Recommendation Engine: What Did You Do Yesterday?

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:

• Mother Lovers Club
• Then and Now
• Soccer A-Z
• Famously…
• Sweet Bobby

Spotify New & 🔥

• What Did You Do Yesterday?
• Mo Gilligan: Beginning, Middle and End
• Origins with Cush Jumbo
• Heartstopper: The Official Podcast
• Soccer A-Z

Fiona Sturges in the FT 

• Joanne McNally Investigates… Did Furbys Spy on Us? - “That we can guess the answer doesn’t deter McNally, who introduces herself as a comedian, podcaster and ‘fully legit’ investigative journalist, from pursuing it.”

James Marriott in the Times

• What Did You Do Yesterday? - “Nobody (or nobody you’d want to talk to) chats to you about how their evening routine works or what a nightmare they had finding anchovies in the supermarket. Generally this is a good thing. But when you can get a succession of really funny people on those topics, you suddenly find yourself with an illuminating guide to how variously people live.”

Clair Woodward in the Sunday Times

• BritPopCast - “Now that parkas are being pulled from the back of wardrobes ready for the Oasis reunion, it’s time to revisit George Lewis and Paul McCaffrey’s podcast.”
• Empire City - “Chenjerai Kumanyika presents a history of the New York Police Department, which was founded in 1845 to put order into a place beset by labour protests, riots and vice.”
• The Funny Comics Fan Club - “John Dredge and Mark Hibbett discuss British retro kids’ comics such as The Beano and, in the first edition, a 1979 issue of Jackpot.”

The Guardian’s Hear Here column recommends

• Origins with Cush Jumbo - “She speaks to stars about their origin stories, including Kate Nash, Harlan Coben, David Schwimmer and, in episode one, Anna Wintour.”
• Rebel Spirit - “Comedian Akilah Hughes gives her serious mission a light touch as she returns to her Kentucky home town to try to change her high school’s racist mascot.”
• Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club - “For people who don’t want to discuss reading over cheese and wine.”
• Then & Now - “Was parenting and childhood better when Babátúndé and Leonie Aléshé were young?”
• Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division and New Order - “Band members and famous admirers provide great stories about a new era.”

In the Guardian’s Guide newsletter

• Origins with Cush Jumbo - “Her roster is impressive – Anna Wintour kicks things off with stories of getting fired and becoming a softie grandmother, followed by Golda Rosheuvel (Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte) on discovering her sexuality at drama school.”

Highlights from the Radio Times

• Misquoting Jesus  - “Don’t worry if you’re not a believer. Neither is Bart.”
• The Wirecutter Show - “This consumer advice podcast might leave the UK listener puzzling over the US brands that it mostly highlights but the ‘life hack’ side gives it real value.”
• Head Number 7 - “Explores the 2019 scandal at Harvard Medical School where the head of their mortuary was discovered to have a horrifying sideline in storing and selling off body parts.”

Heat’s Top of the Pods

• What Did You Do Yesterday? ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Famously… ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Scott Bryan in Great British Podcasts

• Origins with Cush Jumbo - "Even the most successful people have to have started somewhere.”
• The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Podcast - “The series looks at how the fire could have been prevented.”
• Proper Manc - “Each episode looks at notable moments from Manchester’s past and how it has resulted in the city we have today.”
• What Did You Do Yesterday? - “You might not think there is much in a podcast that simply consists of a celebrity being asked what they got up to yesterday. And yet…”