Today marks International Podcast Day and to celebrate, here's five of the best pods around for your listening pleasure.
Sentimental Garbage
This started off as a podcast where the host Caroline O’Donoghue interviewed other writers about the chick-lit titles they secretly love.
Since she did a standalone series on Sex And The City (Sentimental in the City) with Dolly Alderton, it’s morphed into something else entirely. In her latest series her guests share anything that’s typically scoffed at or overlooked by high culture.
These are the things they feel deserve more critical respect and analysis. From red carpets to Drag Race to Bridget Jones, it’s a fun and funny chance to throw off the shackles of a “guilty” pleasure.
That Aged Well
I came across this while googling whether any podcast had ever dedicated an episode to the high-camp Shelley Long classic “Beverly Hills Troop”, and I have been hooked ever since.
Paul and Erica take a different movie from the 80s/90s each week and dissect (in deliciously devastating detail) how it holds up to the social mores of today. What’s clear is they find each other as hilarious as their subjects, so some of their best moments are when riffing with each other on a very specific moment in a film.
They challenge much-loved films on poor representation or sexism (or both) but do it in a way that’s fair and funny.
Talking Bollox
Calvin and Terrence are two intelligent, insightful and funny young guys who started a podcast in an inner-city Dublin kitchen over lockdown.
They’ve gone from strength to strength in such a short space of time. I love how unafraid they are to tackle serious topics like crime and addiction while also being genuinely funny.
It’s also amazing to see the impact they have on their dedicated audience and how willing they are to use that to get behind important conversations.
Not Without My Sister
As conversational podcasts go, this is one of the warmest and most fun. There’s something really welcoming about hearing sister’s Beatrice and Rosemary McCabe chat about their lives.
They’re both such great story tellers and this combined with their innate wittiness, Irish impulse to self-deprecation and their obvious closeness as siblings creates an overall package which feels like a hug through the ears. After a few episodes you’ll feel like you’ve known them for years.
Show Me the Science with Luke O'Neill
Last but not least - Luke’s been one of the most trusted voices in the country over the past two years and it’s easy to see why in this engaging and entertaining science podcast.
If, like me, you find yourself being derailed by wanting to read about random facts then you’ll appreciate Prof Luke jumping into the Wikipedia hole, so you don’t have to … although his sources are far more robust than that.
