Are you looking for a new and immersive podcast series? Then you may want to listen to one or all of these week’s picks.
1. The Girlfriends: Jailhouse Lawyer
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: True Crime
The Girlfriends is a true crime podcast series produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts, which sheds a much-needed light on the untold stories of women uniting to seek justice and uncover the truth, which often involves them challenging the justice system.
In the newest season, which launched this week, award-winning journalist and host Anna Sinfield meets childhood gymnast and aspiring DJ Kelly Harnett, who recounts her version of what happened on July 7 in 2010, when a man called Ruben Angel Vargas was murdered in a park in Queens, New York.
After being found guilty of murder and locked up for over a decade, Kelly talks about how she battled to overturn her conviction and fought for the freedom of the abused women locked up alongside her.
The first few episodes of the new series allow the readers to get to know all facets of Kelly, as she candidly opens up about her childhood, addictions, and abusive relationship that led up to the night that changed her life forever.
If you love listening to all the nitty-gritty details and surprising twists of interesting criminal cases, give this raw and thought-provoking podcast a go.
(By Camilla Foster)
2. Glory Daze
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Sports
Glory Daze is a weekly sports podcast hosted by Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel, where he interviews sports legends as they reflect on key moments in their careers.
In this week’s episode, Manziel sits down with American professional football cornerback for the Denver Broncos of the NFL, Patrick Surtain II.
Throughout the episode, the pair speak about Surtain II’s time playing college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and the team’s 2020 National Championship win over Ohio State.
“I don’t take those moments for granted,” Surtain II says as he reminisces over the early days before being drafted for the NFL the following year.
Surtain II also speaks about his relationship with his father, Patrick Surtain, who played in the NFL for 11 years.
“Not many people are around someone like that or have it in their family experience, so I am grateful for that,” Surtain II says.
“We have a lot of experiences together both on and off the field. My dad has been there every step of the way.”
After recently signing a four year extension to stay with the Broncos, Surtain II says: “It takes a little bit of pressure off…and it’s a big thing for me to now build generational wealth for me and my family.”
(By Sara Keenan)
3. The Retrievals
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: Personal stories, culture, society and health
“What happens in a hospital also reverberates on the outside,” says host Susan Burton.
The first season of The Retrievals laid bare how women’s pain is routinely minimised. After it aired, Burton received a wave of emails from female listeners recounting their own stories of inadequately treated pain, with many describing feeling every incision and tug during their C-sections.
So, season two delves into why so many women endure preventable pain during childbirth, particularly via caesarean sections. As she reminds us, significant pain during surgery should never be standard.
Episode one features Clara, a nurse who recalls the fear and loss of control associated with her C-sections: “It’s this really narrow metal table, you’re flat on your back, you’re hooked up to monitors […] it takes away that autonomy.”
This four-part series investigates not only these often-ignored experiences, but also the medical blind spots, systemic failures and potential reforms surrounding women’s pain in maternity care.
The Retrievals is a harrowing but urgent listen. It challenges us to confront the inequities within our global healthcare system and to reimagine what compassionate, equitable care could truly look like.
(By Lara Owen)
4. Wanging On with Graham Norton and Maria McErlane
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms
Genre: Society and culture
Nothing good ever lasts forever, but podcasts have long been tapping into rich threads of nostalgia from boxset re-watches to “how we made it” revisits.
Wanging On With Graham Norton And Maria McErlane is another blast from the past for fans of Saturday morning radio.
For 13 years, across BBC Radio 2 and then Virgin Radio, the talk show king and his long-time actress buddy ran a joyful audio advice column called Grill Graham: a gossipy but generous mix of problem-solving and party post-mortems.
Wanging On has the same level of laughter and irreverence as the pair work through potential solutions to audience quandaries.
These two have seen it all, so there’s plenty of solid advice to take on board, plus a chance for listeners to contribute their own suggestions. The addition of the “Am I weird?” question offers a safe space to confess your oddest habits.
Graham and Maria are agony aunts who serve up laughs and love in equal measure.
(By Amy Crowther)
Spotlight on…
5. Flesh and Code
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and Wondery
Genre: True Crime
When Travis decided to introduce Lily Rose to his family – including his wife Jackie – at Christmas, he left his family home in Aurora, Colorado, disappointed.
Lily Rose was the woman of his dreams. Beautiful, passionate, and kind. She had long pink hair and wore a leather jacket, black jeans and studded boots.
However, there was a reason why Travis’ family wasn’t very keen – his new girlfriend wasn’t human.
Lily Rose was the product of an app called Replika, which allows users to share their feelings with an AI companion or chatbot. She became the “friend that was always there,” says Travis. But soon that wasn’t all that she was. He had fallen in love.
But when Lily Rose’s behaviour started to become unsettling, and concerning reports surfaced about Replika, Travis realiseed that his relationship with Lily Rose was built on a lie.
Flesh and Code is Wondery’s new podcast series hosted by Hannah Maguire and Suruthi Bala – also hosts of the true crime podcast RedHanded – who take listeners on an immersive journey over six episodes.
Alongside compelling storytelling from Travis, the duo dig deep to understand the dark side of AI love. They also unveil what happens when a corporate operation controls all your deepest emotions, why these crimes occur and what they tell us about where our crazy world is heading.
Flesh and Code is a true story of love, loss and the temptations of technology. Can an algorithm take the place of a real human connection? Listen to find out.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
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