11 Of The Best New Podcasts
The Guardian Black Box
The jury's still out on AI. Friend or foe? Truth is, it's likely both. Hosted by Michael Safi of the Guardian’s ever popular Today in Focus, each episode of Black Box unpacks a gripping story from technology’s next frontier. In Norway, a boyfriend forgets his girlfriend overnight. In Detroit, a man is arrested for a robbery he swears he didn't commit. In Spain, deep fake images of young girls spread through a small town, with no clue who’s responsible.
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The Road To Joni
Joni Mitchell isn't just a great singer-songwriter. She weaves folk, rock and jazz with poetic brilliance and rare insight into the human experience. Albums like Blue cemented her status as a master storyteller in the 70s. In this podcast, Carmel Holt travels across America, exploring Joni's impact through conversations with fans like Hozier, Esperanza Spalding and Don Was. It’s an affectionate, freewheeling tribute to a singular artist.
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The Belgrano Diary
The sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano resulted in the deaths of 323 crew members. It was the largest loss of the Falklands War and remains the conflict’s most controversial moment. Margaret Thatcher claimed the attack was necessary due to imminent threat, but was the ship truly a danger or was it returning peacefully to port? Hosted by Andrew O’Hagan, this six-part podcast from the London Review of Books delves into the cover-ups, conspiracies and whistleblowers challenging Thatcher's narrative. Central to the story is Lt Narendra Sethia’s diary, which offers an account from aboard HMS Conqueror.
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Exposed: The Ashley Madison Hack
Drawn in perhaps by its ‘Life is short, have an affair’ tagline, millions flocked to Ashley Madison in the early 2000s, seeking a discreet space for infidelity. The illusion of privacy was shattered in 2015 when hackers exposed user data, leading to one of the most notorious breaches in internet history. Hosted by actress Sophie Nélisse, Exposed: The Ashley Madison Hack introduces us to an adulterous pair from the site, offers insights from tech journalists who interacted with the hackers, and explores the motivations of Ashley Madison’s founder. The series reveals striking details about the actual number of subscribers and the surprisingly low number of real-life women involved.
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Dodger Blue Dream
If Moneyball is your only baseball reference, Dodger Blue Dream might just ignite your interest. This new documentary podcast, crafted by writer and lifelong Dodger fan Richard Parks III, chronicles the 2024 Los Angeles Dodgers season from start to finish. Whether you're a die-hard fan or a casual observer, each episode feels like a dispatch from the heart of Dodgers fandom, offering insider insights from Parks himself.
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Green Wing Resuscitated
The brilliant surrealist comedy Green Wing may have lasted only two years, but it left a lasting mark and launched many careers. Green Wing: Resuscitated brings back the cult hit with its all-star cast, 12 years later. East Hampton Hospital has changed: Guy Secretan (Stephen Mangan) is a media personality, ‘Mac’ MacCartney (Julian Rhind-Tutt) is back as a surgeon and Caroline Todd (Tamsin Greig) is making waves in America. Harriet Schulenberg (Olivia Colman) is now head of HR, while Boyce (Oliver Chris) runs radiology. Alan Statham (Mark Heap) returns after psychiatric care, while Sue White (Michelle Gomez) and Martin Dear (Karl Theobald) remain the same. Expect more surreal antics and minimal medical content in this laugh-a-minute series.
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Stick The Landing
This series from the Ringer assesses whether beloved TV shows nailed their finales. Each episode features TV critic Andy Greenwald dissecting a series finale through a crossover chat with a Ringer regular like Mallory Rubin, Sean Fennessey or Bill Simmons. If you crave deep, spoiler-filled analysis, this is a must listen.
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Broomgate: A Curling Scandal
With the Paris Olympics wrapped and the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics still on the horizon, you might be craving a new sports story. Enter Broomgate, where comedian and semi-pro curler John Cullen delves into a scandal that rocked the world of curling. Over six gripping episodes, Cullen uncovers the jaw-dropping drama surrounding a broom that nearly destroyed the sport. From deceit and controversy to the surprising fallout, this podcast reveals the high-stakes turmoil hidden beneath the ice of curling.
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Blame It On The Fame
How far would you go for fame, and how much further to keep it? German producer Frank Farian saw Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan as the perfect tools for his ambitions: young, striking and Black. His devil’s bargain shot Milli Vanilli to stardom with a platinum debut and a Grammy nod. When their lip-syncing secret was leaked, Rob and Fab learnt the difference between fame and true power. From Wondery, Blame It on the Fame dives into the scandal that made Milli Vanilli notorious and the real cost of their deception. Hosted by Amanda Seales, the podcast uncovers Farian’s exploitation, the role of Blackness in pop culture, and the stark truths of fame.
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Cocaine Inc.
This podcast documents a worldwide investigation by The Times, Sunday Times and NewsCorp Australia, which worked together on a comprehensive look at the billion-dollar global cocaine industry. If you’ve watched both Narcos series, you’ll enjoy this because it tells the next part of the story, post-Pablo Escobar and the notorious drug lords of the 80s and 90s. The story begins in 2022 in Merseyside, northern England, after 26-year-old Elle Edwards is shot outside her home on Christmas Eve.
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The Last City
Wondery’s second series of The Last City has just dropped. The dystopian series is set in the climate-ravaged year of 2072. Pura stands as a miraculous green haven, a ‘geoengineered’ paradise that protects lucky residents from the global catastrophes of fires, floods and droughts. Demetria Lopez is Pura's PR fixer, tirelessly promoting the city's idyllic image. But when she stumbles on a dark secret that underpins Pura's existence, she must decide who and what she is willing to protect.
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