What would you say if I asked you when a podcast last changed your life? “Christ knows”? “Never”? “Please stop asking stupid questions”? If so, some of this week’s new shows might do you some good.
First, The Happiness Lab – a podcast by Laurie Santos, the psychology professor behind Yale’s courses in how to feel contented – launched a new series collaborating with Sesame Street. The expert advice on how to become closer to those around you by being more grateful is such a galvanising message that there’s no way it applies only to children, despite the involvement of furry puppets. We defy you to listen and not end up blurting out some statement of love to your cherished ones.
Add in the imminent release of Adventures in Nutopia season two and its exploration of radical ideas (out on 29 September), and you have quite the week for ways to change your habits for the better. The 10-minute snippet it released of an interview with the Eden Project’s Tim Smit is inspirational stuff. Ever thought about ensuring that you force yourself to accept every third invitation that comes your way so that it revolutionises your very existence? We guarantee you will after listening.
They’re joined by an excellent sports show hosted by Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell – the first Black woman to swim for Great Britain – and a new music series by Nick Grimshaw and Annie Mac. Plus there’s one of the wildest tales we’ve heard in a long time – the story of a Northumberland-based dolphin sex scandal. It’s an astonishing, tragicomic listen, despite there being one thing that almost no one could accuse it of: containing any useful life advice. Never mind, there’s plenty of that elsewhere this week.
Alexi Duggins
Deputy TV editor
Picks of the week
Hooked on Freddie
Widely available, episodes weekly
“An indecent act, a sexual act: man … and dolphin.” So runs this podcast’s summary of the wild 1990 scandal it follows. Freddie the dolphin delighted locals in a Northumberland town and developed a special bond with an animal activist, who spent all his time swimming with him – until he was accused of “masturbating” the dolphin, arrested, put on trial and dragged across the tabloid front pages. It’s funny, tragic and gripping all at once. Alexi Duggins
Sidetracked With Annie and Nick
BBC Sounds, episodes weekly
Annie Macmanus and Nick Grimshaw (pictured above) look at the week’s music and culture news in this topical show. It’s being recorded so close to launch that no previews were available, but we’re promised a deep dive into their musical obsessions, guest artists and “access to the biggest events.” Given the hosts, it will no doubt be lots of fun. AD
Physical Capital
Widely available, episodes weekly
This new season of the excellent sports podcast focuses on swimming and Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell, the first Black woman to swim for Great Britain, is on hosting duties. She explores why people get in the water and how it makes them feel as well as looking at the myths around race and swimming. Hannah Verdier
Adventures in Nutopia
Widely available, episodes weekly
David Bramwell’s podcast exploring radical ideas and social movements is back with four hour-long documentaries. There are shamanic pop experiences, experiments on plants and guests such as the Eden Project’s Sir Tim Smit talking poetically about the climate crisis and power. An absorbing, thought-provoking listen. HV
The Reason We’re All Still Here
Widely available, episodes weekly
Sure, a podcast about how to prevent global catastrophes hosted by a nuclear expert was never going to be a barrel of laughs. But Dr Jeffrey Lewis continues to make it engaging and light (enough) in his latest series – this time unpicking issues such as the space debris crisis, nuclear waste and the potential for Russia and the US to work together. Hollie Richardson
There’s a podcast for that
This week, Charlie Lindlar chooses five of the best podcasts on history retold, from feminist rethink of “the Ripper myth” to a six-part Guardian series on the transatlantic slave trade.
Revisionist History
A “journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood” from acclaimed author Malcolm Gladwell, each of the eight seasons (and counting) of Revisionist History takes a look at the record books and wonders: what if we got it wrong? From the story of US air force general Curtis LeMay’s bombings of Japan in 1945, which killed 500,000 civilians – “LeMay didn’t get tried as a war criminal, he got promoted,” Gladwell remarks – to making the theoretical case for permitting the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports, this is a show which leaves few stones unturned.
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Bad Women: The Ripper Retold
In this 15-part podcast Historian Hallie Rubenhold and journalist Alice Fiennes explore how a Victorian serial killer who preyed on women remained glamourised decades later – and why so little is said of his victims. This feminist rethink of “the Ripper myth” interrogates our visceral fascination with murder, eschews the mystique around the killer’s identity and instead profiles the lives lost to his crimes. A second series, on the lesser-known “Blackout Ripper” Gordon Cummins, who took advantage of the Blitz to murder women in London, came out last year.
Stuff the British Stole
Surprisingly lighthearted for a podcast about the brutality of the British empire, Stuff the British Stole tells the “sometimes funny, often tragic” truth about the plunder of wealth, artefacts and culture that took place in the name of empire. Hosted by broadcaster Marc Fennell, the show investigates the story behind items that sit in our museums like the Benin bronzes or Parthenon marbles – right down to the small: rum collections of stately homes, and even pekingese dogs. Illustrating the sheer scale of empire-era theft in gut-wrenching but accessible fashion, the third series began in June this year.
History Becomes Her
From forgotten female freedom fighters to America’s first black female federal judge and murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, this Mashable podcast series asks listeners to question why history so often underrates the roles women have played in building a better world. Presented by journalist Rachel Thompson alongside weekly guests such as former Stonewall head Ruth Hunt on lost LGBTQ+ heroes and writer Zing Tsjeng in praise of pirate queens, look no further for a show featuring world-changing women.
Cotton Capital
Part of this year’s Guardian project investigating the business connections of its founding editor, John Edward Taylor, to the transatlantic slave trade, this six-part series reveals the history of Manchester that isn’t taught in schools. With episodes visiting former plantations and descendents of the enslaved to making the case for reparations, this expose of the enduring legacy of slavery in Britain makes for an impactful, perspective-changing listen. There’s even an accompanying 15-part newsletter too, which you can sign up to receive from the very start here.
Why not try …
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What Could Go Right, a weekly dose of optimistic ideas from smart people, whether it’s the latest news from the White House, the state of global warming or the struggle for freedom in Iran.
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A madcap gameshow, Tell Me About It sees Adal Rifai, an eccentric billionaire, forcing someone new every episode to share, argue, and defend the thing they love the most.
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In the Wellbeing Lab, pop star and actor Will Young explores mental health with the help of listeners and experts.