We love a podcast whilst coding and drawing away in the office – so we have compiled a best of 2018 offerings.
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
This is an absolute must for history fans. Dan Carlin, a self-confessed history fan (not expert), delivers truly engaging, incredibly well-researched and detailed accounts from history. Each series covers a different period of history from ancient civilisations, through to the Cold War. Dan’s approach is enigmatic and passionate, occasionally inviting the listener to question how they would think, feel and act in often intense moments of the past.
Stand out’s series include Wrath of the Khans (The Mongol Empire), Blueprint for Armageddon (The First World War) and Ghosts of the Ostfront (WW2 Eastern Front).
The Frank Skinner Show
Comedian Frank Skinner and his team (Emily Dean and Alun Cochrane) fill the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio. Here you can catch up with the best bits condensed into an hilarious podcast. Regular features include Big Moments (facts that you thought you were the only one to know), Idiotic Eureka Moments (when you suddenly “get” something that’s been around for a long time) and Whatever Happened To… (things that have inexplicably disappeared from the public’s conscience.
Frank is always on great form and cuts a much more older and wiser figure than in his Fantasy Football days regularly dropping nostalgic musings and a lot of brilliant puns into current affairs chat covering everything from Donald Trump to Daniel Craig’s cleaner.
Now get out!
Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast / The Adam Buxton Podcast
We’ve lumped these podcasts as they essentially cover the same format but with very different styles and approaches. Both Richard Herring and Adam Buxton are comedians, notably from 90’s TV, who interview well-known guests (often other comedians and often the same ones).
Richard interviews his guests in front of a live audience and pretty much puts out the result warts and all, sometimes with the interview going far longer than it probably should as everyone descends into a giddy boredom that for some reason provides some of the best material, especially when Herring breaks out the Emergency Questions. Guests have included Simon Pegg, Stephen Merchant, Stephen Fry and a completely off-his-rocker Brian Blessed.
Adam’s interviews, on the other hand, take place often in the guests’ homes and is much neater and tidier with the editing splicing conversation with ball-achingly good jingle, adverts and musical interludes. Guests have included Johnny Marr, Louis Theroux, Kathy Burke and Bob Mortimer
Athletico Mince
Unashamed fans of Bob Mortimer and podcasts need look no further than the well established Athletico Mince podcast. Accompanying Bob is his north Eastern side kick Andy Dawson @ProfanitySwan who tag team to produce a hilarious podcast.
Athletico is essentially a football podcast that really doesn’t concentrate on the sport, rather take the piss out of it’s colourful characters. Regular belly laughs are provided by the excellent weekly updates from Peter Beardsley and WarHammer loving Roy Hodgson to name but a few.
Grab yourself some blue drink and turkey twizzlers and pull up a pew for a good few chuckles.
Iain Lee – Talk Radio late night radio podcast
We’ve always been a big fan of a late night talk show full of colourful characters and it is safe to say that Iain Lee’s late night alternative is up there with the best of them.
Iain and his trusty sidekick Kath deal with regular cranks on a daily basis, covering topics from the sublime to the ridiculous – handling varied subjects ranging from Iain’s depression to regular callers’ love of tin foil covered biscuits.
The podcast condenses the nightly 3 hours show down to an easily taken on 30/40 minute digest.
West Cork
We have been hooked on real life crime dramas since the incredible first series of Serial which led us to the superb West Cork. This is Less of a podcast and more of a talking book, sold by Audible, West cork is a real life crime thriller that we binged on in no time and was well worth the money.
Centering around the brutal murder of a 39 year old French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier killed outside her holiday home in West Cork in just before Christmas in 1996. With some great twists and turns from an intricate cast this investigation is bound to keep you entertained.
