The best podcast episodes to keep you company in self-isolation
Podcasts are a rare safe space in the media landscape at the moment, with many having been recorded before the coronavirus outbreak and therefore free from the c-word.
Podcasts are a rare safe space in the media landscape at the moment, with many having been recorded before the coronavirus outbreak and therefore free from the c-word.
With that in mind, here are some great recent podcast episodes that might bring you a little joy in these weird times. Kick back and listen to fascinating people talk about fascinating things that have absolutely nothing to do with the breakdown of society taking place around us.
Daniel Radcliffe on Desert Island Discs
Lovely Daniel. What a nice chap. This is one of the first Desert Island Discs episodes in a while that has really reminded us what a brilliant programme it can be. It lost its way for a while, but this episode is a stonker. Daniel Radcliffe comes across as a genuinely nice bloke with really thought-provoking opinions on the film and theatre industries. Plus, he also has an absolutely belting taste in music. Which helps.
Lauren and Cameron: Is Love Blind? On The Reality Tea
This podcast is nothing to write home about, but this particular episode is a great listen if you’ve been up to your eyeballs in Netflix’s weird and wonderful dating series Love is Blind, which seems to have bamboozled the world beyond belief. Lauren and Cameron — one of the few couples who end up married on the Netflix show — discuss the process and give really juicy behind-the-scenes insights.
How to Understand Wine on Nobody Panic
Is there any better time to get into heavy drinking? We think not. With bars closed, this is the time to support your local wine merchants and really get into vino in a big way. This is a lolzy — but genuinely useful — introduction to the basics of wine, giving helpful tips into how to pick wines in the supermarket. For once, it’s nice to know that you shouldn’t just pick the ‘wine with the nice picture on it’ or the ‘one with the biggest reduction’.
Perhaps this is a podcast to listen to with wine pairings and friends over Zoom/Skype/FaceTime/any other video-based app making an absolute killing at the moment.
Guardian music critic Laura Snapes on Straight Up
This is a recent discovery of a podcast for us, and is a real treat. In each episode, GQ journalist Kathleen Johnston and Telegraph journalist Eleanor Halls interview a leading figure from behind the scenes of the music industry, from celebrity stylist Carlotta Constant to Stormzy’s producer Fraser T Smith.
Our favourite recent episode is with Guardian deputy music editor Laura Snapes, who was responsible for one of the greatest ever profiles of Taylor Swift. She’s a key player in music journalism, and it’s great to hear about her perspective on the industry and her role within it.
