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METERBig news for Who Shat on the Floor at My Wedding fans? – the “poo dunnit” that shot to the top of podcast charts last year and appeared in our best brackets of 2023. The amateur sleuths behind the series have just announced another one, this time taking on a whole new mystery about a little blue corduroy suit, a tiny suitcase and a tiny man. More on that next week, but you can listen to the fun trailer here meanwhile.
However, if you’re looking for a slightly ridiculous but absolutely gripping true crime, this week’s top pick ticks all the boxes. On CBC broom doorComedian and curler John Cullen investigates the “super broom” scandal that rocked Canada’s curling world in 2015.
If that has piqued your interest, and frankly, how could it not? – Read on for the full preview below. We also have a module to get you excited about the upcoming Olympics and a new one from the BBC about a $6 billion scam that started in the Indonesian jungle.
Stick around for our roundup of the five best post-apocalyptic capsules, just to keep things lighthearted.
Hollie Richardson
Television editing assistant
Picks of the week
broom door
Widely available, weekly episodes.
Never before has a broom been responsible for so much scandal: in 2015, the Canadian curling community was rocked by a team that used one instead of two. “Not having the other person up front cleaning in a freezing situation doesn’t make sense,” said one surprised commenter. The full story has never been told, so comedian and curling expert John Cullen investigates the change to the “super broom” that caused a sensation. Hannah Verdier
This is history presents… The Iron King
Widely available, weekly episodes.
He was handsome, but murderous: Philip the Fair of France is the subject of this spin-off of the successful series. The cry of a medieval expert Danièle Cybulskie brings the graphic details of a period in history in which the king was involved in adultery, cruel murders and a battle for the succession. high voltage
the brides
Widely available, weekly episodes.
Amateur sleuths Carole Fisher, Mindy Shapiro, and Alayne Katz brought solidarity to crime podcasting when they investigated the murder of Gail Katz. Now they return to ask what happened to a woman whose body was found and mistaken for Katz’s, showing the same beautiful loyalty to each other and to the victim. high voltage
Tom Dean Medal Machine
Widely available, weekly episodes.
Team GB swimmer Tom Dean is looking to break a record five medals at the Paris Olympics and in this second series he continues to speak to people who can inspire him. He sounds worthy but he is not. Steve Backshall is the first guest and talks about his wife Helen Glover’s Olympic rowing hopes, his own challenges and the importance of clean water. high voltage
The six billion dollar gold scam
BBC Sounds, all episodes available Sunday
The exciting story of this new series begins in 1995, deep in the Indonesian jungle, where the Canadian mining company Bre-X claims to have found gold. Then everything is revealed to be a scam, the company’s chief geologist mysteriously dies, and investors lose millions. Host Suzanne Wilton is determined to find out what happened in the jungle. Ellen Jones
There’s a podcast for that.
This week, Ella Braidwood choose five of the best post-apocalyptic podcastsfrom a zombie drama in Los Angeles to a cult queer horror show.
We are alive
This audio drama originally aired between 2009 and 2014 and was highly rated for its sound quality, rich storytelling, and tense moments across four seasons. The podcast follows American soldier Michael (Jim Gleason) and his fellow reservists Saul (Nate Geez) and Angel (Shane Salk) as they fight to survive a zombie apocalypse in downtown Los Angeles, fleeing to “The Tower” in hope to find security. Its producers have launched several dystopian spin-offs, which have also been well received: Lockdown (2016), Goldrush (2019) and Descendants (2022-2023).
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Hello of the halloween
Described as a queer horror podcast, this ongoing series has gained a loyal fan base since its inception in 2020 and returned for season four earlier this year. The drama follows the residents of a forest (“The Hallowwoods”) at the end of the world. Serious themes are explored, such as grief, isolation and religious trauma, but there is also a lot of joy, and the series has been praised for its candid LGBTQ+ representation. The sound effects range from disturbing to relaxing, and its writer, William A Wellman, provides the calming voice of the podcast’s narrator and character, Nikignik.
Winter impact
Written, directed and produced by Pacific Rim co-writer Travis Beacham, this audio drama has a solid cast and crew behind it: it’s also executive produced by some of the team behind The Walking Dead, and its stars include Holliday Grainger and Bella Ramsey. The show is set in the near future, some years after a comet crashes into Earth. With the sun gone, the survivors gather underground, with a young woman named Darcy (Grainger) leading the fight against the vampires outside. It’s a very British drama, complete with broadcasts from a fictional Home Office and the word “blighter.”
Rapture 518
This Canadian audio drama begins with resident physician Dr. Sarah Penn as she broadcasts from room 518 of an apartment building called Rapture. With the world engulfed in a mysterious pandemic, those unlucky enough to have been infected have become carnivorous sociopaths. As such, Penn’s transmission comes from a place she can only describe as the “end of the world.” The episodes are relatively short, making for short chapters, and while the audio is relatively minimalist, it adds to the dystopian feel. The show’s creator remains anonymous, but he has a reassuring presence online, personally responding to critics and Reddit threads.
The phenomenon
Released in 2017, The Phenomenon ran for four seasons and is based on RK Katic’s book of the same name about a supernatural threat that has left humanity on the brink of extinction. Survivors must follow three rules to stay alive: “Don’t look outside. Don’t look at the sky. Don’t make a noise.” The first three seasons of the podcast, written by Jared J Smith, follow the survivors from the initial cataclysmic incident to an alien invasion. The fourth season takes place some time later, once “the monsters” have disappeared. gone, and sees a different writer taking on each episode. The high-quality audio and sound effects deserve recognition.
Why not try it…?
Journalist Becky Milligan reveals the suspicious and unsolved murder of a Bulgarian monarch in The butterfly king.
“Creativity, Spirituality, and Psychology” are the hosts of US Office actor Rainn Wilson’s wonderful woo podcast. Rise of the soul.
