Welcome to this week’s bumper edition of the 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 & 🔥
- Murder They Wrote
- The Chunkz & Filly Show
- OBD: A Son Unique
- Reel Talk with Honey & Jonathan Ross
- Boss Class
Big new releases: How to Win an Election, Dr Anti-Vax.
Hanging around: The Kids of Rutherford County, Heavyweight.
Fiona Sturges in the FT
- Dr Anti-Vax - A chill runs down the spine as Mostrous reveals how Wakefield, once a fringe figure, not only won over celebrities including Jim Carrey, Robert De Niro and Elle Macpherson regarding concerns about vaccinations, but found a fan in former US president Donald Trump.
Peter Williams in the New Statesman
- Uncanny - “Some episodes compare with the finest ghost stories – if it transpired that these were actors performing scripts, you might only admire them more.”
James Marriott in the Times
- How to Win an Election* - “It’s good to have a podcast with the energy of live radio… The panel format feels fresh and demonstrates that not every single podcast in the world has to be two blokes talking to each other.”
* How to Win an Election is a Times podcast.
Vicki Notaro in the Times
- Owning It: The Anxiety Podcast - “There are guided meditations, tips and tricks, and it really does feel like a podcast that is a toolkit for better mental health.”
Miranda Sawyer in the Observer
- Gangster: The Story of the Burger Bar Boys - “It mixes the investigative rigour of the BBC with a to-the-point presenting style.”
- The Kids of Rutherford County - “Great pacing, excellent interviews and a real cause: anyone can get over an over-Serialised presentation style for that.”
The Guardian’s Hear Here column recommends
- Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women - “It shines a light on the women who flew Spitfires, built ships and campaigned for their rights.”
- The Geopolitics of Business - “How do shifting power plates affect markets and investments – and how do governments handle it?”
- Hot Money - “Back and about to get dirtier with a deep dive into cocaine.”
- Death of a Codebreaker - “Dr Sian Williams unpicks the unsolved case”
Also mentioned: Amplify Color, The Overshare, Case 63.
And in the Guardian’s Guide newsletter
- The Wedding Scammer - “Justin Sayles attempt to track down someone who once scammed him and is now taking advantage of newlyweds.”
Highlights from the Radio Times
- The Slightly Foxed Podcast - “Sets out to celebrate the kind if books that are not stacked on the tables in your nearest bookstore.”
- Bloodlines - “A thorough piece of investigative journalism”
- The Bugle - “Not dissimilar to but much more free-wheeling than Have I Got News For You.”
- Football Cliches - “A repository of larky football chat.”
- Burden of Guilt - “A gruelling listen.”
Heat’s Top of the Pods
- Sidetracked with Annie and Nick ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Oh My Dog! with Jack Dee and Seann Walsh ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Also in Heat, an interview with Help I Sexted My Boss hosts Jordan North and William Hanson.
Scott Bryan in Great British Podcasts
- How to Win an Election - “Illuminating.”
- Dr Anti-vax - “It looks at the actions of the now discredited academic and physician Andrew Wakefield.”
- Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women - “There’s lots of interesting modern case studies in this series too.”
- The Today Podcast - “There’s no clock watching, giving the analysis a little more space to breathe.”
In PodPod’s Earworms column:
- Korrie Powell, BBH and Black Sheep Studios: Two Guys on Your Head - “Deep scientific and philosophical thought.”
- Lucy Aston, Fold7: Derren Brown’s Boot Camp for Emotion - “He’s on stage in your mind, just for you.”
- Nic Redman, Voiceover Social Podcast: The Blindboy Podcast - “Accidental learning and pure sonic joy.”
- Charles Parkinson, Unity and Motion: How I Built This - “It’s Comforting to Listen To.”
- Dominic Nicholls, The Telegraph: Heavyweight - “Warm-hearted, deeply human, occasionally tragic.”
In “Freshly Dropped” they mention Podcast Graveyard, How to Win an Election, Amazing Sport Stories, Underwater, Down Range.
And here on Podcast Rex, I’ve been taking a look at the best podcasts for the Bake Off fan in your life.
