Top of the Pods Part 2

I promise to do better with my podcast recommendations this time and suggest more than three. I used to listen to current affairs podcasts such as The Rest is Politics with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart, and Newscast with Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, but I can’t bear to think about politics any more. When Donald Trump and Boris Johnson were performing their pantomime act across the world stage, it was so incredible that they’d been left in charge of anything more demanding than a flower pot that I just couldn’t look away. Now I just can’t look. So, it’s time for entertainment and diversion.

Comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster host a very funny podcast called Off Menu, where they invite guests to describe their perfect meal – drinks, starters, main courses and desserts – at a fantasy restaurant. They’re a very silly pair and their guest list is impressive, ranging from Stanley Tucci to Miriam Margolyes to Professor Brian Cox, making this a wonderfully funny and entertaining hour.

I’m not entirely convinced by Joanna Lumley, so I don’t know why I’m recommending two podcasts that feature her, but here goes. She’s married to the conductor Stephen Barlow and together they talk about various aspects of classical music in Joanna and the Maestro. It’s sort of a beginners’ guide and I’ve already learned (and forgotten) a fair bit, but I particularly enjoy Joanna’s sparky comments and Stephen’s fond indulgence. It’s quite an appealing package.

Now I think about it, I’m mis-selling Joanna Lumley’s second appearance on this list. It’s actually a BBC production called Conversations from a Long Marriage and all four series are available if you have access to BBC Sounds. These are scripted half-hour plays, beautifully written by Jan Etherington and acted by Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam, but mostly they’re very funny. In fact, the Joanna in these conversations sounds an awful lot like the Joanna in her Maestro role, which is making me a wonder if she has Jan Etherington scripting her entire life. I wish she were scripting my life – I’d be so much fun.

The Witch Trials of JK Rowling  was recommended in the comments section of my blog a couple of weeks ago and I’m planning to listen to the whole series with the hope that by the end I’ll have a well-informed and unbiased opinion, if there is such a thing. In fact, I suspect that I’m an unwitting TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist, since you ask), even though I don’t think I’ve ever consciously excluded a trans person from anything. The modern world is full of traps.

Then there’s No Stupid Questions – a podcast with Freakonomics author Stephen Dubner and psychology professor Angela Duckworth. Each week they discuss a supposedly stupid question, such as Is Family Overrated? or Is It Wrong to Enjoy Yourself While the World is Burning? They’re a clever, entertaining and thoughtful pair, but, like so many of the best podcasts, it’s their warm and funny relationship that makes this a compelling and enjoyable listen.

Finally, I want to recommend one that is (unfortunately) only available if you have an Audible account. My Dad the Spy is written and narrated by Stewart Copeland, the drummer of the massively successful 1980s band The Police. I listened in amazement to Stewart’s fascinating and completely unexpected account of his early life in the Middle East, where his father was an American diplomat and, it turns out, also a spy. Anyone who has any doubts about the extent of US meddling in foreign affairs should listen to this truth-stranger-than-fiction tale. Who knew Stewart Copeland had such a great back story?