With Spring just beginning and the weather getting better, we can finally start going out for more walks. So, I have put together some podcast recommendations to help liven up your laps of Woodhouse Moor…
Off Menu
Now not to be one of those people, but I have been a fan of ‘Off Menu’ since its first season. Now entering its fifth season and with a growing popularity (they have won several podcast awards) this is still at the top of my list. Hosted by comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster, each episode the guys ask their guest to talk through their favourite starter, main course, side dish and drink, culminating to make their one true dream meal.
It is a fab mix of funny and educational material. I have even started to make a list of restaurants mentioned so I can visit them when they open back up. They have a great range of guests from professional chefs to comedians to politicians and with a long back catalogue of episodes there will definitely be one that piques your interest.
Warning: It will make you hungry.
Grounded with Louis Theroux
If you haven’t already heard the hype, you get to hear it from me now. This is everything you love about Louis Theroux in an easy podcast format.
Louis started this podcast during the first lockdown and used the time spent at home to contact guests he has always been interested in. The conversations are insightful and often surprising, and Louis brings his mix of funny and moving the way he does best. The combination of his soothing voice and interesting guests makes it is easy to sink into the conversation and let’s face it who doesn’t want more Louis Theroux in their life?
His guests range from the more conventional like Helena Bonham Carter (who it turns out he went to school with) and writer/documentary-maker Jon Ronson to the more unexpected like Sia (who famously does not do interviews) and KSI.
Sweet Boys
This is a relatively new podcast and as of writing there are only eleven episodes, but they continue to be released each week.
Garrett Watts and Andrew Siwicki are two YouTubers, who in a time of YouTube drama, influencers and fake news, have branded themselves ‘the sweet boys’. The two best friends chat each week and let the conversation go where it goes. It is silly and fun and can often veer off topic, but they also attempt to tackle more serious topics that I know myself and others can relate to. These range from how to channel your creativity to feeling stuck in your work to the general scary state of the world during a pandemic.
It is less advice based and more ‘we’re all in this together’, but they always manage to bring the conversation back to a general feeling of positivity and hope. With all the self-care plans and motivational quotes being thrown at us all the time nowadays, sometimes it is just nice to know people out there are feeling the same confusion you do.
The boys also film each episode and put them on YouTube so you can watch them if that is more your thing.
Soul Music
Another pick from Radio 4, ‘Soul Music’ chooses one famous song each episode and discovers what it means to different people around the world. Most of the episodes are only 30 minutes long so they make the perfect length for a quick walk. By the end of each episode you’ll have a deeper understanding of how some of your favourite songs have travelled the continents.
Meaningful and often heart-warming this podcast makes me feel connected in a time when, in so many ways, we have never been less so.
How Did This Get Made?
Do you feel like you’ve exhausted every Netflix avenue? Or maybe you’re a film buff who wants to spice things up. ‘How Did This Get Made?’ looks at those films that would baffle anyone on how they ever made it to our screens.
The podcast is hosted by the trio of actor/comedians Jason Mantzoukas, June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer. In each episode they delve into a film widely considered as just plain bad. They rip apart the plot and talk through questionable acting choices as well as taking confused questions from listeners in their minisode every other week. The podcast is upbeat and well produced, as we would expect from podcast giants Earwolf, who have an ever-increasing repertoire of cult status podcasts.
It may even give you inspiration to host a ‘bad movie night’ with your housemates to pass the time while we count down the days until 21st June
Header image credit: BBC