Talking Points
Major podcast players Spotify and the BBC are teaming up for a new series. Created by the BBC Studios arm of the corporation, Stay Free: The Story of the Clash will follow ‘the rise, the reign and the self-destruction’ of Joe Strummer’s punk icons, according to Deadline. The eight-part series is narrated by Public Enemy rapper Chuck D and launches on Spotify on 28 February.
One of this newsletter’s favourite podcasts is getting the prestige TV treatment. Slate series Slow Burn, which looks at major American political events such as the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal in granular detail, will be adapted into a six-part docuseries by US network Epix. Meanwhile the show’s erstwhile host Leon Neyfakh will launch a new podcast, Fiasco, later this year, with its first two series looking at the 2000 Bush/Gore election fight and the Iran Contra affair.
Picks of the week
The Ron Burgundy Podcast
Will Ferrell brings Anchorman Ron Burgundy to the world of podcasting and everything’s exactly as it should be. He blunders through links and interviews, guffawing at his own jokes and pronouncing meme as “memm-eh”. His first subject is true crime, a genre he describes as “white hot, like molten lava” as if he’s the only person to have discovered it. Asking a forensic expert questions such as “If a woman dumps you, can you have her arrested?”, this is Burgundy on ramblingly good form. Hannah Verdier
The Dropout
As the golden age of the scam continues (see also: Fyre festival and the exposing of author Dan Mallory as a serial liar), get your fraud fix with this podcast on Stanford dropout-turned-CEO Elizabeth Holmes, who charmed the worlds of finance and science with a revolutionary blood-testing device, but whose company Theranos – once valued in the billions – was shut down last year after false claims about the technology’s effectiveness. This six-parter builds a picture of a business as dangerous as it was chaotic. Hannah J Davies
Guardian pick: Audio Long Read
This week’s Audio Long Read centres on the “Money Saving Expert” Martin Lewis, a man who has built a multimillion pound empire, and is driven to help people attain ‘financial justice’. The piece, originally written by Daniel Cohen (and read by Alice Arnold), asks; in an age of predatory capitalism and rampant inequality, can one man’s modest suggestions really make much a difference?
Producer pick: Queer Longing – A Pinch of Straight Salt: A Valentine’s Day Special (Episode 4)
Chosen by Leah Green (video producer)
It’s a great feeling to be able to say you were a fan of something ‘from the beginning’. And with the launch of Queer Longing, you have that chance. This podcast is only four episodes old, but it has the potential to become a weekly essential. Olivia Taylor and Lucy Cecil are two gay friends based in Manchester, and their podcast looks at what they are “longing for and living for” in their queer world.
In practice, this means fan-girling over Gillian Anderson, getting giddy for the return of the L Word, and discussing having to come out repeatedly if you are not ‘obviously’ gay. Don’t turn off before the end because you’ll miss the #CelineWatch segment, where they talk about … what Celine Dion has been up to that week.
If you’re not a binger, start at episode three (The L Word: Our Journey) where they really hit their stride: these two have an unfakeable warmth and chemistry that only comes from genuine friendship.
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion