Ghost Story | Wondery
Class of 88 with Will Smith | Wondery
Shaun Keaveny’s Daily Grind | Global
Ghost Story, from Wondery, is a strange new seven-part show. It starts out in familiar spooky-tale territory. Then it performs a lane hop into another genre before zigzagging and turning back on itself to become something else entirely. This might make it sound an awkward listen. It’s not. It’s very good, but any explanation will seem bananas.
Here goes. Journalist Tristan Redman moved to a house in London when he was a teenager. On several occasions, objects in his bedroom would move without anyone touching them – a vase would end up on a bedside table, say, where he definitely didn’t put it. As an adult, he discovered that other people who’d lived in the same house had also had weird experiences, often involving seeing a woman with no face.
So far, so Danny Robins’s Uncanny. But the story becomes complicated by the utterly mad coincidence that Redman’s wife, Kate’s, family used to live in the house next door. And that a woman in that family – Naomi, Kate’s great-grandmother – was murdered in that house. Naomi’s husband, known as Feyther, escaped being killed himself, through his cleverness and quick actions. Redman decides to find out more.
The story he uncovers is a complicated one, and involves ghosts, murder, spies, lies and – oh God – a seance. In the wrong hands, such a twisted trail might confuse. But Redman is a very clear host, and the interweaving of his investigation and his chats with Kate and her family is warm and well done. As a glamorous side show, Kate’s family includes the Hollywood actor Hugh Dancy, who does some reading for the podcast.
And it’s the family aspect that elevates this story from a gripping who- or whatdunnit into something more interesting. It’s rare to hear from the people affected by a journalist poking around in their past. Kate’s father and especially her uncle revere their grandfather, Feyther, and don’t like it at all when Redman gives the family myths a thorough going-over. There’s a sort of confrontation between them and Redman in the penultimate episode, and his distress is palpable.
One of the experts in Ghost Story says that our past is always in the present with us; that we carry it around with us like a rolled-up rug. I thought of this while listening to Class of 88, Will Smith’s excellent new series on hip-hop. These days, Smith is regarded as a man who had everything but messed it all up. A genuine Hollywood star who wrecked the biggest moment of his life. From beloved Oscar winner to out-and-out loser, because he hit Chris Rock over a joke about his (ex?) wife.
But Smith’s past has nothing to do with Hollywood, or awards ceremonies, or being married and angry, or separated and sad. He comes from hip-hop. As one half of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (Smith was the Fresh Prince, young ’uns), he toured with Run-DMC, Public Enemy and EPMD in 1988, a fascinating time when rap was breaking through to the mainstream. And the connections Smith made through this – the friendships, the experiences, the understanding – are the basis of this eight-part series, which he hosts with a lot of laughter and warmth.
The interviewees are stellar, from Jazzy Jeff himself to DMC, to Queen Latifah, to Chuck D. Plus we hear from other players around at that time, such as Rick Rubin, plus A&R people, PRs, journalists – all of whom aren’t commentating, but telling their stories. So we’re told the tale of Public Enemy’s gig at Rikers Island jail – how it was set up, how it nearly went wrong. We hear about Run-DMC playing My Adidas and everyone in the crowd holding up their trainers (because of this, the band were the first ever non-athletes to get an Adidas endorsement). These are well-known stories, but the details from those who were there bring us right inside.
But there’s also smaller fun stuff about Will going on a date with Pepa from Salt-N-Pepa, more serious insight into what it felt like to be called a sellout, and what it feels like to be edited out of hip-hop’s early history. This is a decent attempt by Smith to remind us of where he came from and what he’s achieved. More importantly, it’s actually a tremendous documentary series.
Shaun Keaveny, beloved ex-6 Music show host and podcaster extraordinaire, has a new show, the Daily Grind. Does the man ever stop? Out every day around 5pm, this is a very Shaun show: a seemingly casual and slightly slow hour of chat that’s actually a well thought-out celebration of the mundane joy of the everyday. There’s Hawaiian background music, silly news stories, listener missives, producer Ben providing a foil to Shaun, and a celebrity interview on a Friday. Warm and welcoming, an antidote to the tough stuff of life. Lovely.
