Podcast of the month

On Christmas Day 2021, NASA launched the largest and most powerful space telescope ever constructed. It will show us stars, galaxies, planets, and other objects as we’ve never seen them before. The James Webb Space Telescope: Into the Unknown is a mind-blowing mini series from NASA’s Curious Universe.

This investigative series from The Wall Street Journal, dives into an extensive array of internal Facebook documents, giving an unparalleled look inside the social media giant. These documents show that Facebook knows it’s causing harm but time and again hasn’t fixed it. This series offers new details about Facebook’s algorithm, how criminals use the platform for human trafficking and how Instagram affects mental health.

A series of 6 episodes.

Having watched No Time To Die last week, we can’t get enough of all things Bond. This six part series is perfect, each episode focuses on a different aspect of the James Bond universe, from characters to locations and music to action. Daniel Craig also discusses landing the iconic role, and the release of his final outing as the world’s favourite secret agent.

If you’ve previously been gripped by the Elizabeth Homes/Theranos story, then you’ll probably be aware that her trial started this month. If not, familiarise yourself with all the details of this incredible tale in our Theranos Scam Pod. If you’re as fascinated as we are in this story, you can then follow her trial in the Bad Blood Podcast. Hosted by John Carreyrou, the investigative journalist who broke the scandal, the season will give listeners a front row seat at Holmes’s criminal trial and dive into the evidence against her.

Thousands of women gave up everything to follow Mother Teresa, joining her storied Catholic order, the Missionaries of Charity. But some found that life inside this fiercely private religious order was not what they’d imagined. Former sisters who worked closely with Mother Teresa describe her bold vision and devotion to charity and prayer. But they also share stories of suffering and forbidden love, abuse and betrayal. If you make a lifelong vow, what does it mean to break it? What is the line between devotion and brainwashing? Can you truly give yourself to God?

10 Episodes starting May 2021.

In the early 70s, Debbie Gayle was one of Britain’s most promising young ballerinas. At the age of 17, she was chosen to go to the Soviet Union and become the first Westerner to train at Russia’s finest ballet academy. It was a dream come true for her, but just a few months later, things took a near deadly turn for her. She made it out of the country thanks to a young girl named Natasha who she never saw or heard from again. In Finding Natasha, Debbie’s son Jake Warren, a journalist and podcaster, sets out to understand the story of his mum’s past, and to find the woman who saved her 50 years ago.

5 Episodes

This immersive series from Wondery premiered last month. Host adventurers Mike Corey and Cassie De Pecol share thrilling stories of survival. From the daring rescue of a soccer team trapped in an underwater cave in Thailand, to a woman taken hostage by Somali pirates, these stories made headlines around the world. This is the first episode of four, about The Thai Cave Rescue.

To explore the story further take a look at our  Thai Cave Rescue pod 

If you’ve watched the poignant Channel 4 drama It’s a Sin, have a listen to this podcast. Anushka Asthana talks to Leigh Chislett, a nurse who worked at St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, London, on the HIV ward during the 1980s. He tells Anushka about living in London as a young gay man and the horrific impact Aids had on the gay community. But he says it also galvanised them to fight for greater rights.

We loved discovering this hugely influential and best selling book over lockdown and have gifted it to many friends. Experience the world of a curious boy, a greedy mole, a wary fox and a wise horse who find themselves together, in sometimes difficult terrain, sharing their greatest fears and biggest discoveries about vulnerability, kindness, hope, friendship and love. Listen to Charlie’s lovely conversation with Gaby on That Gaby Roslin Podcast here.

We’ve been laughing along with this one, so felt we had to share – investigative reporting, true crime and comedy all rolled into one podcast, genius!

A true story involving two brides and one turd. What do you do if someone defecates on the floor at your wedding? Re-evaluate your friends and family? No, you launch an investigation to find who did it. Join the brides, Helen Mclaughlin and Karen Whitehouse, and the extremely under-qualified “Detective” Lauren Kilby, as they interrogate wedding guests, hook bridesmaids up to polygraph machines and speak with top forensic experts in an attempt to crack the case. Because crime is not a laughing matter. Well, maybe except for this one.

The true story of the brashest billionaire turned politician the world has ever known. Silvio Berlusconi was the charismatic multi-millionaire real-estate mogul who set out to up-end the Italian political order. With his wealth, charisma and connections he became one of the most powerful men in the world until two words helped bring him down: “Bunga Bunga.” This is the incredible true story of the rise and fall of Silvio Berlusconi.

This 8 part series is from Wondery and hosted by comedian Whitney Cummings.

Louise Daniels and Aimee Cooper address midlife issues and sometimes crisis for those bursting into their 40s, 50s and beyond. Every Monday they chat with interesting people and experts about the variables, challenges, changes and opportunities of middle-age for men and women… hormones, parenting, family, divorce, mental health, relationships, menopause, health, sex, careers, lifestyle. Always upbeat and funny, we think you’ll love this educational and entertaining podcast for mid-lifers.

In this episode they chat with Anniki Sommerville about How To Be A Boss At Aging.

More great podcasts  for midlife women can be found in our Midlife Musings Pod. 

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is a podcast series that celebrates the things that haven’t gone right. Every week, a new interviewee explores what their failures taught them about how to succeed better. In this episode she talks to Bernardine Evaristo the first black woman to win the Booker Prize, with her stunning novel, Girl Woman Other. She talks about her failure to be an actor, her failure to drive from London to Australia and…brilliantly…her failure to be a lesbian.

Click here to view our Pod on Evaristo’s book Girl Woman Other.

With more of us holidaying at home the staycation is booming. Our pick this month is the Ramblings podcast with Clare Balding. Claire shares her favourite walks in the UK and is joined by notable and interesting people for her walks through the countryside.

In this episode Clare digs into the archives of Ramblings to share her favourite walks. The theme is Friends and Family as Clare finds the moments that best illustrate how walking is a fantastic way of drawing people together.

A fun episode from Reply All. A man in California is haunted by the memory of a pop song from his youth. He can remember the lyrics and the melody. But the song itself has vanished, completely scrubbed from the internet. PJ takes on the Super Tech Support case.

For more great investigative podcasts view our Investigative Reporting collection. 

This podcast, from This American Life, won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for audio reporting, the first ever given for audio journalism. It reports from the frontlines of the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” asylum policy. We hear from asylum seekers waiting across the border in Mexico, in a makeshift refugee camp, and from the officers who sent them there to wait in the first place.

Introducing Rabbit Hole, a new narrative audio series by the NYT tech columnist Kevin Roose. An interesting exploration of what the internet is capable of doing to a person, it explores what happens when our lives move online. Kevin writes “We set out on a year long project to make a narrative audio series that would tell the stories of people who were shaping and being shaped by the internet.”

In Episode 1 Wonderland : They meet Caleb a young man who never felt like he fit in until he discovered YouTube. The video platform became his place for both escape and direction. They follow his journey into its universe.

If you want to explore this subject further, why not try our Pod on Anti Social Media

In this time of COVID-19, we’re all feeling overwhelmed with anxiety and uncertainty. To stay calmer and happier, Gretchin and Elizabeth discuss why you might keep some kind of journal during this period, and why you might create a three-tiered plan for projects – or, alternatively, write a “19 for COVID-19” list.  They also explore two happiness stumbling blocks: uncertainty and exercise. Let’s keep our hands clean and our minds clear.

If you want to explore the subject of happiness further, why not look at our Pursuing Happiness Pod.

The new audio drama mystery thriller podcast from PRX’s Radiotopia has rave reviews, give it a try. Atlantic Flight 702 has disappeared mid-flight between London and New York with 256 passengers on board. Kaitlin Le (Kelly Marie Tran), a college student whose twin brother vanished with the flight, is determined to uncover the truth.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please view our Drama Collection for further scripted drama suggestions.

ABC News’ Mark Remillard, reporting with the ABC News Investigative Unit, shares the stories of those women, who have fought to have their voices heard, as well as the lawyers and investigators who tried to bring Epstein to justice. He retraces Epstein’s rise from modest roots to the very intersection of wealth and power, seeking to uncover the forces that shielded Epstein from justice.

In this new original series, Claudia Winkleman and Professor Tanya Byron identify struggles faced by real-life parents and family members by inviting them in and hearing their story, in a one-time unscripted session with a real person. Claudia listens in to the conversation to discover how Tanya begins to unlock the story behind the issue and help find solutions.

In this beautiful season opener, Claudia meets Jack, before introducing him to Professor Tanya Byron who, in a one on one session, digs deep into his story, with fascinating and emotional revelations.

David Tennant has an easy style of interviewing and manages to be probing without being intrusive. The result is a series of delightful and interesting conversations with his many and varied guests. Here he talks to James Corden, the Late Late Show host talks about Gavin and Stacy, The History Boys and how (at first) no-one wanted to be on Carpool Karaoke.

Looking for more candid conversations and interviews ? Then click here for our An Audience With pod.

The first episode of this incredible series. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape.

Want to find out more about the past ? Click on the link here to our collection of History podcasts 

Epic stories of Nasa’s missions to the Moon. Season 1: the first Moon landing, Apollo 11. Season 2: the near disaster of Apollo 13. Presenter: Kevin Fong. Theme music: Hans Zimmer