PB: TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW SHOW! WHAT CHANGES HAS THE MOVE TO A PURE PODCAST FORMAT BROUGHT ABOUT?

Simon Mayo: Well, it’s everything and nothing really. On the one hand, it’s the same because we are still just chatting about films, life, getting distracted by avocados and elementary physics etc, but delivering a number of pods a week has obviously modernised what we do, breaking it down into more digestible chunks. So hopefully the heritage listeners feel well served, and the new listeners feel fabulously welcome.

Mark Kermode: We also have a new studio with a new neon sign – which obviously you can’t see when you’re listening to the podcast. But take my word for it, it’s there. And it makes a huge difference to the listening experience. HUGE.

WERE YOU TEMPTED TO TRY SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT OR WAS IT A CASE OF “IF IT AIN’T BROKE…”?

MK: Wherever we go, and whatever we do, there’s no getting away from the fact that this show is essentially me and Simon sitting in a room, talking to each other about movies (and now ‘cinema-adjacent’ TV) with occasional bickering and a huge amount of input from the listeners. That’s it – that’s the show. So it’s not just that ‘it ain’t broke’, it’s more that ‘it is what it is’. You can take or leave it, but you can’t really change it.

SM: I don’t do “completely different”.

HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO YOU TO KEEP THE SAME PRODUCTION TEAM TOGETHER FOR THE NEW SHOW?

SM: Was this question inserted and written by the production team? Sure sounds like it. No one normal asks that question! However, the answer is yes. Continuity in an upheaval is a good thing and this team has worked with us since forever. The heritage of the program is very important and so understanding that is absolutely essential in crafting the next steps.

MK: Well obviously it’s a huge relief to the listeners that we are still subject to the whims of the Redactor in Chief, meaning that there’s someone reining in all the nonsense. From our point of view, it’s very reassuring to have the same production team because we know that they understand the show, and they get what works about it. Also it means that we can keep using running jokes that are way past their tell-by date, so that’s a bonus.

AS RADIO VETERANS, HOW EASY DID YOU FIND ADJUSTING TO THE WORLD OF PODCASTING IN THE EARLY DAYS?

SM: We didn’t even know it was happening. Someone just said it was being turned into a podcast and we said ok. Whatever that is, it sounds like a good idea. So yes, we were early adopters even if we had no idea what we were doing.

MK: Extremely easy, not least because we’ve been doing the show as a podcast for years. In fact, one of the reasons we moved to Sony was because both Simon and I were aware that if someone said something nice to us about the show it was always ‘love the podcast’ as opposed to ‘love the broadcast’. It began life as a radio show but it’s been gradually mutating into a podcast that happened to be broadcast for many years. Also, it feels really liberating not to have to break for news and sport, which would always take priority on the radio, as indeed they should.

WHAT’S THE SECRET TO YOUR LONGEVITY AS A DUO?

SM: Having very clearly defined roles is helpful. There is only one critic and only one host. My main job is to ask the questions you at home are asking. It’s a choric role, akin to the ancient Greek Chorus explaining what on earth is happening to the audience. So, when Mark is being incomprehensible, I have to step in. That is my job, to interrupt on behalf of the nation.

MK: Simon is the best broadcaster in the world and so from my point of view it’s been a simple matter of shackling my wagon to his star and refusing to let go. To me he’s more than just a friend and colleague; he’s a pension plan.

FINALLY, COULD YOU RECOMMEND A PODCAST AWAY FROM THE WORLD OF FILM & TV?

MK: Pod Save America is my favourite podcast. It has seen me through the grotesque insanity of the Trump years, and it continues to be the best, most accessible, and most entertaining explanation of US politics. It’s addictive and I would advise everyone to subscribe.

SM: Other podcasts? Really? OK well I like The Rest Is History with Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, Unholy with Jonathan Freedland and Yonit Levy and Get Onto My Cloud, Tim Rice’s podcast.

Listen to Kermode & Mayo’s Take on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other popular podcast apps >> 

Find more interviews with your favourite podcasters in the Pod Bible Magazine >>

The post THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO… Kermode & Mayo appeared first on POD BIBLE.

The official British singles chart turned 70 last year, and while we’re all obviously delighted for that venerable institution to celebrate its Platinum Jubilee it should probably be looking over its shoulder. There’s another numerical ranking that might one day overtake it as the barometer of exactly what the nation is thinking about and feeling: the podcast charts.

There are a few different podcast charts around, and they all seem to have slightly different ideas of what’s popular and who’s going, as Smash Hits used to put it, down the dumper. For this article, we’re going by the Apple Podcasts chart, and this is just a snapshot of things as they stand this month. That said, there’s a fair few instant hits, which have clamped themselves to the upper reaches of the charts on launch and might be difficult to dislodge.

The Diary of a CEO

Part business heavyweight, part new age sage, all podcast behemoth, Dragons’ Den’s Steven Bartlett is Britain’s highest profile example of a very 2020s archetype: the CEO who’s almost as much a spiritual leader as someone who knows how to stick a business together. His podcast is all about finding that thing every business leader with their LinkedIn recommendations likes to talk about now, purpose, with the help of guests who’ve been down to the bottom as well as up at the top, much like him. Listen now >>

The Rest is Politics

One of the many unexpected narrative turns of British politics in the last few years is the rebirth of Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart as centrist dads with a runaway hit podcast reflecting on domestic and international politics twice a week. Originally pitched as a classic odd couple dynamic – Campbell the trenchant Labour scrapper, Stewart the old Etonian liberal Tory – the reason it works is actually that they realise they’re so similar, and happy to do what they call ‘disagreeing agreeably’. They’re both fuming with the government, for one thing, and both good at taking a global view on the news. Listen now >>

The Therapy Crouch

After sewing up the football podcast game, Peter Crouch of – let me check my notes here – The Peter Crouch Podcast has planted a long, surprisingly cultured foot into relationships podcasts. If you’re doing a relationship pod these days you’ve got to do it with your real life partner, and Abbey Clancy is ideal for it: funny, opinionated, and only too happy to take the mick out of her husband. Each time they dissect a difficulty your love life might throw up, from working out when to move in together to the perfect proposal. Listen now >>

Sh**ged Married Annoyed

Of course, The Therapy Crouch follows in the footsteps of the relationship pod that set the new agenda: Chris and Rosie Ramsey’s giant hit passed 100 million downloads more than a year ago, and doesn’t look like it’ll slow down any time soon. The format is loose and freewheeling, the better to let the Ramseys’ easy chat flow and bring forth the relatable laughs about the day to day irritations and agitations your nearest and dearest are so good at landing in your life. Listen now >>

The News Agents

BBC heavyweights Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall all left the corporation earlier this year to lead Global’s banner current affairs pod, and even this early on in proceedings it looks like the gamble’s paying off. Through the late Johnson collapse, the Tory leadership scramble, the Truss interregnum and the Sunak ultimatum, they’ve been around Westminster and the party conferences reporting with authority and confidence. Listen now >>

The Rest is History

The other big hit in the Goalhangers production house stable sees historians Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland (not that one) digging through corners of history both familiar and obscure, and also using it as a means to look at current affairs with a longer view than most other podcasts tend to take. The series of World Cup-themed specials, which dive deep into a slice of a competing nation’s history, have been particularly good. Listen now >>

Off Menu

You know your podcast is doing quite well when you collab with a menswear brand on a run of tie-in t-shirts. Ed Gamble and James Acaster’s food pod is that kind of big, and you can see its popularity in the rash of podcasts where guests think up a fantasy thing: festival line-up, film screenings, that sort of thing. But Off Menu still does it best, and draws on guests as varied as Stanley Tucci, Rina Sawayama, Ed Sheeran and Rylan – plus Rylan’s mum, who called in during their recording because she was worried he’d died. Listen now >>

ZOE Science and Nutrition

The breakout health and science podcast in the UK became what it is with a very simple idea: if you ask questions people are worried about, and have them answered by experts, listeners will flock to you. Each time presenter Jonathan Wolf takes one question – what’s the best natural sugar alternative? Is dairy good or bad for you? How do ultra-processed foods affect your body? – and sits down with a scientist or health professional to talk over the latest research. It’s reassuringly clerical and straightforward, but never hectoring. Listen now >>

Scamanda

Amanda Riley is dying of cancer. Everyone knows that. It’s heartbreaking, especially given that she’d just got her life exactly how she wanted it: the perfect husband, the perfect house, the perfect life. But as that none too subtle portmanteau title implies, all is not what it seems. Amanda’s friends and family believe her, though, and start to raise money for her treatments – more than $100,000. Over the seven years she kept up the charade, the lengths that she goes to to keep her ruse going become more and more extreme. Listen now >>

Brydon &

Aw, lovely, cuddly Rob Brydon. There are more than enough interview podcasts out there, but Brydon’s is more than just another rush job with a shoehorned plug for whatever the guest is promoting. His easy warmth and feel for a story make podcasting an obvious home for him, but interestingly, Brydon’s often at his best as an interviewer when his guest pushes back a little, and encourages him into comic running battles with a gently waspish edge. Steve Coogan’s recent appearance is a case in point. The third series of his chats has pushed him back up the charts. Listen now >>

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Ready for more recommendations? Make sure you check out our lists in the Recommendation section.

This article was originally published in December 2022 and last updated on 1st August 2023.

The post The 10 most popular podcasts in the UK appeared first on POD BIBLE.

But maybe you’re looking to get some metal, punk, hip hop and ska into your earholes. These are some of my favourite alternative music podcasts – bonus points for diversity in music culture!

Shout Louder

Originally an online punk magazine, founder Sarah Williams added the Shout Louder Punk Podcast to her repertoire of projects. She brings ‘the view from down the front,’ for those of us missing the mosh pit right now. Check out the recent live episode if you want to see if Robin Leitch from Random Hand and Dani Rascal from Faintest Idea can resolve their differences over a game of thumb war. Listen now >>

Hell Bent for Metal

Just as it is refreshing to hear female voices finally from the punk and metal scene, it is also invigorating to hear those from the LGBTQIA+ community. This weekly podcast will grab you from episode one, adorably entitled Gay Satanic Love Songs. Hell Bent for Metal gives you the LGBTQIA+ perspective on metal, and metal moments that have touched this community, and of course, lots and lots of Rob Halford (the Judas Priest frontman who, for an age and a half, seemed like the only gay metaller). Listen now >>

The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip Hop

This podcast makes it to the list because of the undeniable influences and amazing collaborations between the worlds of hip hop and rock. Who doesn’t love Walk this Way (Run DMC/Aerosmith)? Or Numb/Encore (Jay Z/Linkin Park)?! Hosted by Nas (one of the greatest 90s rappers) and Asian American journalist Miss Info, and with guests such as Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Mary J. Blige, Cypress Hill and Salt-N-Pepa, this podcast is a nostalgic walk through the 90s on the path that hip hop took from underground resistance genre to worldwide phenomenon. Listen now >>

That’s Not Metal

Although the title of this podcast puts me in mind of those guys who demand you name three songs of the band whose t-shirt you’re wearing to prove you’re a real fan, this podcast is anything but toxic masculinity. For a start, their occasionally changing line up of hosts includes the wonderful Sam, the non-binary metal fan. Launched in the early era of podcasts (yes, all the way back in 2015), it is the perfect place for honest album and festival reviews. Don’t know where to start out of their 435 episodes and counting? Try one of their annual Albums of the Year episodes. Listen now >>

The Dummy Room

With a Ramones-style theme tune and a tagline referencing veterans Screeching Weasel, it is clear off the bat that you are going to get some classic, 3-chord, fast-paced punk from this podcast. As hosts Jody and Nate play full songs (sure they are punk songs, so on average about 1:28 mins long), this podcast feels more like listening to a pirate radio station. Discover your next favourite underground punk band, support their work by buying their merch and look super cool at your next gig/embarrass your kids at the next parent’s evening. Listen now >>

Ska UK

If you love when metal and ska meet, treat yourself to Play Some Ska by Random Hand. Yes, that’s the second Random Hand mention, and yes, I might be obsessed with them. But also, check out this podcast. Hosts Lester and Sandra wrap up all the ska music, culture and fashion each month and tie it up with a bow in the form of musical interludes, again making it sound more like a radio station. There have been no episodes in 2023, so let’s hope this isn’t the end of ska in the UK. Listen now >>

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The post 6 of the best alternative music podcasts with diverse voices appeared first on POD BIBLE.

When my own commute to work was shortened from an hour on a train down to the 30 second walk from my bedroom to my home office, with it went my traditional time for enjoying podcasts. As I began to adjust to my lifestyle in quarantine, what I definitely did not expect were for podcasts to fill a void, a sense of loneliness that I (nor probably anyone else) was prepared to handle. I may never be able to thank enough the hosts of the shows that got me through 2020, who went with me on my daily walks, who spoke quietly to me when the existential dread snuck in at night, who joined me for my morning coffee when I wasn’t quite ready to open a computer yet. I wish I could offer them something more than gratitude, but gratitude is all this year has left me with.

10. Reply All

The day I received word that my office was closed until further notice, I was in the car with my dog heading back to New York for a family emergency unrelated to the emergency the world was currently spiraling into. A dear friend calmly listened to me panic-pack my car and my request for something to listen to on my six-hour car ride and sent me Reply All’s episode 158, “The Case of the Missing Hit”. This mind-boggling journey to discover how a listener has been singing a 90’s song no one knows or has ever heard of for most of his life. “This is wild,” I thought on March 12th. Frankly, I had no idea HOW wild.

9. The Last Bohemians

I’d written about my unabashed love of the first series of The Last Bohemians and the brilliance of Kate Hutchinson towards the end of 2019. So I was thrilled that Series 2 carried me over into the first month of quarantine, sharing stories of extraordinary women who had overcome obstacles, including society’s expectations of them to lead the kind of wild, beautiful lifestyle I’d always dreamt of having myself. A programme like Bohemians also helped to keep my imagination running at a time when it started to feel hard to picture a world outside of the nightmare of the virus.

8. Tuesday Night Jaw

In May, I wrote about how proud I was to see my friend Matt Richards taking over for Jim Smallman on the wrestling-focused Distractions Pieces Network show. (Side note: Matt now works with Tony Jameson on something called Football Manager Therapy, which I love even though I have no earthly idea what they’re talking about.) What Matt did with the show was wonderful, and what Kirsty Bosley has done since she took over from Matt is equally delightful and so important in the wake of the #SpeakingOut movement in wrestling. While I’ve distanced myself from wrestling as a whole for personal reasons, TNJ remains a powerful program and a beacon of positivity for an industry trying desperately to find its way to rebirth after a powerful awakening this past summer.

7. The Streets Will Remember

There’s nothing I love more than a quality recommendation, and at a time when I thought “what if I never make new friends ever again because I can’t leave my house”, a coworker introduced me to Justin and Hani’s show The Streets Will Remember, discussing some of the greatest players in football history. The way they discuss a sport notorious for a fandom that can often be gatekeeper-y is so welcoming and refreshing. Tuning in every week to two friends bantering about the footballer of the week and making lists lead me to explore more of my own fandom and kept me company during some boiling late summer days.

6. Distraction Pieces

It would be really strange if I didn’t mention Scroobius Pip and his Distraction Pieces podcast. I’ve been listening to Pip’s show for years now, so it feels more like Podcast Zero for me; when I need to center myself, I know I can count on this show to deliver. Not only did Pip manage to have an insane year of guests even in lockdown, but his back catalogue is so deep even long-time fans like me still have things to discover. And his intros and outros (or his Films of the Year podcasts, which are just him speaking to his listeners) really help combat the loneliness and feel like a friend is just chatting about their life and the world.

5. Modern Love

I am a sucker for a good story – romantic, sad, surprising, haunting – I love them all. Modern Love has a great format with well-known voices reading the stories of everyday people. My favorites are the stories of redemption, of love lost and found, of people who come back together or find one another later in life. It helps to give hope, especially at a time when it’s easy to feel like there is no future because you can’t see beyond your current circumstances. There will always be an “and then”, and Modern Love is the perfect way to remind ourselves of that.

4. About Race with Reni Eddi-Lodge

Back in June, a lot of people were participating in what’s being called “performative antiracism”, posting black squares on Instagram and skipping all of the necessary education in order to rewire yourself to interact differently with the world around you and change your own awareness. While I did first experience About Race at that time, I find myself revisiting those nine episodes because they are so well-crafted as audio and the lessons within them are worth reminding ourselves of repeatedly: whether our televisions and Twitter feeds are reflecting them or not. The work continues, and it’s important to check back in from time to time.

3. David Tennant Does a Podcast With…

I’m not going to lie, I adore David Tennant. He’s a brilliant actor and the first series of his podcast was so much fun to experience. Series two was such a treat, coming toward the end of the year just as quarantine exhaustion was setting in for me. None of David’s interviews are the same, as his relationship to each guest is different and their own stories vary widely. But even the people I wasn’t expecting to connect with offered me things to think about – and he wrapped 2020 with a brilliant chat with another favorite of mine, Neil Gaiman, and there is nothing wrong with that!

2. Switched on Pop

I’ve already mentioned I love a recommendation and this one came from a friend in the music industry. I just wanted something to keep me company on my walks as the weather got colder, something to motivate me to keep moving. She noted that Vox’s pop music exploration podcast had an old episode about The Sunscreen Song which I might enjoy (being the everything-90’s enthusiast I am) and she was dead right. Every episode of this show I try (and I have gotten into the habit of trying them at random) has surprised and informed me. My walks go by so quickly because of my audio companions that I’ve now started walking even longer just to keep listening.

1. GIANT

There was really no other choice for my number 1 podcast of 2020. GIANT has been my inspiration this year to keep making things, whether I’m writing or podcasting or helping someone else with their passion project. The quality and inventiveness of each episode of this show carries it beyond being a “football” podcast. If you love podcasts and great audio, you will love GIANT, and it will likely help you want to create wonderful things for others (or maybe just yourself!) to enjoy. And if it can do that, its value is immeasurable.

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Jordan Rizzieri is a writer and producer based in New York. You can listen to her I Never Told You What I Do For A Living podcast, or follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

The post The Top 10 Podcasts That Saved Me From Myself in 2020 appeared first on POD BIBLE.