Adam Richardson, Pod Bible Editor and host of the Pod Bible Podcast, picks out his favourite episodes…
When we started the Pod Bible Podcast back in July 2019, we weren’t entirely sure how long it would last. Was there a market for a podcast about podcasts? Would podcasters want to spend their time recommending other shows for people to listen to? We needn’t have worried. The Pod Bible Podcast has been a joy to work on over the past few years and I’m always blown away by the passion shown by podcast hosts, not only for their own shows but for the podcasts they listen to. Podcasters are famous for their love of talking, and lets not forget that most of them started out as podcast listeners, so getting people to reveal their favourites while letting us behind the curtain of their own shows has been a relatively easy (and very enjoyable) job.
Now we’ve reached our century (Ep 100 with Sweet Bobby out now!) I wanted to take a look back at some of my favourite guests, including hosts of shows I’ve always admired or recording sessions that were particularly memorable. So have a read, have a listen and be sure to get in touch with your favourites over on Twitter.
#001 – No Such Thing As A Fish
Long before we’d secured any studio time and the prospect of recording online was yet to be considered, Stu Whiffen and I met up with NSTAAF’s Dan Schreiber in an empty club in Shoreditch. It was the first ever Pod Bible Podcast recording and I have to admit to being really nervous on the day. Here was me, a bedroom podcaster with a modest number of listeners, sitting with a vastly experienced podcaster who’s show has over half a million subscribers. As expected though Dan was a total pro and afterwards offered to hook us up with more big names in the industry. He’s remained a big supporter of all we do and we loved having him and the rest of the Fish team on the cover of issue #018 back in December.
#003 – Football Ramble
As a Ramble listener since 2008 this was a big moment for me. Not only did we get to meet and chat to some of the guys who’s voices I’ve heard every week for over a decade, we also got to visit their offices and record in their studio. As we’d only just started the show this was very much a ‘pinch me’ moment at the time and it did not disappoint. The Ramble are also one of only two shows who’ve appeared on the Pod Bible Podcast twice, with Kate and Vish appearing on episode #069 to tell us about their new extended lineup.
#009 – Johnny Vaughan
I was an avid watcher of the Big Breakfast back in the 90’s, watching the show through all its iterations, but let’s be honest here, Johnny Vaughan was the best presenter that show had by far. So as you can imagine I was incredibly excited (and more than a little nervous) to meet with Johnny to discuss his Radio X podcast, and recording live with him in Leicester Square’s Radio X studio really added to the occasion. Johnny kept me waiting but when he arrived he was an absolute whirlwind who barely let me get a word in edgeways, and I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
#012 – Off Menu
The first one on the list to be recorded at the very plush Acast studios on Old St, fellow Pod Bible founder Scroobius Pip and I sat down with James and Ed shortly after they’d finished recording their episode with Kamil Nanjani. Obviously it was a joy to meet them both and to discuss their show but what impressed me the most was the amount of free food they’d been sent that their producer Ben had brought in for them to take home. Given Off Menu was only 35ish episodes deep at this point I can only imagine how much free stuff they’re getting sent now. An unsurprisingly fun chat, made all the better by having the opportunity to champion pomegranate seeds to a sceptical Ed and Pip.
#018 – Run Pod
Although I can’t admit to being an avid listener to RunPod I had to include this one as working with Jenni Falconer was an absolute dream. We recorded at the Global studios in Leicester Square (where she’d been on air with Heart FM since 4am) and admitted to feeling a little under the weather at the time. As soon as the mics were live however, she switched into the uber professional broadcaster that she is and I remember being incredibly impressed. This one also sticks in the memory as I had to sprint across London to get there on time and it was a very hot day. Not a good look when you turn up at the studio covered in sweat but there you go.
#032 – The Last Bohemians / #033 – Films To Be Buried With
Recorded in February 2020, these two episodes were recorded together on stage at Kings Place in London for our first (and to date, last) ever live show. Speaking to Kate Hutchinson from The Last Bohemians and Brett Goldstein from Films To Be Buried With on stage together was so much fun and it felt like a big deal to be recording the Pod Bible Podcast in front of a live audience for the first time. Little did we know that live shows would be put on hold almost immediately afterwards…
#048 – The Receipts
The first time I was made aware of The Receipts was when handing out issues of an early Pod Bible at the Underbelly Festival at the South Bank. There I was, handing out mags to a seemingly endless stream of people entering the main venue, totally unaware of who was performing at the time. As the show started and the crowd went wild I quickly discovered who they were watching and instantly added them to my download list. Fast forward a few months and there I am at home chatting to Tolly, Audrey and Milena over zoom about their juggernaut of a show, admiring the chemistry and love that’s abundantly obvious whenever they’re together. After we recorded I asked them if they’d like to be on the cover of the next magazine and to date their issue remains one of our most popular releases.
#054 – Maddie’s Sound Explorers
For any parents of young children, Maddie Moate is most likely a popular figure within their households. Her ‘Do You Know?’ TV show on CBeebies has been a firm favourite with my daughter for a while now and I’m not afraid to admit I’m a big fan too, so when Maddie released her own podcast I was quick to contact her agent to invite her onto the PBP. What followed was a lovely conversation with one of our most enthusiastic guests yet. Sound Explorers is a wonderful podcast for children of all ages and Maddie is the perfect host. As we recorded this one on Zoom I cheekily asked Maddie to say hello to my daughter so I could play the video back to her later that day. Unfortunately I’d managed to stop the recording just before this so I had nothing to show. However, when I mentioned this to Maddie’s agent afterwards she was quick to speak to Maddie who swiftly sent over a personalised video message that my daughter cherishes to this day!
#055 – Simon Mayo’s Books Of The Year
As a long term listener to Simon Mayo, albeit predominantly via his BBC 5Live film podcast with Mark Kermode, I was incredibly excited when the opportunity came to speak to him about his Books Of The Year podcast. I was also incredibly nervous. This guy is a broadcasting legend, having first started at Radio 1 back in 1986, so the old imposter syndrome was thriving as Simon joined my zoom call. As is often the case with these things, I shouldn’t have worried. Simon was kind, interesting and engaged throughout. During the chat about his show, Simon himself touched on imposter syndrome and after the record I mentioned how I’d been suffering myself before speaking with him. He quickly put me at ease by telling me how all the best people suffer from the syndrome and how the people who probably don’t get it, the likes of Donald Trump or Boris Johnson, are the ones who should have something to worry about. That advice has stuck with me since and I’ll always have Simon to thank for making me that little bit calmer on future recording days.
#059 – Masala Podcast
I went into this one with only a passing knowledge of the Masala Podcast, a show that was born through Spotify’s Sound Up programme that featured host Sangeeta Pillai discussing subjects often considered taboo within South Asian culture. I’ll admit to believing this show wasn’t for me but was quickly blown away by Sangeeta’s personality, her passion for her podcast and her determination to create a platform for underrepresented people from her culture. Since recording this episode Sangeeta has become a firm friend of Pod Bible’s, appearing in Issue #014 of the magazine and guesting on the How To Make A Podcast series we created for Himalaya. She’s also guested on another of my podcasts and is always a joy to deal with.
#070 – The Log Books
The Log Books was another podcast I hadn’t delved into properly before I’d met the team behind it, but was instantly intrigued to listen to more episodes afterwards. It’s also one of my favourite stories in terms of how the podcast came together and how the people behind it (Tash Walker, Adam Zmith and Shivane Dave) came together to collaborate on the project. One of the highlights of talking to so many podcasters is finding ones who are clearly so passionate about the subject matter they’ve decided to talk about and are able to use their multitude of talents to spread the word to people who are as yet unaware. The Log Books is probably my favourite example of that.
#079 – Cuddle Club
I was intrigued before going into this podcast with comedian Lou Sanders. Was she as charmingly bonkers as she appeared on screen? Yes. Yes she was, and I had a brilliant time talking to her. Sometimes it takes a little while for a guest to open up or stray away from the pre prepared answers they’ve given a hundred times, but chatting to Lou felt like chatting to someone I’d known for years. I’ve said it before on the show but since moving exclusively to remote records I’ve often found that guests feel more comfortable when recording in the surroundings of their own home, and Lou was no exception. One of the funniest conversations I’ve had, even though we had to cut an awful lot of it out!
#082 – The Joe Wicks Podcast
I’ve been doing Joe Wicks workouts for about five years now and in part have him to thank for keeping me both physically and mentally healthy during the pandemic. While I used to enjoy his quirky cooking vids on instagram when he first started out, it was a joy to see him reach national treasure status by becoming the “nations PE teacher” during lockdown. For many, Joe’s podcast was a classic example of a celebrity stuck at home with nothing better to do but I was surprised by the depth of some of the conversations he had with the likes of Fearne Cotton, Sir Tom Jones and Russell Brand. Although my chat with Joe felt more like being part of a press junket, it was still a pleasure to chat with him and be able to thank him for inspiring me and my daughter to continue to keep fit and active over the past couple of years.
#086 – Zombiemum
Every so often I’ll go into a podcast record believing that the subject matter of the show I’ll be discussing isn’t really aimed at me, and more often than not I’ll come away berating myself for being so close minded. This was a prime example of that. Zombiemum is a show about the psychological effects of having, raising and being children, focusing specifically on host Laura Dockerill’s experience with postpartum psychosis. Although I am a parent, I’ve never been inclined to listen to parenting podcasts and part of me thought the subject matter may be too heavy of a listen. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Firstly, Laura is possibly the warmest and most lovely guest I’ve had on the show and did an amazing job of explaining what she’d been through and the idea behind the podcast. Secondly, the show itself featured some incredible conversations that although may not be fully relevant to my experience, taught me a lot about the human condition and if anything increased my empathy for others, something podcasts can do a phenomenal job of overall. Possibly my favourite conversation since starting this podcast.
#093 – Dane Baptiste Questions Everything
While Zombiemum helped increase my empathy, Dane Baptiste Questions Everything is easily the podcast that has educated me the most over the past few years. Hosted by Dane Baptiste alongside producer Howard Cohen, each episode features three different questions discussed by Dane, Howard and a special guest. The variety of subjects discussed alongside the wide range of guests ensures that each episode offers up something new and keeps you fuelled with fascinating facts and opinions to pass off as your own next time you see your mates. I’d tried to arrange this one a few times before we finally got together for episode #093 and I was not left disappointed. Dane and Howard were great company and at times I had to remember that I wasn’t listening to an episode of their show but was their to ask them questions myself!
So there we go, 100 episodes down, loads of fabulous guests and I cannot wait to see who else we get to speak to over the course of the next 100 episodes. Obviously there were so many more I could have included on this list but no one wants to hear me go on for ever. Thanks for indulging me and please get in touch if there’s a show that has yet to feature that you’d like us to speak to!
