The Receipts:
Dishing out some of the most frank, real and hilarious advice of any podcast Agony Aunts, hosts Milena, Tolly T and Audrey are all heart and no filter. Recent guests have included Tinie Tempah, Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne and Ncuti Gatwa (aka Eric from Sex Education) but the real highlights always come from the “Your Receipts” episodes, where listeners send in their personal dilemmas to receive no-holds-barred solutions. Problems have included sleeping with married men, becoming friends with your ex-partner and what to do if your boyfriend’s mum keeps pooing in the bath. Listening to the show feels like a never-ending brunch with three straight-talking best friends who are guaranteed to have you crying with laughter.
Episode Pick:
95. Beautiful Black Sister – Amidst side-splitting recollections of budget child beauty pageants and impressions of Anne Robinson, Audrey and Tolly highlight their love of black emojis, the problem with Little Britain and their experiences of colourism.
Who We Be TALKS:
Made to accompany Spotify’s biggest Hip-Hop, Afrobeat, Dancehall and RnB playlist, this podcast is for all the behind the scenes gossip from your favourite artists. Harry Pinero and Henrie strike the perfect balance between keeping the chat light-hearted while also delving deep into the lives and backstories of their guests. This is the show to celebrate Black culture and the music that comes from it.
Episode Pick:
S3 E9 feat. Koffee, Spice, Bunji Garlin and Mike Anthony: Carnival is a Contact Arena – To mark what would have been the build-up to the iconic Notting Hill Carnival, Harry and Henrie speak to Spice, the true Queen of Dancehall, Grammy-winning Reggae upstart Koffee as well as Bunji Garlin and Mike Anthony. Regain those summer vibes with this ultimate flavour of carni season!
The History Hotline:
In true BHM style, it would be wrong to omit a podcast dedicated to the rich but often overlooked story of Black history in Britain. Created by Deanna Lyncook, a Masters student at the University of Birmingham, The History Hotline gives a thorough, clear and accessible overview of a topic of Black British History in each episode. This summer’s Black Lives Matter movement called on people to educate themselves and listening to this podcast would undoubtedly be a useful part of that process.
Episode Pick:
The British Black Panthers – Across the pond, the legacy of the Black Panther Party is well-known throughout the black community but few know that the UK has its own version of the movement. Deanna does a wonderful job of explaining the differences in historical context between the two and highlighting what the community organisation managed to achieve.
Growing Up With gal-dem:
The first ever podcast from the media company that champions women and non-binary people of colour, Growing Up chronicles the early life of a different guest each week through diary entries, letters and text messages from their younger selves. With the inevitable cringing from guests such as Clara Amfo and Michaela Coel at their mid-noughties text speak and overly-sentimental love letters, Liv Little and Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff encourage guests to take a good-humoured yet nuanced view of their past. The show is raw, funny and profoundly revealing in equal measure as it explores the challenges of our formative years and how they continue to affect us throughout our lives.
Episode Pick:
Munroe Bergdof on ending toxic relationships – The model and transgender activist revisits a WhatsApp chat from an ex-partner whose politics became more radically right-wing towards the end of their relationship. Her earnest account examines the experience of a declining romance, the turmoil of emotional abuse and how queer people must unlearn the impulse to seek validation in heteronormativity.