Picks of the week
Think Twice: Michael Jackson
Audible, all episodes out on Thu
Leon Neyfakh (Slow Burn) is one of the finest storytellers in podcasting and his new offering about Michael Jackson is brilliant and meticulous. Along with Jay Smooth, he examines Jackson’s “raw and unsettled” legacy, attempting to reconcile conflicting emotions about the artist they loved. It starts in 1993, when those around Jackson worried he was too weird to be a pop star, so he presented himself as a god-like figure. Hannah Verdier
It Can’t Just Be Me
Widely available, episodes weekly from Wed 3 May
Life dilemmas? Anna Richardson knows all about them – and she might just have the answers to yours. In her new sex, love and life podcast, the Naked Attraction host invites listeners to send in their questions and gets advice from celebrity guests and experts who know exactly what you’re going through. HV
Vishal
BBC Sounds, all episodes out now
Eight-year-old Vishal Mehrotra went missing watching the royal wedding in 1981 and 40 years went by with no leads. Now, BBC investigative reporter Colin Campbell and Vishal’s half-brother Suchin are searching for answers. The first episode documents the panic on the day, when London was teeming with crowds and Vishal’s family realised he was missing. HV
Filthy Ritual
Widely available, episodes weekly
True crime meets the supernatural in this tale about hoaxer Juliette D’Souza. “Stranger than fiction doesn’t quite cover it,” say hosts Hannah Maguire and Suruthi Bala (pictured above) as they set the scene for shamanism, designer handbags and sacrificial cash. It’s gossipy, intriguing and a cautionary tale of how D’Souza infiltrated polite society and conned it. HV
Buying Time
Audible, all episodes out Thu 27 April
Journalist Frank Swain investigates the “death denial” movement in this fascinating series, entering a world of whooping conferences and hope of eternal life. Liz Parrish is the queen of the scene, who says one thing is standing between humans and living for ever: the regulation that prevents research into gene therapy that can reverse biological ageing. HV
There’s a podcast for that
This week, Rachel Aroesti chooses five of the best podcasts to relax to, the BBC’s peaceful gardening podcast to a deep dive into Björk’s back catalogue
Björk: Sonic Symbolism
The Icelandic musician discusses the “textures and timbres” of each of her pioneering albums – from 1993’s Debut to Utopia, released in 2017 – with a selection of collaborators and friends. What makes Sonic Symbolism one of the most mesmerically soothing podcasts on the market is the way that chirping, whirring, soaring and shimmering snippets of Björk’s music snake around the artist’s slow, deliberate and joy-suffused musings. Deeply considered and immersive, the podcast is certainly meditative but – this being the restlessly experimental Björk, after all – never boring: her leftfield perspective is frequently surprising enough to stop you in your tracks.
Stompcast
Infinite props to Dr Alex George for turning a moderately cringeworthy stint on the 2018 series of Love Island into a successful, diverse and very dignified career as a mental health advocate and influencer (a job which sees him work for the Department for Education and give out self-care tips on OnlyFans). In this quiet, thoughtful and thoroughly wholesome podcast, he extols the psychological benefits of walking by going for a stroll with a guest, during which meandering chats are propelled by gentle questioning. Refreshingly, his companions – who range from reality show contestants to medical professionals – aren’t the usual pod suspects either.
London Pub Reviews
Pleasingly weird and strangely hypnotic, this podcast doesn’t do exactly what it says on the tin. Delivered in the dulcet tones of the poet-comedian Tim Key, at first it really does seem to be a collection of brief (or “pint-sized”) descriptions of well-loved boozers in the capital, from north London’s The Holly Bush to Farr’s School of Dancing in Dalston. Yet soon, a surreal storyline makes itself known: each episode is in fact a mini play, adapted by the author Paul Ewen from his 2007 short story collection of the same name. The result is a trippy, warmly enveloping audio oddity.
Gardeners’ Question Time
Granted, this one might feel more thrilling than relaxing for any green-fingered evangelists out there, but for those of us with only a passing interest in plants, the BBC’s long-running radio show-turned-podcast is the aural equivalent of a cup of hot choc. The format, in which the public put their horticultural conundrums to a panel of experts, has been on the air since 1947 (its longevity a comfort in itself) and – particularly when contrasted with its political counterpart – frequently feels like a brief escape to a world where all is well, the most pressing threats being hungry slugs and black spot.
Wolf and Owl
It seems like there are a practically infinite number of “two men talking” podcasts, which – for many fans – are the definition of comfort listening, like eavesdropping on the rambling pub chat of two especially funny old friends. Wolf and Owl – in which comics Romesh Ranganathan and Tom Davis talk about “stuff”, in the broadest possible terms – is a particularly soothing example of the genre. The one concession the pair make to format is playing agony uncles to listeners who’ve sent in dilemmas, a task they undertake with such earnestness, kindness and sensitivity you can’t help but come away feeling consoled and calmed.
Why not try …
A candid real-life miniseries on sibling love and rivalry in Sisters from The Heart.
Succession’s Alan Ruck turns his attention to another warring media dynasty as the narrator of Audible’s Bitter Blood: Murdoch v Murdoch.
A drama-packed medieval saga in the latest series of Dan Jones’s This is History podcast, A Dynasty to Die For.
