Picks of the week
Countered Terrorism
Audible, episodes weekly from today
The verdict on David Harewood’s portrayal of counter-terrorists in Homeland and Spooks? “Oversimplifies reality,” according to the actor himself in this behind-the-scenes look at foiled terror plots. As FBI agents take you inside their disruption of an Islamic terror cell and ex-IRA operatives talk of their attempt to bomb London’s power stations, the gravitas of Harewood’s narration lends even more drama to their tales. Alexi Duggins
Pop Culture with Chanté Joseph
Widely available, episodes weekly
The Guardian’s chatty, insightful podcast about the hottest weekly topics in the world of pop culture returns for a second series. It’s the same engaging, informative look at what everyone’s talking about, with its first episode asking: “Have film awards become a bit rubbish and outdated?” Lots of irreverent fun. AD
Holy Week
All episodes widely available now
“Grief can have a way of warping the historical lens, trapping us in a moment,” says the Atlantic’s Vann R Newkirk II. Which is why his podcast about the week of unrest that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King is so important. Newkirk gives a strong flavour of the mood of 1968, followed by despair and rage. Hannah Verdier
900 Degrees
Widely available, episodes weekly
Fifty-six people died in a fire at Bradford City football stadium in 1985, but the aftermath of the tragedy left many questions unanswered. In this moving and powerful podcast, journalist Mobeen Azhar tells the story, with eyewitnesses who describe how the happy carnival atmosphere of the last match of the season against Lincoln City turned into horrific scenes. HV
Time with Mr Reed
All episodes widely available now
How far would you go for the chance to have a baby? When Reed Domingo ran up a quarter of a million dollars in IVF bills, he decided to rob 12 banks in San Diego. “I did it all for love,” says the boarding school-educated Englishman turned unlikely antihero, who tells the pleasingly twisty tale in his own words. HV
There’s a podcast for that
With 00s New York indie music retrospective Meet Me In The Bathroom out in cinemas this week, Tara Joshi selects five of the best podcasts for indie music fans, from Kate Nash on the rise of Arctic Monkeys to guide to “landfill indie”.
Arctic Monkeys: Believe the Hype
A Kate Nash-hosted series about Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, the 2006 debut album from the biggest British band to emerge from the early 00s indie days, sounds like a Myspace kid’s wet dream. While it could certainly stand to be a little meatier (each episode clocks in around 15 minutes), it offers a warm and informative trip down memory lane. Nash does a fine job of weaving together the tale of four Sheffield lads reluctantly propelled to superstardom, with punchy archive audio and interviews from the likes of Jo Whiley, then-editor of the NME Conor McNicholas, and Sam Fender, all reminiscing about those heady days of clubs, alcopops and kebabs.
Up The Bracket: 20 years of The Libertines
Two decades on from the debut album from the chaotic London band who appeared to be the UK’s answer to The Strokes (even though they had existed for longer, record labels only deemed The Libs a viable prospect after seeing the success of the New York band), the Libertines have put together a miniseries about their early days. Hosted by DJ Sunta Templeton, the series maybe would have benefited from more dynamic editing – each episode is an individual, often slightly rambling interview with a band member, journalist, or writer. Still, it’s worth it for funny moments – like the band recalling their first impressions of each other – and their touching, often harrowing, reflections on fame.
XS Long Player: Classic Indie Albums
In another interview-based series, this time from Manchester radio station XS, host Jim Salveson gets into the granular details of what he considers to be classic indie rock albums with the people behind them. Perhaps tellingly of the era, it does skew very much towards conversations with men – be that the artists themselves or the people in the studio; plus, it begs the eternal question of what we even define as “indie” (Travis somewhat incongruously make an appearance). Still, there’s plenty to enjoy for those who want to hear, say, Alex Kapranos going long on Franz Ferdinand’s debut, or producer Gordon Raphael talking about the extraordinary experience of making The Strokes’ Is This It.
Indiecast
This weekly show by music critics Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen (known for their work for US publications including Stereogum and Pitchfork) understandably has a more North American slant. While their wry conversations technically focus on contemporary indie music, there’s still plenty of reflection and thoughtful discourse on older works, too. That means deep dives on the 10th anniversary of Japandroids’ Celebration Rock, Oasis chat, and an episode dedicated to all the great albums that came out in 2002. A great listen for those who are as interested in getting deep and dorky about the current state of indie music – and current music more broadly – as well as those looking for fuzzy 00s nostalgia.
Trashfuture
Britainology 21: Landfill Indie is admittedly just one episode of the Leftist comedy podcast Trashfuture’s offshoot series, which explains British cultural niches (other episodes explore such important artefacts as Skins, Christmas pantomimes and dogging) – but as a primer on a uniquely embarrassing but incredible time for British music, it’s a must-listen. Bringing in Spector’s Fred Macpherson (who was previously part of bands such as Les Incompétents and Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man) and journalist Oscar Rickett, the group discuss that early 2000s-era of UK youth culture where the NME and Myspace ruled supreme, covering music post-9/11, dubious record label practices and, of course, the regrettable rise of too-tight skinny jeans.
Why not try …
A case of mistaken identity – or could it be something far more sinister? – in I Am Not Nicholas.
The unbelievable real-life story of an audacious art heist in Cambodia, in Dynamite Doug.
Guardian gardening columnist Alice Vincent meets fellow green-fingered folk in Why Women Grow.
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