THE BOOK OF JOE – Recent Podcast Highlights #006

Every fortnight, guest writer Joe Ducarreaux picks out his recent podcast highlights in an effort to provide yet more wonderful content for your ears. Joe is an avid podcast listener who has been known to listen to over 40 episodes in just one week. To be honest we’re surprised he found time to write this column…

THIS WEEKS MUST LISTEN:

BEND THE KNEE: A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE PODCAST

It seems, at present, necessary to give praise to a podcast dedicated to Game of Thrones. With the show in its final couple of weeks/episodes, I have spent the last few weeks gauging this show’s hosts’ reactions and predictions for Season 8 of Game Of Thrones. What we have with Bend The Knee are hosts who are experts on the fiction of George R. R. Martin’s Westeros, coupled with an equally fascinated community- who regularly contribute some of the show’s best content. This absolutely sated my obsession with Game of Thrones at times where I couldn’t watch the show, and offered up theories about how the story will conclude and differ from how the books are understood to be ending. Listen on Spotify

EPISODES WORTH A DOWNLOAD:

2 DOPE QUEENS – KARAOKE WITH MICHELLE OBAMA

Given that I hold Barack Obama’s appearance on Marc Maron’s podcast one of my favourite conversations ever, I felt it only fair that I give his First Lady a chance. As described in the New Testament section of Pod Bible Issue #002, 2 Dope Queens features hosts Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams, who are comedians and best friends. They offer an insight into lives that I have absolutely no insight to. Their conversation with Michelle Obama opens with a discussion of how important the planning of how the First Lady’s hair was going to look was. As a chunky, white man, hair is very low on my list of priorities on any given day, so it was genuinely fascinating to hear about how something which to me is trivial, was something of great import to a powerful and successful woman. The conversation turns to motherhood, miscarriage, Mrs. Obama’s recent book and how much of an icon she has become to people everywhere. I absolutely loved it. Listen on Acast

THINKING BIG WITH MAISIE WILLIAMS – EPISODE 1 LOYLE CARNER

It takes shrewd marketing and understanding of social media to understand the best time to launch a product. I think the best example of this goes to Maisie Williams with her new podcast Thinking Big. The inaugural episode was released the night of which, her character in Game of Thrones was absolutely guaranteed to be the most-discussed topic on the internet for fans of the show, due to her actions in the episode The Long Night. At the time of writing, the show only has two episodes. The first was with musician Loyle Carner, who goes in depth about the release of his latest album. Carner proves to be an engaging guest and Williams a wonderful interviewer- angling her questions very much from an artistic point of view. I look forward to more episodes from her and the people she chooses to converse with. Listen on Spotify

Joe Ducarreaux is a podcast host, film enthusiast and gardener. For more of his ineffectual and disposable opinions, you can listen to him here or follow him on Twitter and Instagram.