I struggle to remember a time when I didn’t have a podcast blaring while washing the dishes, feeding the dogs, or lying in a bath. Sure, a therapist would recommend closing the Spotify app and practising some quiet mindfulness, but this addiction isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. You don’t have to become a fanatical follower, but there’s a world of fantastic audio available these days, should you be inclined. Here are four great options to start.
The Rest is Entertainment
Richard Osman and Marina Hyde’s podcast, The Rest is Entertainment, “pulls back the curtain on television, movies, journalism and more”. Osman is the multihyphenate producer, bestselling author (of the wonderful Thursday Murder Club series), and ex-host of the quiz show Pointless. Hyde is the acclaimed Guardian newspaper columnist and writer. Between them, they have decades of experience in the industry and miles and miles of gratuitous knowledge. They are also whip-smart and very funny.
The show comes out twice a week; Tuesdays offer a standard conversation format, and Thursdays are a question-and-answer edition, where fans can write in and pick the hosts’ brains. While Hyde is more critical and intellectual, Osman, though also incredibly clever, is the real heart of the show and so down to earth.
Past subjects include whether the hit TV series The Bear is a comedy, the return of 1990s band Oasis, and forgiving Will Smith after his Chris Rock-slapping debacle. @restisentertainment
Ghost Story
Get ready to be hooked on this series. As a teenager, a series of spooky incidents took place in journalist, host and ghost nonbeliever Tristan Redman’s bedroom. Years later, he discovers that subsequent residents were visited by a faceless ghost, and he is intrigued. This plot twist is only the beginning, as it just so happens that Redman’s childhood home was right next door to that of his wife’s great-grandmother, who was murdered in the 1930s by two gunshots to the face.
Redman dives deep into this mystery and finds himself asking questions no-one in the family wants answered. His probing encompasses a celebrated great-grandfather, a shell-shocked and troubled uncle, and a murdered woman. Along the way, you meet family members (including brother-in-law and actor Hugh Dancy), neighbours and psychics. While this may sound complicated, the seven-part series is enthralling and infinitely bingeworthy.
The Rewatchables
This gem first appeared on my radar in 2019, when crazy, edgy film director Quentin Tarantino was a guest and chatted about one of his ultimate rewatchable movies, Dunkirk. Who’d have thought that would be his jam?
This is a podcast for lovers of the big Hollywood hits as well as smaller cult or classic movies. On each episode, a panel of hosts pick a favourite film that they can’t stop watching and analyse it using humorous categories, including “the most rewatchable scene” and “what’s aged the worst or best”. They even discuss whether said film is the “apex mountain” of a particular actor or director’s career. The discussions range from the fascinating to the hilarious.
Episodes worth starting on are True Lies, Argo, Twister, This is the End, and any film starring Steven Seagal or Sylvester Stallone.
Slaycation
Perhaps give this miss if you are looking for something to listen to on a bright and breezy vacay. The darkly comic true crime podcast focuses on murders and mysterious deaths that have happened on holidays – be they cruises, hikes, safaris or glam island-hopping. The podcast is hosted by true crime fundi and ex-social worker Kim Davis, her partner Adam “Tex” Davis (he’s an Emmy-nominated writer) and his long-time creative partner Jerry Kolber.
I’m not usually the biggest fan of making light of true crime, and some jokes don’t sit too well, but, generally, this is worth a listen. It may also give you some survival tips for the end-of-year break as well as general life guidance. For example, if your spouse suddenly takes a life insurance policy out for you, don’t go on a lonely hike with them.
Look out for the Death Cab for Cape Town episode, which investigates the infamous Anni Dewani murder that took place in the Mother City in 2010. Slaycation.wtf
* Podcasts mentioned are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Wondery