Welcome to this week's Recommendation Engine from Podcast Rex, rounding up the week in podcast reviews. Get this in an email each week by signing up to be a supporter of Podcast Rex from £3.99.
Apple Podcasts New & Noteworthy:
Spotify New & 🔥
Fiona Sturges in the FT
- The Butterfly King - “In August 1943, Boris III of Bulgaria had a meeting with Hitler, which, by all accounts, went badly; two weeks later, the king was dead. The official line was that he’d died of a heart attack but, 80 years on, the creators of The Butterfly King aren’t buying it and nor are his descendants.”
James Marriott in the Times
- The Sports Agents - “The jovial banter about who had what for breakfast is relatively minimal. The result is that it sounds a lot more like a radio show (and, you might argue, much more like proper journalism) than the two-hander podcasts at the top of the charts.”
Miranda Sawyer in the Observer
- Miss Me? - “Miss Me? is, if we’re being technical, a teeny bit of a mess. Topics arrive and are dismissed, talked around, then recalled; huge diversions are made into other areas. But none of this matters. It’s all immensely cheering and laugh-out-loud funny, because both Allen and Oliver are both madly charming and genuine friends.”
- 53 Minutes - “Ó Briain and Widdicombe are accomplished performers, they have a dynamic script, some great interviewees and they promise to make the show about more than just Ali Dia.”
- Heroes & Humans of Football - “These are in-depth, discursive, information-packed analyses of some fascinating characters; a bit like a long-read piece in a broadsheet.”
Patricia Nicol & Clair Woodward in the Sunday Times
- The Story - “The long-running Times and Sunday Times flagship podcast, Stories of Our Times, has been refreshed and rebranded.”
- Status Update - “A must-listen for any wannabe TikTok stars and anyone interested in the always evolving and increasingly strange world of social media.”
- Dial F for Football - “The world of Totalsport FM is brilliantly recreated in Rhys James and Mark G Smith’s script.”
- To Die For - “The show is based on the first-hand story of an alleged seduction agent of the Russian Federal Security Service.”
The Guardian’s Hear Here column recommends
- Dial F for Football - “Listeners of Totalsport FM are used to hosts being white and blokey, so what happens when management bring in a young YouTuber?”
- Miss Me? - “Funny stories, 90s memories involving A-listers, debates on hot topics and musings on the Princess of Wales’ whereabouts are all here.”
- Unreliable Witness - “This nuanced podcast proves that there’s a lot the public don’t know.”
- Strike - “It’s the personal memories that really stir emotion.”
And in the Guardian’s Guide newsletter
- Dial F for Football - “In this scripted audio series, a young YouTuber (Lolly Adefope) is brought in to shake up the blokey world of sports radio to the chagrin of many listeners.”
Highlights from the Radio Times’ politics special
- Electoral Dysfunction - “A big vote of confidence in the forgiving nature of the male sense of humour.”
- Political Thinking with Nick Robinson - “Now in [its] eighth year.”
- The News Agents - “Gives three skillful journalists the freedom to speak their mind.”
Heat’s Top of the Pods
- Dial F for Football ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Miss Me? ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Scott Bryan in Great British Podcasts
- 53 Minutes - “Widdicombe and O’Briain are due to spend significantly longer pondering Dia’s career than he ever spent on a Premier League pitch.”
- We Can Do Hard Things - “But there is real value in their personal perspectives on the situation.”
- The Butterfly King - “A masterfully told WW2 tale of family drama, political intrigue and pure treachery.”
- Black Box - “An essential podcast to help us stop and take stock of just what we’re doing with technology.”
