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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
PA Reporters

5 new podcasts to listen to this week

Just Between Us is a new weekly podcast hosted by Diana Vickers and Alice Giddings. (MMM Podcasts/Metro/Natasha Pszenicki/Desmond Grundy/PA) -

Are you trying to strike a balance? Looking for relationship advice? Eager to know how the Lionesses are preparing for the UEFA Women’s Euro? Then this week’s podcasts will be of great help.

1. That Lionesses Podcast connected by EE

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Sport

(England/Football Association/PA)

Are you looking for an all-access pass to the Lionesses’ biggest summer yet? Well, That Lionesses Podcast connected by EE may be your new favourite listen.

Looking ahead to England’s second game in the group stage against the Netherlands, broadcaster and superfan Harriet Rose is joined by English professional footballers Lauren Hemp and Esme Morgan.

They discuss how training is progressing, what the team is focusing on, and how the players have been spending time with their loved ones during the UEFA Women’s Euro.

The best friends – Hemp and Morgan lived together when they played for Manchester City – let Rose in on the dynamics of their friendship, disclose secret talents, who is the better cook, why Morgan allowed Hemp to cut her hair at St. George’s Park (SGP) – the home to all of England’s national men’s, women’s, and para football teams – with physio scissors.

Rose goes on to ask the pair to describe how they are feeling about the match with emojis, how the rain impacts their training conditions, the seating arrangements on the coach, and why they like to sit in the middle.

The podcast offers behind-the-scenes content,  player interviews, squad banter, and unheard stories.

(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

2. The Balance Theory

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Wellbeing

(The Balance Theory/PA)

The Balance Theory Podcast is a deep dive into the art of achieving balance, mastering mindset, and unlocking your full potential.

Hosted by Erika De Pellegrin, this week’s episode featured artist, entrepreneur and mum Layla Kardan, who shares her story of breaking cultural expectations, walking away from the “safe” path, and choosing a life aligned with her true calling.

Throughout the episode, the two women – who both spent a large chunk of their lives in Australia before moving to Dubai – take us from the beginning of Kardan’s life when she moved around quite a lot with family from LA, to Sydney, to Dubai and back to Sydney.

They then touch on Kardan’s passion and career of becoming a singer and how this was perceived in a Middle Eastern household.

“It was hard going against cultural ideas and values,” Kardan admits. She explains that she had “pressure to not be able to explore that side of who I was” when it came to singing, being on stage and making a career from it.

Fast forward to now, Kardan says she never had a ‘Plan B’ and always believed Plan A – music – would work for her.

She discusses how she funded her first album by “selling everything” she owned, took a loan from a friend and put in the hard work.

Throughout this episode, the key theme is grafting to get to where you want to be, believing it can happen and staying in alignment with what you want and who you truly are.

(By Sara Keenan)

3. Just Between Us

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms

Genre: Sex and relationships

(Just Between Us/PA)

Just Between Us is a fresh new podcast all about sex and relationships, hosted by former X-Factor contestant Diana Vickers and Metro sex and love columnist Alice Giddings.

In this week’s episode, the pair catch up on Giddings’ romantic date night with her boyfriend, while Vickers shares juicy stories from her Glastonbury weekend, including all the celebrity sightings.

This week’s caller, Mia, also reaches out to the duo about how moving into her grandma’s place with her long-term boyfriend to save money and focus on her start-up has taken a toll on their sex life, leading them to jet off to Milan in Italy to reignite the passion.

Agony aunts Vickers and Giddings discuss how to handle this tricky dynamic, offering advice on setting boundaries and fostering moments of intimacy respectfully within a shared living space.

They also share tips on how to carve out moments of passion and connection amongst the busyness of everyday life.

The podcast’s feminine background – with a velvet sofa, coffee cups, and laundry thrown casually around the set – evokes the feel of a young woman’s bedroom, creating a warm, inviting atmosphere perfect for open and honest conversations about sex and relationships.

If you’re a fan of ‘no questions off the table’ agony aunt-style podcasts, this one is an absolute must-listen.

(By Camilla Foster)

4. The Wittering Whitehalls

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Life

(Global Player/PA)

Wittering Whitehalls is the most apt name for a podcast in which the parents of actor and comedian Jack Whitehall are given free rein to meander through whatever subjects and situations they have an opinion about.

Former talent manager Michael – who rose to wider fame as the dour foil to his son in their double-act TV shows Backchat and Travels With My Father – and actress Hilary have recorded more than 240 episodes from the comfort of their sofa, and there appears to be no end to their chatter.

Hilary is the driving force of the show, cajoling her husband by his full name to expand on his acerbic asides as they give life lessons and solve predicaments shared by their listeners.

At times, it’s like sitting on a train near someone who has no qualms about sharing everyone’s gossip during their over-loud, one-sided phone call, but the Whitehalls have a lifetime of anecdotes to draw on, and their hearts are in the right place.

(By Amy Crowther)

Spotlight on…

5. Beedie on Eyewear: The Podcast

Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube

Genre: Health

(Beedie on Eyewear/PA)

Beedie On Eyewear: The Podcast is a new podcast exploring all things glasses, from frame design and fitting, to the stories behind your favourite specs.

In the debut episode, host Ebiye Beedie – a UK-based optometrist and content creator – talks to eyewear stylist Rebecca Thompson about how their early distaste for glasses evolved into a passion for helping others find frames that suit their style and identity.

The episode explores Beedie’s journey into optometry, the lack of representation she noticed growing up and how her dual roles as clinician and creative intersect in meaningful ways.

She reflects candidly on helping patients feel confident and how that mission extends beyond the exam room, into visual storytelling, styling, and even frame design.

Warm, insightful and easy to listen to, this episode sets the tone for a series that blends fashion, healthcare and self-expression. It’s a great pick for those curious about how something as everyday as glasses can carry such personal and cultural significance..(By Lara Owen)

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