Full Chat launched on 24th April and has had an abundance of  celebrity guests already, including Paul Ainsworth, Kriss Akabusi, Peter Hickman and James Cracknell. The podcast is powered by Bikesure, the UK’s largest specialist motorbike insurer.

We spoke to Iwan and David about podcasting, their dream guests and where to start with their podcast…

David Prutton and Iwan Thomas interview James Cracknell on Full Chat

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

Iwan: I’m Iwan Thomas, a former European, Commonwealth and world champion athlete and I’ve always been a total bike nut. The podcast is about not only my love for bikes but our guest’s life stories of what riding motorbikes brings them.

David: My name is David Prutton, former footballer now presenter and motorbike nut. Now, with the lovely Iwan Thomas, we speak to the great and the good about our shared two-wheeled passion!

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

Iwan: I started to do the podcast because I believe it’s a brilliant way to get across my passion, enthusiasm and love for a subject close to my heart and in doing so chat to like-minded people who also have brilliant stories to share.

David: I love the medium and the pace of it. It’s as thrilling as working on live TV but in a different gear.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

Iwan: There’s a number of different podcasts I like for different reasons but being a father of three at the moment I really love listening to Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe.

David: I Love SmartLess, The Rest is Entertainment, Not The Top 20 (NTT20) and Armchair Expert.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

Iwan: I think my dream guest for Full Chat would be Valentino Rossi.

David: We’ve had some corkers so far but would I love Ewan McGregor or, on a totally unrelated non-bike vibe, Robert Plant. I LOVE (Led) Zeppelin!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

Iwan: The biggest lesson I’ve learned so far as a podcaster is don’t let Kriss Akabusi on the mic for too long!

David: More succinct questions!

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

Iwan: I’ve enjoyed all of our episodes so far, but if you want energy and excitement listen to the Kriss Akabusi one, which was our second episode.

David: Kriss Akabusi on episode two; energetic, irreverent and passionate!

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

Iwan: Probably the best place to find out more about me would be on my social media, @iwanrunner.

David: Wherever you get your podcasts from, and via socials!

Listen to Full Chat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and other popular podcast apps >>

The post Iwan Thomas and David Prutton: Full Chat shares a love for motorbikes appeared first on POD BIBLE.

And, apart from that, the Wittertainment bubble is so completely full of in-jokes, well-trodden anecdotes and cosy back-and-forths that it feels like it delivers as satisfying a podcasting experiences as it’s possible to find.

And yet. There’s always room for more Kermode and Mayo, and they’ve both struck out to do their own thing on the podcasts, whether hosting or guesting. The broader Kermode-Mayo Podcasting Universe – the KMPU, if you will – is still expanding.

Perhaps understandably, given Mayo has his drivetime show to be getting on with, Kermode has the most outside podcast action going on. Here’s where to start with their extracurricular podcasting.

Simon Mayo’s Confessions: Eddie’s Meaty Mishap

Now revived on his Greatest Hits Radio show, the Confessions feature was a big part of Mayo’s days on Radio 2 and there are loads of compilation episodes to dig into from those days. The idea isn’t too dissimilar to Fern Brady and Alison Spittle’s Wheel of Misfortune – listeners email in with their tales of misfortune and shame, everyone has a laugh – but here, there’s no guarantee that anyone’s going to be forgiven for their sins. You could pick any at random and have a lovely time, but this one’s a doozy: a dad accidentally forces his child to eat all the gristle from an awful dinner he didn’t want, while someone else wants absolution for flooding their school. Listen now >>

Kermode on Film: debbie tucker green

Kermode’s podcast feels a bit like when someone from a band starts putting out solo records where they get to do the stuff they don’t get to in the day job band. Here he mostly does interviews, either one to one or recorded at his regular MK3D shows at the BFI in London. In part it’s a way of giving writers, directors and actors who are deeply respected in the industry but have so far remained slightly under the radar of your average multiplex-goer. A case in point is debbie tucker green, one of our most inquisitive and exploratory playwrights and directors, who gives a rare and engaging interview here. Listen now >>

Inheritance Tracks

Mayo doesn’t tend to do many guest slots on other people’s pods, but in 2018, he popped up on Saturday Live’s regular Inheritance Tracks feature to talk about The Nightmare Song from Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sullivan and Graceland by Paul Simon. He’s often forthcoming with opinions, but less so with more personal stuff. Here, though, he’s very open. Mayo often finds himself conducting along to The Nightmare Song in exactly the way his dad used to, he says: “So I’ve not only inherited the music, I’ve inherited the mannerisms too.” Listen now >>

Screenshot: Box Office Bombs

Hosted with film journalist Ellen E Jones, Kermode’s other podcast is a magazine-style show which takes a different cinematic phenomenon or genre as its subject each week. There have been episodes about trains on film, the screen presence of Elvis Presley, and indigenous peoples’ film traditions. But the best so far has been this one on box office bombs. There’s a ghoulish fascination with the sheer scale of failure which a truly massive flop can achieve, and the industry-bending gravitational waves the biggest can send rippling across cinema. Jones and Kermode dissect the biggest of them – Warren Beaty’s Ishtar – and draw up rules studios can follow to dodge a flop. Listen now >>

To learn more about Mayo and Kermode, their love of podcasts, and their new show, read our interview in Issue 22 of the Pod Bible Magazine now!

The post Top Guest Appearances: Kermode and Mayo in the broader podcast universe appeared first on POD BIBLE.

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 >> 

The post 21 New podcasts to add to your queue this June appeared first on POD BIBLE.

So, it’d be understandable if you need a little recap – and there are a lot of podcasts ready to help.

Know all there is to know about the Shelby gang? There are behind the scenes stories aplenty here too, from actors, directors and showrunner Steven Knight, and historians telling the true stories behind the series too.

Of course, the end of Peaky Blinders as we know it isn’t the end of the Shelby saga. There’s a film to come, and a potential spin-off too, so now’s the best time to find your favourite Peaky pod.

Obsessed with… Peaky Blinders

If you want behind the scenes stories, this is where to come. Ahead of season five, Digital Spy’s Laurence Mozafari sat down with pretty much everyone involved for this BBC podcast – Steven Knight, Cillian Murphy, director Anthony Byrne and loads besides – to explore how that season came together, as well as recapping everything that’s happened so far with the directors of seasons one to four. It’s as close as Peaky’s got to an official pod, so it’s very on-brand – but that also means the access is second to none. LISTEN NOW >> 

By Order of the Peaky Blinders

This is the best of the Peaky fan podcasts. Hosts Daniel and Josh break down every episode, leak, rumour and trailer – a thankless task at times over the barren couple of years since the end of season five – and interview fan favourites from the Peaky-verse including Johnny Dogs actor Packy Lee and Emmett J Scanlan. They’re well informed, passionate and lovingly critical. LISTEN NOW >>

Cillian Murphy’s Limited Edition

Two of the biggest draws of Peaky are the tunes and lovely Cillian Murphy. So, what more could a Peaky fan want than to luxuriate in both for a couple of hours? Murphy pieces together playlists for BBC 6Music show in his basement somewhere outside the Dublin suburbs and they’re eclectic in the extreme, ranging from funk and jazz to afrobeat and spoken word. But everything he plays has a nocturnal, owlish feel to it. LISTEN NOW>>

Previously On… Peaky Blinders

The Previously On… podcast runs through the back catalogue of a big series before pivoting to a week-by-week recap as its newest series lands. Most recently that’s included Succession and Westworld, and it dipped into peaky back in 2019 too. Annoyingly, that means it pulls up short at the end of season four but with the amount of double-, triple-, and quadruple-crossing that went down that season, it’s certainly the season most in need of a forensic analysis. LISTEN NOW >>

History Extra podcast: The Real Peaky Blinders

The Peaky-verse provides rich pickings for history podcasters. The Blinders themselves existed, and as the inspirations for the Shelby clan come from a real crime family called the Sheldons, quite a few podcasts have dived into the true story behind the show. Dan Snow’s History Hit did another good dive into the underworld of postwar Birmingham too, with historian and Peaky grandson Prof Carl Chinn. But our pick is History Extra’s chat with Prof Andrew Davies, who specialises in the history of crime. He digs into how late Victorian society created the conditions for organised crime to flourish, and how the gangs themselves were organised. LISTEN NOW >> 

Oh! What a Lovely Podcast: Peaky Blinders

Go on then – one more history pod. Emma Hanna from the University of Kent joins the team of Oh! What a Lovely Podcast, which examines the unexpected ways that the First World War has influenced pop culture and the ways in which pop culture has coloured how we’ve seen the conflict since. This one’s a little looser and more relaxed than History Extra, and focuses more on the ways that trauma and violence changed the men who fought in the First World War and thereby changed British society. LISTEN NOW >>

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And yet, food podcasting is massive. There’s a banquet table stuffed with food podcasts waiting for you out there. Table Manners kicked down the kitchen door; Off Menu burst through it, and surfed the wave of food podcasts which followed to become one of the biggest podcasts in the UK.

It’s food’s universality and specificity which makes it such a handy and bottomless topic to build a podcast around. You probably eat three times a day, maybe have some snacks. So, hopefully, do most other people.

But the infinite number of ways of eating, and what’s eaten, and why, make it one of the easiest ways to talk about big, complicated things like identity, class, childhood, family, and different cultures around the country and around the world. Bon appetit.

Off Menu

Well, obviously. Ed Gamble and James Acaster’s dream restaurant has welcomed the likes of Bob Mortimer, Louis Theroux and Claudia ‘I’ve never drunk water in my life’ Winkleman over the last three years, as well as half the stand-ups who Gamble and Acaster have bumped into on the circuit. Guests build a dream menu – poppadoms or bread, then starter, main, dessert, side and drink, not in that order – and bicker about it for an hour. A juggernaut. Listen >>

Table Manners

Again: well, obviously. It’s less about the celeb interviews, and more about the homely vibe which Lennie and Jessie Ware evoke from their kitchen, with each chat at the dinner table soundtracked click-clacking of cutlery on plates and scraping chairs. The interviews aren’t bad though. Paul McCartney’s been chatting pretty much non-stop for 60 years now, and thanks to Table Manners we’ve only just found out that he does eye yoga. Listen >>

Lecker

The name means ‘delicious’ in German, and there’s an appropriately international bent to Lecker. The stories and interviews come in different forms – sometimes it’s an essay-style consideration of the lockdown sourdough boom, other times an in-the-field bit of reportage on the World Bonnag Championships on the Isle of Man, and occasionally interviews with chefs and writers about the food culture they know best. Listen >>

Home Cooking

Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat is more than just a gigantic cookbook and endearingly goofy Netflix travelogue doc. It’s a kindly, beckoning hand through hundreds of different cooking techniques and essential recipes. Nosrat kept that vibe when she teamed up with Song Exploder’s Hrishikesh Hirway for this pandemic lockdown project which gives callers ideas of what to make. Apologies if those vibes are simply too cursed for you to contemplate absorbing, but this is a great place to pick up an upbeat jolt of kitchen inspiration. Listen >>

Dinner For One

New Yorker Sutanya Dacres had the archetypal fairytale romance with a French dude, fell in love, got married and moved to Paris. Unfortunately it ended in separation. This lo-fi podcast from her tiny Parisian kitchen is about both food and how she’s moved through heartbreak while getting her head around living in a foreign country. It’s a soothing, meditative listen, and Dacres is a great companion. Listen >>

Have you enjoyed the podcasts on this list? Check out the newest version of this list ‘6 more of the best foodie podcasts‘!

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The ever-evolving landscape of gaming is still in its infancy with new teams popping up like weeds in the garden fighting over new and undiscovered talent. Where will the road lead with new introductions into the gaming space such as Virtual reality? Will you physically be able to take part? There are so many questions, here are 7 of the best gaming podcasts to help satisfying that insatiable desire:

Gamertag Radio

Releasing episodes since February 2005, there is nobody more clued in to gaming news and reviews than Gamertag Radio.  The learned podcasting trio, Danny Peña, Peter Toledo and Parris Lilly bring you everything new and exclusive happening in the industry.  If you want to stay informed, this is where you want to be. Listen now on Acast >>>

Retronauts

Ever been intrigued by the history of games? Retronauts has you covered exploring more than 40 years of vintage gaming excellence.  From pixelated Pokemon battles to high resolution Call of Duty wars, they will explain how these games came to fruition. A truly in depth insight that never gets boring! Listen now on Acast >>>

Podcast Unlocked

The battle of the gaming consoles has been fought more fiercely than the Cold War. If your heart happens to be green and you side with the Xbox army, then you have found your clan from Halo to Gears of War, this podcast is for you. Hosted by the IGN Network, weekly episodes are released giving you everything Xbox. Listen now on Acast >>>

What’s Good Games

With over 30 years of video game industry experience Andrea Rene, Brittany Brombacher and Kristine Steimer break down the week’s news, exclusives and gossip in a passionately humorous manner. A very smart and intelligent take on the industry, these 3 women have me both laughing and informed. Listen now >>>

Sacred Symbols

If PlayStation is your weapon of choice, then industry past masters, Colin Moriarty, Chris Maldonado and Dustin Furman further conspire to indoctrinate you in the ways of Sony. Weekly episodes are  humorously packaged to include news, recommendations and audience Q & A’s. The trio are so amicable that you feel part of the conversation! Listen now on Acast >>>

The Psychology of Video Games

Jamie Madigan explores the convergence  between video games and psychology. Each episode features an expert specialising in different aspects of gaming psychology.  For example, episode 29 deals with morality and moral choices in video games.  With a warm and intellectual interview style, the information conveyed is extremely clear and concise. I could not recommend this podcast more highly! Listen now >>>

Rebel FM

If you are more interested in the intersection between video games and everyday life then this podcast is for you. Industry experts discuss the influences of video game culture, movies, and books on their personal lives.  Each episode is a nostalgic trip to distant memories or discovering new future favourites! Listen now on Acast >>>

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