adam buxton

stranglers

You thought we were done?  In part two, we explore a wide array of podcasts. From sports to true crime to even comedy. If you can’t find one on this list, we’ve got two more for you.  If you can’t find any podcasts on this list that you would enjoy, there’s no help for you.  Seriously?  Can’t you find one podcast to enjoy? All joking aside.  Podcasts are the new medium for entertainment, so I hope that you can, at least find one in our list of many.

The Totally Football Show with James Richardson

The Totally Football Show with James Richardson

The most scandalous soccer news (I would say football to be proper, but we are in America, and I don’t want to confuse) of 2016 was James Richardson walking out on the Guardian Football Weekly and starting his own show.  Introducing The Totally Football Show.  It has a very familiar bi-weekly format, and it’s a great podcast for getting your fix of Premiere League, Champions League, and continental football analysis.  Richardson may have jumped ship, but the Totally Football Show is very much the same – except without Barry and Sid.

homecoming

Homecoming

Homecoming is a great podcast if you’re a conspiracy theorist.  And honestly, who doesn’t love a little conspiracy theory now and then? Homecoming is a fictional podcast that follows a therapist and an army veteran who are thrown together by a new government program that helps soldiers readjust to civilian life.  At least, that’s what the government claims.  Without any narration, the series weaves together recorded phone calls and therapy sessions that slowly hint at more sinister motives.

This is kind of a unique approach to podcasting, don’t you think?  This podcast also has some excellent performances and sound design, which give it a real authenticity as it starts to muse on the personal cost of erasing traumatic memories.  Each episode is only 20 minutes, so it will get you hooked immediately.

stranglers

Stranglers

As the name suggests, this is a true crime podcast.  And, these are all the rage right now.  Every time you hear a new one being advertised, it’s easy to think – this is just another true crime podcast and one that you don’t need to listen to.  That might be the case in some instances, but this one is one that you don’t want to miss out on.   This is very much in the same mold as Serial and In the Dark, in that, it’s a journalistic investigation into a past crime. In this case, it’s that of the Boston Strangler – an apparent serial killer who gruesomely assaulted, murdered and bizarrely posed a number of elderly women in their own homes between 1962 and 1964.

This podcast is graphic, horrifying and frightening.  If you’re not into that kind of thing, then sit this one out.  But it is a great podcast that gives some incredible descriptions of the impact on the lives of the victims’ relatives and the residents of Boston during that time.  But it’s also a fascinating insight into criminal investigations before computer databases, CCTV or reliable DNA testing. It’s a brilliant, binge-worthy new series – as long as you’ve got the stomach for it.

found podcast

Found

Davy Rothbart is so obsessed with solving the mysteries behind notes, letters and doodles that he finds (or gets sent) that he set up an entire magazine, and now there’s a podcast about it. Each episode documents some of his favorite investigations, as he tries to track down the person whose life he caught a tiny glimpse of via a discarded or lost piece of paper. He tends to get great guest appearances along the way, with Nick Nolte and David Cross giving the excellent second episode a hefty dose of weirdness and humor.

martin luther king

BBC Radio 4 Seriously…

If you’re a huge documentary fan, then this is the podcast for you. The archives at Radio 4 were bursting at the seams with some incredibly fascinating audio documentaries, so the BBC has released some of those and funneled them into this new podcast.  The podcast is brighter and breezier than In Our Time, and it covers everything from Roald Dahl to South Korea’s obsession with Starcraft.  Whatever your niche hobby, there’s an episode for you.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a regular running time, nor a presenter, which makes it more like a greatest hits than an everyday podcast.

hiliarious world of depression

The Hilarious World of Depression

I personally like podcasts that take a hard look at taboo subjects.  Mostly because I think that things should live in the light.  Depression is one of those things.  We look at it like a severed arm.  We stare at it, but we don’t understand what we can do to help support it.  The Hilarious World of Depression pokes fun at the illness using one-on-one chats with comedians who have learned to live with it.  I didn’t say that these things can’t be funny.  I absolutely think they can.  The idea that this podcast is “hilarious” is more about the overall approach to talking about the topic.  The podcasts uses guests comedic eye to make fun of depression, which is a great way to remove some of its power.  Even if you yourself don’t suffer from depression, it’s a great podcast to listen to.  It will make you more aware of the struggles that some people face, and maybe use that to help them in their journey.

adam buxton

The Adam Buxton Podcast

Adam has launched his own podcast in which he meets with and chats with a pretty diverse group of people – from Louis Theroux to Kathy Burke to John Greenwood.  He’s not a proper interviewer, but there’s a charm and openness to everything Adam does that makes him great to spend time with.  In fact, his intros and outros are recorded while he’s walking his dog.  These might be some of the best part of the show.  Sorry, Adam.

 

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