Andrew Scott caused quite a stir on a recent podcast with an outrageous anecdote. Proving that audience etiquette is well and truly dead, the actor said he stopped halfway through Hamlet’s soliloquy when an audience member started to write an email on his laptop.
“A guy took out his laptop – not his phone, his laptop – while I was in the middle of ‘To be or not to fucking be’,” he told Josh Horowitz on Happy, Sad, Confused. “I was pausing and [the stage team] were like, ‘Get on with it’ and I was like, ‘There’s no way.’ I stopped for ages.”
If you’re a Scott fan – and who isn’t? – it’s well worth a listen.
Then it’s time to crack on with 2024’s best new pods. This week’s picks include a baffling investigation into a socialite who was found beside a high-ranking officer killed by a bullet, and a series for book lovers curated by Queen Camilla.
But if you’d rather ease into it, we’ve also rounded up soothing podcasts to help get you through the next few bleak weeks, from lessons on failure to dealing with January’s often unhelpful dieting messages and tips on how to set boundaries.
Hollie Richardson
Assistant TV editor
Picks of the week
White Devil
Widely available, episodes weekly from Mon
A gunshot goes off, a high-ranking officer is found dead with a bullet wound from his own gun – and the only person around is wealthy socialite Jasmine Hartin (see main picture). In case this crime story set in Belize isn’t weird enough, Hartin is also the former daughter-in-law of Lord Ashcroft – the Tory peer whose David Cameron biography featured that pig sex claim. This investigation is a twisty, headscratching journey into a baffling case. Alexi Duggins
The Queen’s Reading Room
Widely available, from Mon
This podcast from Queen Camilla’s reading charity lets an impressively starry list of authors talk about their love of literature. It’s Ian Rankin (pictured above) for episode one, explaining how Jilly Cooper always “cheers me up”, his young love of Dandy and Beano comics and his excitement over getting Keith Richards to sign an autobiography for him. Camilla also shares her thoughts on classic novels. AD
Child
BBC Sounds, all episodes out Fri
Prepare to have your mind blown by this series from the team behind 28ish Days Later, charting the journey of what happens to that one fertilised cell after conception. India Rakusen starts in a lab with cell biologist Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, who explains what happens once the cell starts to divide. Hollie Richardson
An American Scandoval
Spotify, all episodes out now
When it comes to reality TV scandals, they don’t come much more exploitable and salacious than Vanderpump Rules’s Tom Sandoval cheating on Ariana Madix with Rachel Leviss. The Ringer’s Jodi Walker basks in all the brazen details in this three-part podcast that’s ripe for bingeing, even if you have no idea who the main characters are. Hannah Verdier
Ripple
Widely available, episodes weekly
When a BP oil rig exploded off the coast of the US in 2010, it had disastrous consequences for wildlife and residents of the Gulf Coast. A few months later, the area was declared safe, but in this series host Dan Leone finds a different story: one with far-reaching consequences for the team who worked on the clean-up operation. HV
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There’s a podcast for that
Got the January blues? Ella Braidwood picks out five of the best podcasts to help you muddle through the doom and gloom this winter (tried and tested by herself)
How to Fail with Elizabeth Day
Three years on from her divorce, journalist Elizabeth Day sold her wedding dress on eBay, putting the money into the first couple of episodes of this podcast. Launched in 2018, How to Fail sees Day interviewing hugely successful people, from activists to politicians, about what they’ve learned from failure. In each episode, a guest discusses three failures from their life, from relationships to academic woes. Among the stars to have featured are Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Greta Thunberg, Elliot Page, Craig David, Tom Daley, and Dame Kelly Holmes. Day is also frank about her own experiences, galvanising listeners to see how their failures could actually be positives in the long run.
Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
BBC Breakfast’s former resident doctor Rangan Chatterjee seeks to simplify the way we approach health. In his podcast, Chatterjee interviews leading doctors, health experts, writers and celebrities for their innovative health tips. Episodes range from the practical, such as how to improve your sleep or decrease your risk of Alzheimer’s, to the inspirational: for example, when Holocaust survivor Dr Edith Eger powerfully talks about forgiveness, despite the horrors she was subjected to. Past guests have also included entrepreneur Mo Gawdat, fitness guru Joe Wicks, and psychotherapist Julia Samuel.
Happy Place
Hosted by broadcaster Fearne Cotton, each episode of Happy Place sees a guest reflecting on their life and what happiness means to them. The back catalogue of episodes includes Brené Brown talking about the difference between guilt and shame (and how the former can sometimes be an asset); Roman Kemp discussing grief after losing his best friend to suicide; and Rick Astley reflecting on how he quit music at the age of 27, despite his worldwide success. As an interviewer, Cotton is friendly and relatable, offering guests insights from her own life, in turn helping them to open up about their own experiences.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Since 2019, life coach Jay Shetty’s podcast has amassed a huge following – it was reportedly downloaded more than 50m times in its first year alone. Most episodes consist of Shetty interviewing a guest about life lessons, from setting boundaries to freeing themselves from generational trauma. In other episodes, Shetty goes solo, offering practical advice, including on how to feel more connected with others and forging a healthier relationship with social media. Some of the world’s biggest names have starred on the show, including Tom Holland on overcoming social anxiety; Kim Kardashian on parenting; and US president, Joe Biden, on navigating grief.
I Weigh with Jameela Jamil
January is a time for new beginnings, but it is also when many of us feel ashamed about our bodies: thanks to a month-long onslaught of dieting messaging. Off the back of seeing an Instagram photo of female celebrities with their weights posted across their bodies, actor and TV presenter Jameela Jamil (above) set up her I Weigh community, seeking to create a “safe and radically inclusive space on social media”. In her podcast, Jamil speaks to guests about challenging societal norms, with plenty of discussion around mental health. A diverse range of guests have featured, including comedian Katherine Ryan, trans rights campaigner Munroe Bergdorf, and author Matt Haig.
Why not try …
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In Accidentally Milf, Angel Bliss chronicles her hilarious online dating ventures in Los Angeles, after going through a divorce and the death of her ex-husband – musician Paul Ryder.
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Conservationist and financier Ben Goldsmith urges Europeans to embrace the prospect of living among apex predators such as bears and wolves in Rewilding the World.
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American Scandal: Kids for Cash looks at the case of two Pennsylvania judges who accepted kickbacks in exchange for sending thousands of juveniles to detention centres when probation or a lesser penalty would have been appropriate.
