Welcome to the first part of our round-up of the best podcasts of 2025, all of which have been featured on Podcast Rex throughout the year.
Merry Christmas and we’ll see you for part 2 next Sunday.
All About The Music – A great idea for an interview series. BBC broadcaster and composer, Neil Brand invites a guest to talk about the songs they admire, which they then take apart to work out why they are so compelling. Brand is a great interviewer, the insights about music are fascinating and each episode weaves through different genres and styles.
Where There’s A Will, There’s A Wake - Kathy Burke is the definition of a hard act to follow, but Mel Giedroyc has walked into this comedy interview series with ease. The series consists of the listener pretending that their special guest has died and we’re guided through their imaginary wake. All episodes are free, but there’s 20 minutes of additional chat for those who subscribe to the paid tier on Apple Podcasts.
Criminally Queer: The Bolton 7 – An important story looking at a miscarriage of justice, where seven gay and bisexual men were arrested for having consensual sex in someone’s home in 1998. The partial decriminalisation of gay sex, a law that had passed three decades earlier, only applied to sex between two men, not a group of seven.
Hugh Sheehan explores the case and highlights how the 1980s homophobic policy of Section 28 forbade conversations about homosexuality in schools, leaving young people unaware that they could be at risk of arrest due to this legal technicality.
Toni Told Me with Toni Tone - There are many dilemmas and advice podcasts out there, but this one by the author Toni Tone stands out from the crowd as she provides practical, pragmatic advice on many different aspects of modern life: from cutting off fake friends to comparing your life with your peers. It’s no fuss, no nonsense advice based on her life experience.
Broken Veil - Writers Will Maclean and Joel Morris throw you into this surreal paranormal story about a jobbing actor who had to go to a medical facility far from home, only to be told afterwards that the medical facility he went to never existed. It’s a spooky, atmospheric, witty series, with great production and lots of twists and turns.
Alex Andreou's Podyssey - Broadcaster Alex Andreou deep dives into Ancient Greece and how it can be used to explain many different aspects of modern life. Each episode looks at a well known Greek tale, its themes and influences, and how it has managed to have such a hold on the public consciousness for centuries.
Talk ‘90s to Me - Fellow podcast critic and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer is behind this engrossing interview series looking back at some of the cultural trends and breakthroughs of the 1990s: from Scream, to Seinfeld to The KLF. Sawyer invites along an expert for a nostalgic look back, working out why these moments resonated the way they did and what they revealed about British culture at that time.
Queer The Music - Jack Shears from the newly reformed Scissor Sisters interviews a musician or band who have created a queer anthem. Often, these songs were never intended to be popular with the community, but have ended up doing so because the lyrics or the themes resonate. Shears is a great interviewer who never sticks to the script. Recent guests have included members of The Last Dinner Party, along with Kae Tempest and Jessie Ware.
A Question of Science – A podcast where broadcaster Brian Cox asks leading scientists big questions, from whether we can cure cancer to whether we can live forever. Brought to you by the respected biomedical laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, there’s an emphasis on the topics being discussed in layman’s terms, making the subject matter highly informative but also very accessible.
Legends of News with Dermot Murnaghan – Sky News broadcaster Dermot Murnaghan interviews a well known anchor or journalist about their jobs and the big stories that they have witnessed throughout their careers. There’s loads of anecdotes about the adrenaline rush of reporting on the news. Guests on the podcast have included Nick Robinson, Martha Kearney, and Kirsty Young.
