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YoYou’ve probably heard, at most, three episodes of the series. Long way The most important podcast of my life. And yet, I was very surprised to read that the show, which has been running for 12 years, will end at the end of this month. For nearly 600 episodes (yes, you read that right), Aaron Lammer, Evan Ratliff, and Max Linsky have sat down with the greats of journalism and documentary filmmaking to talk about their approach to creating some of the best nonfiction work out there (the trio also previously ran a website and app that links to the best nonfiction journalism on the internet).
Longform was always there, attracting big names right to the end (Ta-Nehisi Coates was on last month) and always offering an eclectic mix of interviewees (The Cut editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples, blogger-turned-media personality Tavi Gevinson, Dirt newsletter entrepreneur Daisy Alioto, and Normal Gossip mastermind Kelsey McKinney have all appeared recently). Longform was always there, attracting big names right to the end (Ta-Nehisi Coates was on last month) and always offering an eclectic mix of interviewees (The Cut editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples, blogger-turned-media personality Tavi Gevinson, Dirt newsletter entrepreneur Daisy Alioto, and Normal Gossip mastermind Kelsey McKinney have all appeared recently). therefull of interviews that I had intended to listen to at some point and rarely did. What a shame that I’m only just now doing it now that it’s ending. As Joni once sang, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, etc.
Read on for this week’s best posts, as Venus Williams gets in touch with her inner art critic and the UK’s top liars, Paul and Harry of The Traitors, delve into their 16th minute of fame. And, while I’m keeping Alexi’s seat warm this week, remember you can always email newsletters@theguardian.com with any comments or suggestions for Hear Here.
Happy listening,
Hannah J. Davies
Deputy Editor, Newsletters
Selections of the week
Expanding the lens: photography, ecology and contemporary landscape
Widely available, all episodes are now available
Tennis champion, arts patron and now podcaster, Venus Williams hosts this thoughtful series from the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. “Look at the photos on your phone,” she asks in the introduction. “Go ahead and take a look at them…” She then speaks with experts about the relationship between photography and the environment, and how artists are redefining the world around us. Hollie Richardson
Harry and Paul They are… clever
Widely available, weekly episodes.
What this podcast from Harry and Paul of The Traitors lacks in hard facts, it makes up for in infectious energy. In it, they detail some of the biggest failed crimes in history, improvise wildly, laugh at each other’s jokes, and explain exactly how they would have committed the crimes. The first week is all about the diamond heist from the Millennium Dome. Alexi Duggins
Buried
Widely available, weekly episodes.
The second season of this shocking eco-series is absolutely astonishing. Actor Michael Sheen claims that permanent chemicals are leaking from old landfills, and he’s right. What follows is a crazy, horrifying investigation that uncovers seals so full of toxins they’re rotting alive, supermarket fish riddled with poisons, and more scandals than we can count. Must-listen stuff. ADVERTISEMENT
Sonic fields
Widely available, weekly episodes.
When Sam Tyler found a box of photos of his parents taken at festivals, along with his own teenage adventures, he decided to make a podcast about it. The result is a beautiful intergenerational celebration, with guests like his mother, who recalls the family experience of going overboard on the first night. Hannah Verdier
Alison Moyet – 40 Moyet moments
Widely available, episodes twice a week.
“This good fortune shouldn’t have happened to Alf,” says the lovely and charismatic Alison Moyet as she looks back on her 40-year career with Steve Coats-Dennis. She sounds like a woman who is finally speaking her mind, with anecdotes about trauma at the hands of record companies as well as her enormous success. High voltage
There’s a podcast for that.
This week, Charlie Lindlar choose five of the best podcasts of he Single’s lifeFrom a guide to thriving as a single parent to the thrills of traveling solo
Single serving
“We just don’t deserve to feel miserable or ashamed of our singleness,” says former Refinery29 journalist Shani Silver of her podcast about finding solace in being single. Silver isn’t shy about talking about relationships or how to find one (if that’s what you’re looking for) and the pitfalls of dating, including an excellent episode with fellow journalist Nancy Jo Sales about the “corporate takeover” of dating and how an entire industry has conspired to make us feel inadequate alone. Silver’s show went behind a paywall in 2022, but whether you subscribe or just check out her archive, her lessons are universal and timeless.
The Widow’s Podcast
Losing a loved one is a unique way of being single, but one that nonetheless deserves its own space for stigma-free discussion. In this podcast, “widow coach” Karen Sutton offers affirmations and advice for making the best of things after the worst happens. She fearlessly confronts the impact of grief on the body, how Covid brought a new form of loss to millions of people, and much more, never wavering from her belief that we should “accept” our grief as a fact of life, rather than deny its impact on our well-being.
After the newsletter promotion
The Single Mom Podcast
Heather Wells, a A single mother of three, she knows it’s a lot to raise a family alone. In this podcast she shares advice and support with a dash of humor to help cope with both solo and co-parenting. Crucially, Wells addresses not only how to raise children, but also everything else that becomes more difficult as a single parent: succeeding at work, maintaining friendships, and finding time for hobbies and exercise. Wells also refuses to shy away from current affairs, explaining Roe v Wade and Texas’ controversial “heartbeat law,” and stridently laying out what they mean for fathers’ rights.
Only
Behavioral economist Peter McGraw is on a mission to “destigmatize solo living” in its many forms. On his long-running podcast, McGraw philosophizes about just about everything one can do alone, but he expands his discourse to address complex issues like family estrangement, ethical non-monogamy, and how to build families that exist outside the conventional nuclear structure. More than just a practical advice podcast, Solo is a cerebral show about the meaning of our connections to others, and it has plenty of wisdom to offer those who commit to listening.
Solo travel guide for girls
One of the most unspoken aspects of single life, Gemma Thompson and her guests tackle the joys and pitfalls of travelling the world solo in this practical podcast. Single life experts such as Alonement author Francesca Specter and photographer Suchitra Vijayan (who travelled solo for seven years capturing the frontiers of India), weigh in with inspiring stories of how to go all out and live your dreams. Standout episodes include chef Rachel Khoo on how to eat well alone and writer Nanjala Nyabola on taking care as a black woman travelling solo – it’s an eye-opening conversation about privilege, caution and refusing to be limited.
Why not try…?
A deep dive into the (surprisingly widespread) world of people who fake indigenous ancestry in Suitors.
From Crooked Killing Justice delves into the dark goings-on of Indian politics.
From Sudan to Mexico, journalists tell their stories of how they risked everything for their reporting. Silenced.
