Pick of the week
Journey Through Time
The first big historical event retold by David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell in their new series is a terror attack on New York – but no, it’s not 9/11. They want to tell us about the world-shaping moments we’re not taught about, which in this case was the Black Tom 1916 bombing. England’s great storm of 1703 – one of the worst natural disasters ever – and female pirates of the Caribbean Anne Bonny and Mary Read are also on the meaty agenda. Hollie Richardson
Widely available, episodes weekly
Divine Intervention
This hugely engaging show about Boston’s anti-Vietnam war Catholic activists pulls no punches in painting a detailed picture. Its introduction alone plunges you into the minutiae of life in the city’s Dorchester suburb, before promising “radical nuns in combat boots and wild-haired priests trading blows with J Edgar Hoover’s FBI, in a hellbent effort to sabotage a war”. Stirring stuff. Alexi Duggins
Widely available, episodes weekly
Shadow Kingdom: God’s Banker
Crooked Media’s new true-crime podcast – available in Italian and English versions – unpicks the curious case of Roberto Calvi, AKA God’s Banker, who was found hanged under a bridge in London in 1982. What was he hiding about the Vatican Bank’s criminal activities? Lawyer Nicolo Majnoni is obsessed with finding out. HR
Widely available, episodes weekly
Icebergs
A wellness podcast that’s actually funny, with comedian Kemah Bob. She has deep chats with fellow comics, starting with Sophie Duker, who explains why her standup is better when she feels safe and isn’t worrying, “Oh, you want a middle-age white man telling you soft jokes about how he doesn’t like his wife.” AD
Widely available, episodes weekly
Branched Out
How do trees shape our identities? This soothing pod from cultural critic Soma Ghosh offers “an alternative multicultural history of trees from around the world”. First up, a look at masculinity, gender and spirituality: from Merlin’s oak in Carmarthen, Wales, to the Kalpataru tree of Ramakrishna – a 19th-century cross-dressing saint from Kolkata, India. AD
Widely available, episodes weekly
