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Recommendation Engine

Recommendation Engine: Question Everything

Plus John Dredge on comics and Rylan and Scott Mills on pop music

10:00 AM GMT+1 on September 18, 2024

    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 

    • Cursed (RAW/Audible) - “The series spans 10 episodes and it’s a reflection of the superior writing and reporting that none of them feel like filler.”

    Patricia Nicol and Clair Woodward in the Sunday Times

    • Autocracy in America (The Atlantic) - “So far, this series has been fascinating, rigorous in its analysis, but also empathetic. You listen with dismay to the damage done to trust and institutions. And the toll on individuals.”
    • Pop Top 10 (BBC Radio 2) - “Rylan and Mills are a joyous, funny duo who know pop inside out and aren’t trying to be achingly cool.”
    • Kiri’s Comedy Club (BBC Radio Wales) - “The comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean’s Radio Wales show focuses on Welsh comedy, but casts its net wider, with interviews and performances.”

    The Guardian’s Hear Here column recommends

    • Joanne McNally Investigates… Did Furby’s Spy on Us? (BBC/What’s the Story Sounds) - “She speaks to stars about their origin stories, including Kate Nash, Harlan Coben, David Schwimmer and, in episode one, Anna Wintour.”
    • Question Everything (KCRW/NPR) - “It’s inspired by the response to S-Town, which saw him having to prove in court that his podcast counted as journalism.”
    • Night Shift (Sony Music/Campside) - “Adelstein delivers the story without exploitation.”
    • The Road to Joni (SHEROES/Talkhouse) - It’s affectionate and cheerfully digressive; a fine tribute to an utterly singular artist.
    • Dealcraft: Insights from Great Negotiators (ind.) - “Fancy a pay rise? Take a tip from expert negotiators who share their 'cool deals' with host Jim Sebenius.”

    In the Guardian’s Guide newsletter

    • Question Everything (KCRW/NPR) - “Admirably, it opens with a frank discussion between Reed and one of S-Town’s biggest critics, Guardian Australia journalist Gay Alcorn.”

    Highlights from the Radio Times

    • The Funny Comics Fan Club (ind.)  - “Begins with an episode dedicated to Jackpot, from an era before concerns about juvenile obesity made it inadvisable to offer readers the chance to win their weight in crisps.”
    • The Lion and the Sun (ind.) - “It’s 45 years since the overthrow of the Shah of Iran and his replacement by an Islamic republic. But how did it come to pass?”
    • Extremely American (NPR) - “An alarming and compelling pre-election eye-opener.”

    Heat’s Top of the Pods

    Scott Bryan in Great British Podcasts

    • Joanne McNally Investigates… Did Furbys Spy on Us? - "Unpacks why while Furbys don’t record us (probably), many of the devices we use on a daily basis actually do.”
    • What’s Wrong With Democracy? - “Why do we end up with the leaders we have? Why is trust in politicians at a record low? And what is responsible for the sudden rise of populism across the world?”
    • Time Team - “In each episode broadcaster Martyn Williams asks Dr Helen Geake asks listener questions about archeology and the duo look at recent discoveries, such as the discovery of a stage that Shakespeare once stood on.”
    • Who Owns the Clyde? - “If you ever visit the Clyde you’ll see huge bits of infrastructure and well-known buildings, such as the Hydro or the headquarters of BBC Scotland, next to vast swaths of empty land or abandoned buildings adjacent to the river. A hangover of Glasgow’s post industrial decline, it isn’t exactly clear or transparent who owns these areas, which can make new development tricky.”
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