some of the ‘big subject’ podcasts move so slowly as to be almost glacial. Kevin Stroud’s imperious History Of English Podcast is just about to celebrate its tenth anniversary, and it hasn’t reached Shakespeare yet. That said, it felt like a huge achievement when it officially reached modern English, after a hundred or so hours of broadcasting
Yes, I recall I either found the History of Britain one while searching for the History of English one, or vice versa (having seen one recommended on here originally), and subscribed to both at the same time – then promptly found myself staring into the abyss of 400-odd combined episodes. I've still barely scratched the surface of either, and between the pair of them there's nearly 550 episodes now.
That sounds a bit like The British History Podcast by US academic Jamie Jeffers, which is so comprehensive he's only just recently got to the Norman Conquest at some 370 episodes in. It's taken him a full decade. At this rate he ought to catch up with the present in perhaps only another 15-20 years.
If anything, I'd have thought it would take even longer because the closer you get to the modern day, the more we know about the world. If he can wring almost 400 episodes out the period up to and including the freaking dark ages, just imagine how thorough later periods could be.
I did two of these series, football-wise. One was twenty episodes and one was ten, and I thought that was pushing it. I'm really tempted by a lot of these subjects, but that number of episodes is just too daunting. We've done getting on for 400 200% podcasts, but listening to them ALL is a big ask.
If anything, I'd have thought it would take even longer because the closer you get to the modern day, the more we know about the world. If he can wring almost 400 episodes out the period up to and including the freaking dark ages, just imagine how thorough later periods could be.
Well indeed, the same thought went through my head Ian! I offered that relatively low figure on the basis that technically he's already covered all the way from Neolithic times up to the end of the Anglo-Saxons within 'just' this last decade, and there's 'only' another millennium or so to go.
But yes, given that there's exponentially more information available for the centuries he's got coming up, another 15-20 years might prove a conservative estimate. Perhaps 2066 might be a reasonable deadline instead, for the thousandth anniversary of the Norman Conquest.
There's a really tremendous pod out at the moment from the APM Reports people, an investigative reporting body which contributes to public broadcasting media in the states a fair bit. I think they're based in Minneapolis.
They have a podcast called Sent Away, done in collab with the Salt Lake Tribune, which examines the regulation of residential teen treatment centres (so called), which mostly seem to be located in that part of the States. It's shocking and illuminating of the many chronic structural failings which failing kids. But, it's gripping, and like everything APM seem to be involved with, like the astonishing In The Dark documentaries, it doesn't just tell you the 'what' of sad and tragic situations but strives to examine the how and why as well.
Can someone with a much better memory than me help me out with something? I don't think this was in the podcast thread but hopefully I will get to where I need to be: there was a podcast posted about songwriters who are brought in strictly to write contemporary hits (to smooth out stuff that is close). This was a BBC podcast. Does anyone remember this and if so, can you share a link? Thanks.
Jon Ronson s excellent Things Fell Apart won the best UK podcast the other day
Yes, it is excellent. Also a recommnendation for 'The Trojan Horse Affair', which I think was discussed elsewhere. It had me shaking my head in anger and disbelief - but it's an awesome piece of work.
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