Yesterday evening, I had a sort of real-life Listening Party – a little group of friends and I each chose a podcast episode we all had to listen to, then we gathered together to discuss them, a bit like a book group but for audio (I imagine. I have never actually been to a book group). It was a fun exercise; I recommend it. I listened to some shows I probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise, and was more thoughtful about them than usual. Generally, my main thought about podcasts is ‘Please be loud enough to drown out this argument on the bus’.
Anyway, if you’re interested, the shows which came out on top at Podcast Club were Song Exploder and Death, Sex and Money. Let us not speak of the bad.
Go to the comments to suggest podcasts I/Podcast Club should try, please! I’m always on the lookout for new things to listen to.
If you’re looking for a selection of different shows that you wouldn’t necessarily come across otherwise, try Radiotonic. The feed has documentaries, dramas, stories, all well made and worth your time.
Probably not worth your time is courtroom TV, but I really enjoyed this episode of Strangers in which the reluctant booker for those shows shares the ups and downs of the job. Also, it was a bit of a relief to hear a Strangers episode that didn’t make me a tad weepy on public transport…
Last week AMTpal Dave Pickering celebrated reaching 200 episodes of his podcast Getting Better Acquainted by letting other people get better acquainted with him, for a change – including me! Hear me interview Dave here.
Remember to listen to Olly host The Media Podcast. And there’s a new episode of my other podcast The Allusionist, all about how dictionaries look like they’re telling you the truth but are in fact LYING LIARS. I am very disillusioned. (DisAllusioned?) Click here for more about the episode and ways to hear it, or just play:
Have you listened to AMT310 yet? We speculate about putting on a production of Jurassic Park: The Ballet, reminisce about the Brownies, and spare no mercy for crappy chicken-flavoured crisps. Don’t even try to defend them when there’s cheese’n’onion flavour in this world.
Whether or not you’re a fan of Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Reviews – and who in the podcast-listening realm isn’t? – apply yourself to Mark Kermode‘s recent Radio 4 series The Business of Film, also available as a podcast. It’s as entertaining and informative as you’d expect Kermode to be about the business of film, plus there’s some pH1 bitchery from film industry insiders (ahem, Matthew Vaughn).
Private Eye has a new podcast! Which is a surprise, given how their staff usually prefer to remain anonymous. Here it is, for you news, politics and satire fans.
As regular Thursday Listening Party attendees will have clocked, I have an apparently inexhaustible appetite for podcasts in which people divulge true stories from their lives. I’ve recently been listening to The Longest Shortest Time, which may be sold as a parenting podcast but is really about LIFE, and is very welcome to me even given my child-averse status.
Finally, I’m recommending The Sporkful to you again, because it’s so much fun, and particularly when Dan Pashman goes all agony uncle for food.
And please try my newish show The Allusionist. The new episode will confirm what you’ve always suspected when you’ve been going round a museum: the real exhibit is YOU. THEY ARE WATCHING.
What have you been listening to lately, AMTpals? Share your picks in the comments.
Emerging podcast trend: episode-by-episode dissections of TV shows. I think it gathered momentum during the final act of Breaking Bad, and over the last few months more and more of such shows have sprouted up. I previously mentioned the Twin Peaks rewatch Fire Talk With Me, and I’ve just become aware of TWO shows devoted to Columbo: The Columbo Podcast and Just One More Thing. However, I’ve not actually formed a habit for any of these shows – until Slate’s TV Club Insider series on The Americans. In the podcast, the people who actually make the show talk about how they solve tricky plotting and shooting problems, manage to direct actors speaking foreign languages, and film scenes in which a [SPOILER] is [SPOILERED] and shoved into a [SPOILER].
I’ve been stacking up podcasts which I have not yet had time to hear; top of the pile is Employee of the Month with Catie Lazarus – the guest list looks great. I’ve also been chaining older episodes of Love + Radio. Now, kiddos, this is not a show to listen to with your nun friends, and it covers myriad topics of a sensitive nature; but it is very worth your time. Some of the episodes that made a strong impression on me: ‘Insane vs Unsane‘, ‘The List‘, ‘Dirty Balloons‘, ‘The Superchat‘. Go.
The gents of South London Hardcore came over to the AMT stronghold to chat with me and Martin about podcasting, Crystal Palace, Roman Mars, our sexually loud former neighbours, and soforth.
Listened to AMT308 yet? No? Shame on you! Shaaaaame!
A new episode of the Mann-helmed Media Podcast should be landing any moment, so keep refreshing your feeds.
On the latest Allusionist, I investigate something which had puzzled me for 20+ years: why a Finnish radio station broadcasts a weekly news bulletin in Latin. Renegades!
What have you been listening to lately, AMTpals? Share your picks in the comments. Here are some of the things that have infiltrated my ears:
• Last weekend, to keep me company whilst I raced to finish a ridiculous craft project, I chained several episodes of Why Oh Why? with Andrea Silenzi and Date Night, both of which feel like eavesdropping on very candid conversations. More reliable than hoping you hit the jackpot on the train by getting a seat in front of a couple of people having a very juicy chat…
• Also candid: latest Radiotopia recruit Mortified. During the craft project I watched the Mortified Nation documentary, and now I can get my fix of adults reading their embarrassing teenage diaries and letters on their new weekly podcast (here it is on SoundCloud and iTunes).
I’m SO glad I never kept a diary. All my teenage feelings, not saved for posterity! Thank goodness…
• I was rooting around in the Radio 4 archives and happened upon an episode of Chain Reaction in which Rebecca Front is interviewed by her brother Jeremy Front. Who doesn’t love Rebecca Front? That’s right, none of you raised your hands. Then I looked down the chain and saw who else was coming up in the series – Chris Addison! Derren Brown! Caitlin Moran! – and, well, that’s three hours taken care of. Then I noticed the other nine series, so that’s me sorted until March.
What else have we been up to since the hijinks of AMT307?
You can hear Olly every late night/early morning on LBC, and every fortnight on the Media Podcast, of which there should be a new episode later today.
You’ll enjoy the latest episode of The Allusionist, especially if you’re that listener who wrote in a few years ago to tell me he enjoyed hearing me say ‘cunt’. Because this whole show is about the word cunt. Find the show at theallusionist.org, iTunes, SoundCloud or those other places you like to find podcasts.
Aaaaand finally: here is my very last podcast for Sound Women. I’m taking early retirement. Aptly, my swansong is all about podcasting; I chat to Theresa Thorn of the very entertaining One Bad Mother, and to my new boss/patron Roman Mars of 99% Invisible. If you’ve ever wanted to hear podcasters moaning about what goes on behind the scenes, your ship has come in (on SoundCloud and iTunes):
3. The ‘Burnout’ episode of StartUp podcast. Gimlet Media, the guys behind StartUp, are some of the most successful in the business, with the additional advantages of funds, skills, and This American Life stamp of approval; so if even they find podcasting a real slog, the rest of us should be sobbing in a heap by now.
But we’re not! We’re still churning out podcasts! Viz:
• Have you heard AMT306yet? You haven’t? With its hymn to chicken Kiev and Ainsley Harriott? Well, you know what you need to do.
• Here’s a new(ish) episode of Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown, featuring me and Holly Burn. I say newish: we recorded it last August late at night at the Green Man Festival, but it has only just been released, so the summer festival vibe feels very distant to me as I sit here typing with sock gloves on my hands.
• In the new episode of The Allusionist, BuzzFeed senior editor Tom Phillips what linguistic sorcery he uses to goad you into making posts go viral. And there’s a cameo from AMTpal Roman Mars complaining that we’re all using the word ‘viral’ incorrectly anyway. SO THERE.
• Remember, Martin the Sound Man makes numerous other podcasts, including Brain Train about clever things, The Global Lab about smart cities and stuff, and The Sound of the Ladies music podcast. He’s about to add a couple more shows to his roster. Wait for us to catch up, Martin!
What have you been listening to this week, you treasures?
On an etymological tip, I listened to this episode of Slate Working interviewing a lexicographer about her job, and it really made me quite relieved that in 2003 the OED rejected me for my dream job as a lexicographer so I had to become a podcaster instead. Seems like a lot of admin.
Also, if you are fans of The Conspiracy Theories of Olly Mann, you may well enjoy this episode of Reply Allabout One Direction conspiracy theorists. That’s a next level hobby…
Remember to update your Media Podcast feeds tomorrow, for Olly will be back hosting a fresh new episode.
• Catch up on AMT305, in which we contemplate a questioneer’s unusual lITerature-inspired tattoo, argue about olive-theft, and reflect upon our lack of audiobook-reading jobs. •AMT episodes 1-170 and the special AMT albums are all available at answermethisstore.com, and if you buy any of them you’re bankrolling the podcast, for which we are extremely grateful. •Olly’s on LBC every weekday 1am-4am. Chug that caffeine to join him. • I host the monthly Sound Women podcast. • Martin the Sound Man makes numerous other podcasts, including Brain Train about clever things, The Global Lab about cities and stuff, and The Sound of the Ladies music podcast.
If/when you’re sick of all the jingling bells and falalalalaaaas, and you’ve already finished your annual listening party of the AMT Christmas album, don’t worry! You can depend upon us to keep your ears full.
For a steaming hot gravyboat full of Olly Mann, listen to the latest Media Podcast, then tune in to LBC because over Christmas he’s on at some uncharacteristically civilised hours, to whit:
…talk about things till your jaw falls offfffffff.
It’s hanging by a thread, I tell you! By the end of the week there’ll be a new episode of the Sound Women podcast, in which I meet Jo Whiley; and early next week I’ll be hosting a special edition of the Media Podcast from the Woman in Film and TV Awards.
But RIGHT NOW for your listening pleasure, here’s the new Z List Dead List, a fun history show in which I discuss the life of Sigmund Freud’s best friend/deadly rival Wilhelm Fleiss, progenitor of many theories which let’s euphemistically call ‘eccentric’.
I’m also on the latest International Waters, along with Simon Kane, Jackie Kashian, Brian Fernandes and host Dave Holmes, AND a very festive hit from New Kids on the Block. Be afraid.
UPDATE: the Sound Women episode is now GO:
Speaking of festive, now would be the optimal time to listen to the AMT Christmas album, full of Christmakkakwanzaa cheer.
Listen! I am alone at a crossroads!
OK I’m not, but if I were, I’d keep myself company by listening to Bob Odenkirk on Bullseye, and Rebecca Front on RHLSTP.
At the previous gathering, I was about to go off to listen to true crime podcast Sword and Scale. I have now done so, and I think a lot of you will be thrilled by it; but in my old age I’m becoming a lot more squeamish and pathetic, so after a while I repaired to the gentler crimefest of Val McDermid‘s Radio 4 book of the week about forensics. It reminded me of the books I used to get in my Christmas stocking. Make of that what you will.
Next on my playlist is 4 Extra’s Chris Morris special, Raw Meat Radio. What have you been listening to, dears?
•Pitch is a newish podcast about the minutiae of music and other noises, and it’s very good indeed. Hear Pitch at hearpitch.org.
•Last month I mentionedRobin Ince‘s excellent series Heal Thyself, and he has since presented the similarly top-notch Radio 4 documentary Tears of a Clown, about the link between comedy and mental health.
•And for all of you whose Serial fever is growing worse by the episode – and to help you through next week because they’re taking Thanksgiving off – your equivalent of nicotine gum is Slate’s Serial Spoiler Specials, the AV Club’s new Serial Serial, these weekly conversations with Rabia Chaudry who brought the case to Sarah Koenig in the first place, the parodies… To be honest, I’m enjoying the fervid commentary around the show more than the show itself.
For more true crime stories, do check out the ever-absorbing Criminal (my new Radiotopia sibling!), and I’ve been told I must listen to Sword and Scale, so I’m off to do that right now. What else would you recommend I hear, dears?
Here’s a little thing for all you rabid fans of Serial: parodies! The Mailchimp plug at the beginning is my favourite.
Now, if you’re interested in the science of food, hightail to this recent Food Programme interview with Harold McGee, author of the seminal food science tome On Food and Cooking which fired the molecular gastronomy neurones in Heston Blumenthal’s brain. And what inspired McGee to write the thing? Blazing Saddles. O…kay.
Finally: if you pick up a copy of the Guardian this Saturday (8th November 2014), peruse the Do Something supplement, wherein you’ll find the AMT guide to starting a podcast plus photos of us looking like twats in our home studio. (I assume. I haven’t seen the pictures yet, but we usually look like twats every time somebody points a camera at us, so it’s a safe bet.)
Gimme more stuff to listen to: recommend shows in the comments, please!
I am giddy with excitement about AMT300! I hope you like it as much as/even more than I do. I guess we’ll all find out next week.
Until then, alternative entertainments.
From home:
Earlier this year, I spoke at the Boring Conference. Martin’s talk about eggs was on the playlist at a previous Thursday Listening Party; now, here’s mine, about the disgusting and depressing contents of cookery books:
Something else which alternately delights and horrifies me is being a freelancer. I’ve been one for nearly ten years, and I still haven’t figured out how to even up the boom-or-bust cycle. So for this month’s Sound Women podcast, I gathered together with some excellent freelancers to discover their secrets (one of them used to work as an official Mrs Potato Head!), and to consolegratulate each other:
To accompany his question about the demise of hitchhiking in AMT299, questioneer Toby in Cheshire alerted us to this episode of Four Thought from Radio 4, in defence of hitchhiking. It’s refreshing to hear someone speaking positively about the MOBILE MURDER NETWORK.
On the subject of journeys, I’m working my way through the winners of the 2014Third Coast Audio Festival, and thanks to Linda Lutton’s Chicago to Mexico – By Bus, I’m having flashbacks to a 36-hour coach journey I endured in 2002 – a mere blink of an eye compared to hers!
The new podcast in everyone’s ears this week is Serial, the long-form investigation of a murder case by This American Life producers Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder. I chained the first three episodes and now I NEED MORE.
And finally: early this morning I received an email from Olly saying, “It’s 5:43am. Just watched all of this.”
Fill your boots.
Tune in to our various other gigs:
• After four delightful years, my gig on <a href="BBC 5 Live’s Saturday Edition” target=”_blank”>BBC 5 Live’s Saturday Edition just came to an end. Listen to the podcast of the final episode here. •Olly’s on LBC every weekday 1am-4am. Keep pinching yourself to stay awake and join him. • Martin the Sound Man makes numerous other podcasts, including Brain Train about clever things, The Global Lab about cities and stuff, and The Sound of the Ladies music podcast. •AMT episodes 1-170 and the special AMT albums are all available for a piddling little price at answermethisstore.com, and if you buy any of them you’re bankrolling the podcast, for which we are extremely grateful. • Catch up on AMT299 and the episodes preceding it.
First up: here I am on No Such Thing As A Fish, the podcast in which the QI Elves emit more facts than a bookshop throwing a full set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica out of the window (because nobody buys hard copy encyclopaedias any more, grandad). If you like the fact-barrage aspect of AMT, you’ll like this podcast even more, so listen at qi.com/podcast or right here:
Next: I’m on the new (September 25th) episode of the Media Focus podcast, discussing Scottish referendum coverage, political phone-ins, and podcasting itself. Get it from mediafocus.org.uk – and for more media news excitement, do remember to listen to Olly on the box-fresh episode of The Media Podcast that’ll be out tomorrow.
I was also on MacAulay & Co on BBC Radio Scotland to talk to the marvellous Fred MacAulay about a very important issue: patchwork! Because in the turbulent wake of the referendum, at least everyone can agree that fabric scraps are Better Together, amirite? Too soon? Too soon. Ah well. Listen here from the 41-minute mark.
Alright, enough of me twatting on; have you listened to Martin’s beautiful new album Through Intermittent Rain yet? If not, rectify that immediately by dashing off to martinaustwick.bandcamp.com – it’s available for whatever price you want to pay, so get it for £0-£∞ depending upon your budget.
For all the people who are irate after what Olly said about James Brown in AMT298, here’s my favourite James Brown track to soothe you.
What have you been listening to lately? I’m always keen to hear about different shows, so please recommend stuff in the comments!
RT @tofumusubi: I was putting off listening to the last ever episode of @HelenAndOlly because I didn’t want the show to end. Finally listen… 1 week ago
RT @JesseThorn: A million congratulations to @HelenAndOlly on their incredible run. A magical show and some magical people. I guess I have… 2 weeks ago
RT @bradjective: @HelenAndOlly A brilliant final episode befitting one of the best podcasts of all time. Loved the check-ins from cupcake l… 2 weeks ago
