Ready to Talk (BBC Radio 4) - “Her first guest is Kate Thornton. Their discussion is mostly around menopause and HRT, which is interesting for those who need it. Her second guest, the comedian and Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland is great: warm, funny and confident enough to reveal his insecurities.
This Life of Mine with James Corden (Listen/SiriusXM) - “As ever, Corden provides the effusively grateful vibe that allows very famous people to tell us the story they want to tell. There’s a lot of “I can’t believe you’re here, I always said if I could get anyone on this show it would be you” to wade through, but Corden is also well researched and has the levity needed to break into a long-winded answer.”
Cellmate to CEO (Prison Radio Association) - “[Zak] Khalil’s story of how he ended up in prison three times is salient and interesting (there’s definitely a point in his teens when he could have been diverted); his frustration at trying to get work after serving time is described without self-pity; and his success in social enterprise is admirable. Highly recommended.”

Fiona Sturges in the FT

A View From a Bridge (ind.) - “The audio stories here are longer than in the visual version and are all the better for it. Compelling and often profound, they provide capsule portraits of strangers who prove remarkably open to sharing their hopes and fears with a voice on the phone. Bloom has introduced a scattering of celebrities too, including Rebecca Lucy Taylor, aka Self Esteem, and Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos. While the former reflects on the pressure to have children, the latter discusses the experience of becoming a dad at the age of 50.”

Patricia Nicol in the Sunday Times

The Mishal Husain Show (Bloomberg) - “Husain was always the least cravenly chummy, most professionally inscrutable of the Today presenter line-up. Nick Robinson can bang on for Britain about Manchester United, Justin Webb about rugby and Amol Rajan cricket. When Emma Barnett arrived, listeners heard about her favourite music and how she liked a cuppa. But Husain never gave much away. Indeed, she is rumoured to have balked at others’ creep towards more personality-driven reporting.”

James Marriott in the Times

Shadow World: Anatomy of a Cancellation (BBC Radio 4) - “The BBC’s excellent culture editor Katie Razzall talks to protagonists on every side of the drama.” ★★★★☆

Gerard O’Donovan in the Daily Telegraph

In the Dark: Blood Relatives (The New Yorker) - “Taking as its starting point a New Yorker article questioning the conviction of Jeremy Bamber for the 1985 murders of his adoptive parents, his sister and her two young children, the six-part series re-examines the murders, uncovering evidence never shared with the jury and interviewing sources who call into question the official account.”
The Bugle (ind.) - “Serving up a curated selection of favourite episodes from the past two decades, saving us the trouble of glueing our fingers to the scroll-back button.”
Shadow World: Anatomy of a Cancellation (BBC Radio 4) - “This opener looks at how, when prize-winning author Kate Clanchy was accused of racism, she turned to Twitter for help but ended up prompting an online backlash and a culture war.”
Scam Secrets (BBC Radio 4) - “Another run of Shari Vahl’s superb series, alerting us to the infinite ways in which criminals are seeking to dupe us out of our hard-earned savings.”
Pottering (ind.) - “The end of September was a brave time to launch a podcast based at the bottom of a garden.”
Limelight: Murder on Mars (BBC Radio 4) - “Not only has the first-ever murder victim been found on Mars, but all communication with Earth is down and atmospheric tests have triggered a deadly planet-wide storm.”