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hheard Here it is coming to an end. The latest edition of the newsletter will be available December 12. But don’t despair, the podcast recommendations will continue in The guide newsletter, which (if you don’t already have it) you will start receiving every Friday.
In the meantime, over the next fortnight we’ll be leaving you with a selection of the best podcast tips on different topics to get you through even the most exasperating festive season.
Thanks for reading.
There’s a podcast for that.
Raquel Aroesti choose five of the best unscripted podcastsfrom a long-running improv sketch show to a different music podcast
Out of the book: The improvised musical
Improvisation is one of the pillars of popular comedy in the United States, a fact that is reflected in the impressive skills of its best practitioners. They include Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino, who joined forces in 2017 for this musical theater podcast. Usually accompanied by an equally talented guest, on each episode of Off Book, our hosts masterfully improvise an entire musical from scratch. Topics include mice and Denmark, but the topic is largely irrelevant: whatever the topic, you’ll be fascinated by his ability to create a hilarious, yet compelling, songbook and script on the spot.
Comedy Bang Bang
With almost 900 episodes in the can, this long-running show from Scott Aukerman (previously known for the ’90s sketch series Mr Show with Bob and David) is a podcast institution in the US, but its freewheeling nature Virtually format-free means it still feels fresh and fun even after all this time. Shows often begin with Auckerman conducting an offbeat interview with famous guests, including Jon Hamm and Ben Stiller, before introducing some decidedly less real characters into the conversation: in a recent episode, James Acaster argued with businesswoman and business owner Eastern European mansion, Mrs. Lyndhurst (the hilarious Lily Sullivan) and a man trapped in a time warp (Matt Apodaca).
Sound Deals with Max and Ivan
Double act Max Olesker and Iván González have burst onto the Edinburgh fringe on countless occasions with their impeccably crafted full-length sketches, but as co-founders of London improv school The Free Association, they are also devotees of unscripted comedy. This podcast sees them flex their improvisational muscles as hosts of a deeply strange shopping channel – anyone who’s ever wasted precious minutes of their life watching QVC will recognize the insipidly upbeat and slightly bizarre nature of their improvised sales pattern. but the products they promote (all listener suggestions revealed to the duo and their guests at the last moment) are also completely strange: we’re talking “foam stools”, “dramatic beer” and, of course, the vital “bus ”. child’s toy.
Three Bean Salad
Technically, the vast majority of chat groups created by comedians fall into the “unscripted” category. What sets Three Bean Salad apart is that its reach extends far beyond a joke-laced catch-up. Led by three mild-mannered Englishmen – Mike Wozniak (now co-host of Junior Taskmaster), comedian and cartoonist Henry Paker and Benjamin Partridge, also creator of cult podcast The Beef and Dairy Network – the format sees our beans riff on random topics and inopportune. sent by listeners. The resulting chatter is disturbingly funny, reference-rich and often downright surreal – the perfect showcase for the lightning-fast but staunchly left-wing functioning of the trio’s minds.
Dear Joan and Jericha,
Despite being led by two aging, dying aunts played by Vicki Pepperdine (The Windsors, Getting On) and the inimitable Julia Davis (Nighty Night, Hunderby, Camping), Dear Joan and Jericha is one of the most gleefully transgressive comedies of the series. recent history. The fact that it’s largely invented on the spot is crucial to its appeal: Pepperdine and Davis goad each other into depraved flights of fantasy that arise from the listener’s (fictional) problems about sex and relationships. Not only is the couple’s advice fascinatingly inappropriate (incest is often mentioned), but it also comes wrapped in extreme (and strangely cathartic) misogyny, as the couple berates lazy, selfish, careless women who fail to appreciate the invariably “beautiful.” men in their lives.
And something else for this…
And also this week, Virtue Graeme choose five of the best podcasts on video game culturefrom a Grand Theft Auto story to Desert Island Discs for gaming idiots
The best Bugzy Malone game
With its rampant violence, gleeful satire of American culture, and impeccably curated car radio playlists, the braggadocious Grand Theft Auto is not only the most influential video game franchise of the 21st century: it’s also one of the most profitable, thanks to its online multiplayer mode. component that has grossed billions since 2013. This seven-part 2022 BBC Sounds series, fronted by Manchester rapper and series devotee Bugzy Malone, illuminates the game’s 1990s origins in the defiantly unglamorous Dundee before tracing the numerous innovations and sensational scandals on their path to global domination. The result is a passionate introduction to the arrival of GTA VI next year.
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Get played
This weekly comedy podcast launched in 2019 with the goal of playing and then mercilessly mocking terrible video games. By that standard, it probably could have run forever. But in 2022 it pivoted toward a more positive vibe, allowing hosting trio Heather Anne Campbell, Nick Wiger and Matt Apodaca to host games they really enjoy, often with a guest accompanying them. The result is a witty, sometimes bawdy snapshot of the current gaming landscape, enriched by the casually comprehensive knowledge of its hosts, particularly the hilarious Campbell, a Rick and Morty writer with a vast personal collection of rare consoles.
Our Sinclair: A ZX Spectrum Podcast
For gamers of a certain era, the ZX Spectrum was a rubber-locked gateway to countless weird and wonderful games. The monthly Our Sinclair podcast brings back the excitement of that imperial phase of 8-bit home computing, as a pair of code-named American enthusiasts – “Friend Aaron” and all-caps fanatic THE BRENT – revisit an old Spectrum title. At first, the sheer novelty of hearing two slurring West Virginians grapple with 1980s UK time capsules like Geoff Capes Strong Man or Action Biker screams culture shock. But a winning combination of affability and diligent research means your love for the humble Spectrum shines through.
My perfect console with Simon Parkin
With around 100 episodes amassed, My Perfect Console has a long way to go before matching Desert Island Discs. But similar to that streaming workhorse, it invites a guest to nominate and discuss five of their favorite games, reflecting on their life and career in the process. Simon Parkin, games writer for The New Yorker and The Guardian, casts his net to find participants, from industry experts (such as narrative designers, composers, and voice actors) to more familiar names like Iain Lee (a standout episode February 2024). . Parkin has a knack for drawing out intriguing ideas while also providing useful context for those not immersed in the games.
Ax of the Blood God: A Role-Playing Podcast
There’s no need for graph paper or pencils: role-playing games (RPGs) are a natural fit for computers and consoles, where microchip processors can take care of all that pesky dice-rolling and stat-tracking. With games like the award-winning Baldur’s Gate 3 and the recent Dragon Age: The Veilguard becoming box office hits, it’s been a busy time for Ax of the Blood God hosts Kat Bailey, Nadia Oxford and Eric Van Allen. Their long-running podcast, first launched under the auspices of a (now defunct) US gaming website before becoming fiercely independent, is a free weekly roundup of RPG news and reviews with an emphasis on fun and inclusion.
Why not try it…?
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It can’t be just mea candid life advice show from Anna Richardson, host of the more candid naked dating show, Naked Attraction.
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We live here nowin which progressive journalists Lauren Ober and Hanna Rosin meet with their election-denying neighbors linked to January 6.