From America’s Route 66 and queer historians to the songs of the summer, this week has something for everyone to enjoy.
1. Route 66: America’s Greatest Road Trip
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Travel and personal stories
Route 66 is one of America’s cultural icons — celebrated in film, music and food.
In 2026, the 2,400-mile route linking Chicago and Santa Monica, California, reaches its 100th anniversary.
To celebrate the centenary, broadcaster and journalist Sean Fletcher hosts a new podcast, Route 66: America’s Greatest Road Trip, which digs into the culture, history and flavours of Route 66.
Fletcher, who was born in the United States, brings a personal perspective shaped by his own experience of American culture.
The eight-part series features well-known names from both the UK and USA with a personal connection to the highway, and individuals who make the route what it is today.
If you are looking for a series filled with nostalgia, personal stories and practical travel inspiration for anyone planning their own road trip, then Route 66: America’s Greatest Road Trip should be your first stop.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
2. Time Travelling Queers
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: History
For history fans with an interest in LGBTQ+ stories, Time Travelling Queers is a new podcast series that uncovers the lives of queer individuals throughout time.
Hosted by Drag King Don One, each episode features a historian and a celebrity guest as they explore the lives and legacies of influential queer figures, examining their impact on culture while placing their stories in the context of their time.
Among those featured through a queer lens are Njinga Mbande, the 17th-century African ruler of Ndongo and Matamba who challenged gender norms; Harlem Renaissance performer Gladys Bentley; London underworld figure Mary Frith; and King Edward II.
Guests joining Don One in the “time-travelling taxi” include Dr Ranj Singh, Rosie Jones, Tia Kofi, Dani St James, Zelah Glasson, Farrel Hegarty, Dr Kit Heyam, Paula Akpan and Jonty Stern, among others.
The series brings these real stories to life through a blend of tongue-in-cheek humour and well-researched historical insight. Don One’s Birmingham accent adds warmth and personality to the conversations, making queer history engaging and accessible.
(By Lynn Rusk)
3. Popcast
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Pop culture
Popcast is a “local cable broadcast of weekly culture chat”, hosted by Jon Caramanica, a pop music critic for The New York Times, and Joe Coscarelli, a culture reporter for The New York Times.
Each week, the pair chat about the latest in popular music criticism, trends and news.
From Ella Langley, Drake, and artificial intelligence, Caramanica and Coscarelli battle through an eight-song bracket of the summer’s biggest hits to determine the song of the summer for 2026.
Before the songs go head-to-head, the pair explain how they were picked using an “inexact science” and why they chose to focus on the “songs the world has given them” through chart position, streams, cultural omnipresence, and meme value.
If you would like to compare your list to theirs, then tune in to the Popcast.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
4. Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Comedy
Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim is a podcast series where the comedian and actress sits down with not just dads, but anyone with a dad…so everyone.
Raised by a single mom, Nwodim never shies away from her daddy issues, and suspects others may be dealing with the same thing, too.
In this season, Nwodim has funny, heartfelt conversations with actors, comedians, musicians and athletes about life and their experiences with their own fathers.
Each episode starts with a simple question: “Who do you want to say thanks to?” and ends with a listener asking Nwodim and the guest for some personal advice.
This week, Nwodim sits down with actor and director Jason Biggs. And in true Thanks Dad fashion, the pair chat about his journey through addiction and sobriety, his love of fashion and food, and the life lessons that have shaped him.
Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim is a funny yet heartfelt listen.
(By Yolanthe Fawehinmi)
Spotlight on…
5. The Liz Moody Podcast
Streaming platform: All streaming platforms and YouTube
Genre: Wellbeing
In films, TV shows, and books, so much emphasis is placed on romantic relationships – but what about friendships? That’s the central focus of the latest episode of The Liz Moody Podcast, which explores how creating, and more importantly, sustaining platonic relationships has evolved in a world where everyone is constantly on the go.
Host, bestselling author, and longtime journalist Liz Moody sits down with journalist, author, speaker, and friendship expert Anna Goldfarb to discuss the highs and lows of modern friendships where ghosting and flaking is rife.
Together, they unpack why friendships are so much more challenging to maintain today than they were for our grandparents, the importance of having an “about”, and the differences between what Goldfarb describes as memorial and active friendships – and how to nurture both.
The conversation flows effortlessly, with the pair bouncing off one another while sharing personal stories from their own lives.
Goldfarb brings fascinating research and practical, actionable advice that listeners can apply to their own relationships, while Moody asks thoughtful follow-up questions that deepen the conversation and connect it to the realities of everyday life.
If you enjoy informative, research-backed podcasts that offer fresh perspectives on relationships, wellness and health, The Liz Moody Podcast is well worth a listen.
(By Camilla Foster)
