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
- Finally! A Show About Women That Isn’t Just a Thinly Veiled Aspirational Nightmare - “As the title makes clear, the series doesn’t idealise womanhood or tell women they could be doing better. It’s a series of sweet, funny and fascinating self-portraits, and a space for women from all walks of life to tell their story so far.”
James Marriott in the Times
- A Muslim and a Jew Go There - “Unlike many political podcasts, which promise the spice of genuine disagreement only to serve up lashings of bland centrist consensus, the hosts do genuinely argue with one another.
Miranda Sawyer in the Observer
- Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? - “McNally and Farrelly and her other comedian friends (Joe Lycett pops up in episode two) are great at fun. Initially, I found the constant diversions a little trying, but that’s because I thought this was an investigative show. It’s not. It’s a comedy one.”
- The Sports Agents - “We don’t see this side of Gabby Logan on the BBC because her role there is as host rather than reporter. It was thrilling to hear both her and Mark Chapman’s tougher sides.”
- The Documentary - “Everything about this documentary was generous and heartwarming, even when the climate crisis was discussed."
Patricia Nicol & Clair Woodward in the Sunday Times
- Twenty Thousand Hertz - “Covering topics from why contemporary music has become so bass-heavy and the sound tactics used in radio commercials to the story of the famous Wilhelm scream.”
- Poetry with Simon Armitage - “This series of 12 lectures has Armitage embrace subjects from the relevance of poetry to society and the work of Bob Dylan to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the poetry of winter.”
The Guardian’s Hear Here column recommends
- 53 Minutes - “Remember a time when football was less slick and cash-driven? Dara Ó Briain and Josh Widdicombe do.”
- Educating Daisy - “Can any of Daisy May Cooper’s guests persuade her that books are worth reading?”
- The Boar’s Nest: Sue Brewer and the Birth of Outlaw Country Music - “This podcast tells her story from her point of view.”
- The Last City - “Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn and Homeland’s Maury Sterling star in a slick, scripted story.”
- Ways to Win - “Tips on how to work when you’re not at your best and lessons from basketball.”
And in the Guardian’s Guide newsletter
- Offal - “Podcast might not be the right heading here: the creators of this, ahem, unusual offering instead call it an “audio-zine”. Oh, and you won’t find it on your Apple feed either: instead, new episodes are delivered over WhatsApp.
Highlights from the Radio Times
- 53 Minutes - “Ali Dia had the shortest Premier League career - how did he fox a football legend?”
- Black Box - “Michael Safi brilliantly captures the moment before we plunge - out of control? - into a brave new world.”
- Stolen - “Connie Walker brings a measured voice to the true crimes against Indigenous people.”
Heat’s Top of the Pods
- Mubi Podcast: Tailor Made ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Dish ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Scott Bryan in Great British Podcasts
- Discover Your Inner Astronaut - “What do you do after you’ve gone to space? Launch a podcast, of course."
- The Rest Is History: The Titanic - “A fascinating six part series (that’s six hours!) exploring the sinking of the Titanic from a multitude of different angles.”
- Miss Me? - “Close friends Miquita Oliver and Lily Allen reflect on the latest developments in news and pop culture.”
- Mission Responsible - “How engineering can help solve some of the biggest problems facing humanity today.”
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