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 & 🔥
Miranda Sawyer in the Observer
- Mad, Sad and Bad (JamPot) - “Faith’s ditsy honesty is endearing… if she could rein in her tendency to rattle away, this show would be even better.”
- Fin vs History (ind.) - “Their outrageousness is properly side-splitting.”
- Welcome to Hell (ind.) - “The first question of the new series is an absolute cracker and no, I’m not revealing it.”
- The Screen Rot Podcast (ind.) - “Last week they discussed Bryan Johnson, that idiot whose quest to live forever has led him to compare his own erection with that of his son.”
- The Way They Were (W!ZARD) - "Currently on a break but with many episodes to browse, in this show a new guest comes on to discuss a celebrity couple who have broken up.”
- Stalked (BBC) - “The story is awful and gripping, and the podcast has the courage to name the person who causes Mossman Moore such difficulty, which must have been a legal minefield.”
- Our Plant Stories (ind.) - “The tale of how New York was given a million daffodil bulbs and where those bulbs went is a sweet and interesting one.”
Fiona Sturges in the FT
- The Copernic Affair (Canadaland) - “After bingeing on all six episodes in a day, my immediate impulse was to go back and start again to see what I might have missed.”
James Marriott in the Times
- Bed of Lies (Telegraph) - “Episode two sets off to follow the tangled web of crimes and suspicious connections. Things, you will not be surprised to learn, do not get any more cheerful. I don’t think anyone familiar with the history of the Troubles will consider that I am giving away spoilers when I warn listeners to expect murder, torture and arson.”
Clair Woodward in the Sunday Times
- Time Sensitive (The Slowdown) - “Highlights include a gloriously funny interview with the designer Paul Smith, Ian Schrager on moving from Studio 54 to being the king of the boutique hotel and Roxane Gay discussing life working in academia as a woman of colour.”
- Sea of Lies (CBC) - “Sam Mullins presents an investigation into the Canadian con artist Albert Walker, who, after committing a series of financial crimes, fled Canada for the UK, where he began another crime spree.”
- How to Date (Sony Music Entertainment) - “It’s good to have a dating podcast hosted by women who both met their husbands at 39 on dating sites.”
The Guardian’s Best Podcasts of the Week column recommends
- Stalked (BBC) - “This terrifying tale of a cyber-harassment campaign against Hannah Mossman Moore sees her and her family hacked after a meeting with a high-flying fashion insider.”
- Pepperoni Pizza Dreams (ind.) - "Stands out in a crowded sleep-aid market, with Canadian host Julie Gauthier reading out restaurant menus, ASMR-style.”
- Passports Please! (Audio Always) - “Come for the travel hacks, stay for the banter between two mates who had to stop their last podcast (Tipsy Tourists) because they ended up getting drunk too much.”
- Extreme: Peak Danger (BBC) - “What happened on the weekend when 11 climbers died in two disastrous days, asks Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, and why did the group attempt the feat in the first place?”
And in the Guardian’s Guide newsletter
- The Pitcairn Trials (Wondery/Audio Always) - “Occasionally true crime can mean something better than tawdry accounts of gruesome murders.”
Highlights from the Radio Times
- Winning Isn’t Everything (Keep it Light) - “Their close bond transfers well on air.”
- Rebel on Main (ind.) - “This historical podcast focuses on contemporary reactions to a rebel statue in Jessamine County, Kentucky.”
- Our Big Shot (Chalk and Blade) - “A rather grandiose premise broken down into detailed, well researched episodes.”
Heat’s Top of the Pods
- Ladies who Launch (ind.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Smart TV (Sky) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Scott Bryan in Great British Podcasts
- Love Bombed (BBC) - “TV personality Vicki Pattison has launched a new series of her podcast featuring stories of people who have been the victims of scams, deception and betrayal, all tied to dating and relationships.”
- Mad, Sad and Bad (JamPot) - “The subject matter covers allows guests to become remarkably open about their personal lives.”
- Scam Inc (Economist) - “Starts with a deep dive into a bank in rural Kansas that was drained of its capital and subsequently collapsed because of actions by its own CEO, who had secretly transferred millions of dollars to a cryptocurrency.”
- Fogland Lighthouse (ind.) - “Absurd and surreal stories from British history.”
