Recommendation Engine: What’s your perfect day?

Plus the secrets of publishing and a hipster ornithologist?

10:00 AM GMT+1 on July 31, 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

Hysterical - “The host’s trademark has been his archly quizzical tone, though Hysterical brings a distinct softening and sensitivity in his approach.”

Miranda Sawyer in the Observer

Dangerous Memories - “These are devastating stories, told by three of the young women who were brainwashed by Craig into believing false memories. Their well-educated accents and polite cadences sound utterly at odds with the awful situations they find themselves in.”
World of Secrets: The Apartheid Killer - “All his victims were black and one was just 12 years old. Yet he insists he wasn’t racist. ‘I was anti-crime, not anti-black,’ he says. This is one of the few investigative shows that actually interviews the killer… A fascinating story, but, God, a terrible tale.”

The Sunday Times have published their 48 best podcasts of 2024, including

The Guardian’s Hear Here column recommends

Tom Slick: Mystery Hunter - “Owen Wilson, Sissy Spacek and Schuyler Fisk star in this story about ‘the most interesting man you’ve never heard of’.”
History Extra: Toilets Through Time - “A sponge on a stick, thunder of the bum and a devil lurking in the bowl: this deep dive into history’s U-bend turns up some fascinating nuggets.”
In the News This Week - “As zingy and gag-packed as you’d expect.”
Rock ‘n’ Roll Birder - “Hipster amateur ornithologist Matt Spracklen goes on a weekly walk with avian experts.”
How to Write a Book - “First up: how to know when that idea might be worth working on.”

In the Guardian’s Guide newsletter

Hysterical - “Is this a pathogen or mass hysteria? The first three episodes, out now, dangle this question expertly.”

Highlights from the Radio Times

Worse than Murder - “In 1969 Muriel McKacy, the wife of a newspaper executive, was the victim of a kidnap.”
Land of the Giants - “What is the essence of Disney?”
The British Food History Podcast - “A kind of In Our Time for the kitchen.”

Heat’s Top of the Pods

Scott Bryan in Great British Podcasts

How to Write a Book - "Having three different perspectives on the same process is actually a genius idea."
Perfect Day with Jessica Knappett - “It is not the concept that keeps you listening, it is always down to the chat.”
Quite a Good Sport - “Full to the brim of interesting sports facts, tidbits and stories.”
Inside Briefing - “A new mini-series lifting the lid on the reality of being a ‘spad.’”