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
- David Tennant Does A Podcast With...
- Tays & Ginge Off Stream
- BBC Test Match Special
- Gold Minds with Jessica Ennis-Hill
- Putt & Strutt
- Casefile
Spotify New & 🔥
Jude Rogers in the Observer
- Facing The Music (BBC Radio 3) - "This is powerful, symphonic storytelling; not for the faint-hearted, but I loved it"Why Is Amy in the Bath? (Grab Bag Collab & Because It's True Productions) - "I’m enjoying how the podcast format still allows mad ideas like these to swirl into new wormholes (rather than disappearing down plugholes)"
Fiona Sturges in the FT
- Dancing with Shadows (Stak) - "a rare and penetrating portrait of a notoriously closed world where dancers often sacrifice a personal life, bodily autonomy and their health in pursuit of their art"
James Marriott in the Times
- The World of Wodehouse (PG Wodehouse Society) - "The drowsy stillness of the summer afternoon was shattered by what sounded to his strained senses like GK Chesterton falling on a sheet of tin" [PG, not JM]
Patricia Nicol in The Sunday Times
- Making a Scene (Folding Pocket) - "Both hosts are good at responding to their guests’ revelations, instead of asking prepared questions"
Clair Woodward in the Sunday Times
- How Do You Cope? (Wondery) - "Robins is a calm and empathetic listener"
- Scam Inc (The Economist) - "The Economist’s Sue-Lin Wong follows a trail that includes people being scammed by crooks’ dating apps"
- We Buy Records (Ind.) - "fun crate-digger’s series dedicated to vinyl collecting"
- Dancing with Shadows (Stak) - "the sacrifices made in the pursuit of perfection"
- The Iain Lee Interviews (Ind.) - "Over Lee’s 26-year broadcasting career he has interviewed hundreds of people, and is now selecting his favourites"
The Guardian’s Best Podcasts of the Week column recommends
- Theatre of Crime (Global) - "not all listeners will find an attempt to turn it into chucklesome light entertainment to be in the best taste"
- Lucky Boy (Tortoise) - "what does it mean when the abuser is an attractive woman?"
- Scam Factory (Wondery) - "Who are the people who send scam texts/emails?"
- Obscurum (Imagine Audio) - "High-tech sex trafficking, aliens, a top-secret military operation – or something a little more prosaic?"
- Harford: An Oral History (Ind.) - "these strange little monologues are brimming with dry wit and unlikely twists"
Highlights from the Radio Times
- Scam Inc (The Economist) - "This account from The Economist's Sue-Lin Wong is jaw dropping"
- You Don't Know Peanuts: The Untold Stories (Ind.) - "Untold stories shared by Sparky's (Schultz's) widow"
- Theatre of Crime (Global) - "More larky than it ought to be"
Heat's Top of the Pods
- Start Here (ABRSM) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Lunchbox Envy (QI) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Scott Bryan in Great British Podcasts
- Dancing With Shadows (Stak) - "A compelling podcast investigating the New York City Ballet"
- Never Mind My Bollocks (Made in Manchester) - "Removing the stigma of vasectomies"
- Intrigue: Word of God (Telltale/BBC) - "the religious themed Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, which managed to acquire an astonishing 40,000 items for its exhibits in just three years"
- How Do You Cope? (Wondery) - "guests speak frankly about the obstacles they have faced in their own lives"
