21 New podcasts to add to your queue this June

Refreshed from a long Jubilee weekend, I’m back with an epic list of new podcasts to keep your download list full of the best shows. It’s been an exciting couple of months for podcasts new and old – and new versions of old shows. Without further ado, this is what’s New This Month…

New Pods

Gay Pride & Prejudice

This Spotify Original is a modern interpretation of – you guessed it – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Set in the United States, it’s 2015 and same-sex marriage is finally legal. Whilst his friends are excited to get married, Bennett is more exited about the future drama of gay divorces. But when the hottest pop star alive, Carlos Bingley arrives in Bennett’s small town, things are about to change. Starring Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Rosie O’Donnell this is a lot of fun – my personal favourite moment so far is when the Adderall kicks in. Listen now >>

Burnout

Levels of burnout are reaching an all-time high and the pandemic has only made things worse. In this show from Mindful and Lemonada Media, YouTube star Connor Franta explores the story of burnout. As a show from a company that’s dedicated to ‘sharing the gifts of mindfulness’, I expected this to be a fairly standard offering. But Connor is an engaging host and brings his own story into the mix. The first episode goes deep and looks at the history of burnout, and an emotional case study recorded from the hospital. Listen now >>

The Spying Game

Broadcaster, satirist and impressionist Rory Bremner is hosting a brand new podcast, The Spying Game, packed with fictional Hollywood spy tales and real-life espionage. With guests from Hollywood, literary figures and even real-life espionage experts, this tries to separate the facts from the fiction. As a spy enthusiast and someone who makes a living pretending to be other people, Rory is a great choice of host. The podcast really utilises Rory’s impressionist talents. Don’t skip the teaser trailers for this one – you get something a little bit different! Listen now >>

Square Hole

Square Hole is a podcast about neurodiversity, employment and the creative industries, and aims to be an audio narrative of what it means to be neurodiverse in the industry. Through conversations with guests from various areas of the arts, it guides listeners through the whole journey of leaving university, finding out a diagnosis, getting creative work, and working out the creative process. All episodes dropped in one go and listeners can use them as a resource for their own journey. Listen now >>

Looking For Esther

One of the much-awaited podcasts to come out of Spotify’s 2019 Sound Up Programme, Looking for Esther is something of an investigative memoir. Esther Robertson, a Scottish woman of colour, had three different names before she was three years old. After a difficult couple of years that included a cancer diagnosis, Esther decided she wanted to know more about her parents and past. Through chats with her partner and talks with professionals, we get to see some of her journey unfold. You can hear the creators talk about making the show on the Pod Bible Podcast. Looking For Esther is a Spotify exclusive. Listen now >> 

The Superhero Complex

This podcast has been out since April, but it made me want to watch Kickass again so I thought it was worthy of highlighting. It documents the rise and fall of a real-life crime-fighting vigilante. Phoenix Jones was the leader of The Rain City Superhero Movement in Seattle. It began with helping to catch petty criminals and defusing public nuisances, but it led to a charge of selling MDMA to undercover cops. Host David Weinberg enters the unbelievable universe of real superheroes and costumed crusaders. The story takes him from Buenos Aires to Tokyo as he asks – was Phoenix a super villain all along? Listen now >>

Quite Unsuitable for Females

To mark this summer’s UEFA Women’s Championship, this five-part series from the UK’s National Football Museum tackles the myths and busts the stereotypes about women in football. Working with MIC Media, the podcast has been put together with a host of young community producers to bring to the surface some of the secrets of the women’s game. This is a great podcast for football fans and history fans. Listen now >>

Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff

The first episode of this show features Robert Evans from Behind The Bastards as a guest, and it sets the tone for the type of show you’re in for. But this is the opposite of Evans’ show. A Ronseal name, Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff looks at the people from history who made change, the ones we should be celebrating more. Listen now >> 

Other podcasts for your list:

Deliver Us From Ervil – Deliver Us From Ervil is a stylistic true crime show about a crime family at the centre of a religious safe haven for Mormon fundamentalists. At the centre of the story is Ervil LeBaron, the maniacal cult leader who instigated the infamous “4 O’Clock Murders” in the 1980s. Listen now >> 

Kermode & Mayo’s Take – They’re back, and it’s bigger, and better and larger-er and more-er. Film reviews, TV reviews, and all your conversation around movie and non-movie related stuff. It feels slightly redundant to recommend this given their profile, but for anyone dubious about their move from the BBC, this is worth a follow. Listen now >> 

Run, Bambi, Run – Another 1980s crime investigation, Run, Bambi, Run is an Apple TV podcast that looks into the story of Laurie Bembenek. There’s a lot to unpack in her story: a Playboy bunny-turned-Milwaukee police officer; arrested for the murder of her husband’s ex-wife; and escape from prison. It’s no wonder she became the subject of a Garbage song.  Listen now >>

Not Lost – This travel podcast was born out of heartbreak and a redundancy. Brendan Francis Newman finds solace in travel, and vows to get asked to a stranger’s dinner party in every destination he visits. Listen now >> 

Abuse of Power: State of North Carolina vs. Charles Ray Finch (Audible) – This six-part true crime series from Audible takes us back to 1976 North Carolina. A white country store owner is gunned down in a robbery, and the police jump to arrest Charles Ray Finch, a Black American who protests his innocence. Listen now >> 

Spectre – A swashbuckling space opera, Spectre follows Rho as she escapes from a facility that has been holding her hostage, only to land in the hands of space pirates. Created by Stef Howerton, who also voices the main character, this indy podcast has big production values. Listen now >> 

’93 Women – Another big Audible production looking into a powerful story, ‘93 Women investigates how US law enforcement failed to stop the country’s most dangerous serial killer, Samuel Little, who confessed to murdering 93 women. Listen now >>

The Co-Founder – Valerie and Juliet are best friends and business partners with a video game startup on the verge of failure. They’re being treated like dirt during their fundraising meetings with big-deal finance bros, so they ask a random white guy (Toby Johnson, local barista) to pretend to be a co-founder to clinch the investment cash. Listen now >> 

New Seasons:

Code Switch presents ‘School Colors’

NPR’s flagship show, Code Switch, is one of my go-to shows on race and identity in America. Whilst it usually tackles one topic an episode, this month it’s dropping episodes in collaboration with Brooklyn Deep to cover one story in greater depth. School Colours looks at how race, class, and power shape American cities and schools. In 2019, there was a controversy when a “diversity plan” for a school district in New York was met with anger from local parents. Hosts Mark Winston Griffith and Max Freedman investigate – why would a school district in the middle of Queens – described as the most racially diverse demographics in America –  need a diversity plan? And why would that potential plan be met with such intense opposition? Listen now >> 

Coupledom

Coupledom 2 brings back Idris and Sabrina Elba for another 6 episodes to explore the partnerships of iconic duos from the worlds of sport, film, music, and beyond. With a line-up including Olympic gold medallist Tom Daley and his husband, Rita Ora and her sister/manager Elena Ora and author George R.R. Martin with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal, this is an insight into the cogs of well-oiled couples. Listen now >> 

Soul Music

After a break of a few months, the show asking people to bare their soul through a single song is back. If you haven’t listened to the show before, now is the time to dive in – why not check out our Where To Start? article to help you attack the immense back catalogue.
Listen now >> 

The Skewer – Series 6

Described by host Jon Holmes as a “satirical river of sound”, this season of The Skewer sees Jon incorporate the impassioned voices, sketches and ideas (however big or small) of NHS frontline staff, primary school teachers, railway workers, and even a Track & Trace worker – all who have experienced first-hand the rollercoaster of despair, optimism, and frustration from these turbulent times. Listen now >> 

We Can Be Heroes

Glyn Fussell – King of the London night scene and an LGBTQ+ icon – speaks to other extraordinary misfits who have harnessed the power of being different. Series one snagged interviews with the likes of Beverly Knight and lead singer of Skunk Anasie, Skin. Series Two’s future guests will include Paloma Faith, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and lot’s more! Listen now >>