Talking points
Buzzfeed is pivoting to video, and in the process, ceasing to make podcasts, including See Something Say Something. In a memo to staff, Shani Hilton, vice-president of news and programming at BuzzFeed News, told staff the company has “decided to move to a production model that is more like our TV projects – that is, treating shows as individual projects, with teams brought on as needed,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The company plans to continue making podcasts but they will no longer be made in-house. The move came after similar shifts from Audible and Panoply, and followed the decision in December 2017, to stop producing one of Buzzfeed’s most critically adored podcasts, Another Round.
For those who missed it, we also gave our rundown of the best podcasts launching and returning this autumn.
Picks of the week
Kaitlin Prest started out producing podcast episodes in her bedroom that became The Heart, which deftly explored issues around consent, masculinity and love. Now, Prest is launching fictional podcast The Shadows, about a character (loosely based on herself) who believes in Hollywood-style romance and embarks on a relationship with her “great love”. It’s a relatable and sensitively told tale of how new love grows only to come crashing down within the space of six episodes. HV
San Quentin prison spent summer on lockdown, but now season three of Ear Hustle is in full swing with eloquent and witty inmate Earlonne Woods (serving a 31-year to life sentence for attempted second-degree robbery) and co-host Nigel Poor bringing stories from the inside. Lockdown saw prisoners confined to their cells with just enough food to get by, so they pull no punches when they talk about relying on a lock box full of cookies, noodles and hot sauce, and how they were forced to take “bird baths” to keep clean. HV
In focus: food podcasts
If you have ever taken a look at the food series available on TV streaming services, you’ll know the sheer number of them is slightly overwhelming. The harvest in the podcast world is no less bountiful. A good starting point is BBC Radio 4’s output, often featuring slightly longer versions of original broadcasts.
The Food Programme’s recent special on Rowley Leigh (A Life Through Food) is a joyous examination of one of the pioneers of British food. The Kitchen Cabinet and Cook The Perfect … are also well worth your time. Yotam Ottolenghi’s new podcast, Simple Pleasures, has all the life-affirming charm of his food. He has had two guests so far, Nadiya Hussain and Nigella Lawson, both equally endearing as they discuss their relationship with food, while Ottolenghi cooks.
For something completely different, Jessie Ware, better known as a singer, is currently recording the fourth series of her podcast Table Manners, so there are plenty of episodes to catch up on. She co-hosts with her mother as they entertain a different celebrity each week – Alan Carr’s appearance is hilarious. How much you enjoy it will depend on how much you can put up with the slightly chaotic nature of the cooking and Ware’s capacity for swearing. For more on food’s social history, try The Kitchen Sisters Present, The Sporkful sees documentarian Dan Pashman answer philosophical food questions, Spilled Milk mixes food and comedy, while The Splendid Table is a soulful, if sometimes overly worthy, examination of food culture. Andy Welch
Guardian pick: the 2008 financial crash, 10 years on
After a long summer break Politics Weekly has returned. With parliament back in recess for party conference season, we look back on the anniversary of the financial crisis and the decade of political upheaval that has resulted from it. Ten years ago, politicians were given little warning that the entire financial system was on the brink of collapse. Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money was used to bail out the banks. But while the financial sector has recovered, Britain has faced a period of austerity with still no end in sight. We hear from Adam Tooze, author of Crashed, an acclaimed new book on the crisis. Plus Stewart Wood, an adviser to Gordon Brown in 2008, reflects on the decisions made in the midst of the crash. Joining political editor Heather Stewart to complete our expert panel are economics editor Larry Elliott and Catherine Colebrook of the Institute for Public Policy Research. Have lessons been learned 10 years on? Or is Britain stumbling towards another economic crisis?
Your picks: ocean exploration and Scottish pop
I take my hat off to Scottish pop, be it Edwyn Collins’s raccoon hat in the early Orange Juice or Hats by the Blue Nile. Both these artists are featured in this excellent series of music podcasts from BBC Radio Scotland as well as tons more of my favourite bands albums including Belle & Sebastian, The Proclaimers, Primal Scream and Aztec Camera. There’s nothing beardstrokey here, as befits music that is full of warmth, joy, melancholy, great tunes, grooviness, cool and playful attitude and ineffable sense of the rightness of pop.
Recommended by Stuart Maconie
As a writer and aspiring environmental activist, I rely on sources that I can trust will share information that is timely and worthwhile to help me navigate the world of conservation. The My Ocean podcast does that, and will inspire and motivate you to become a steward of our land and seas.
Recommended by Katherine Oakes
Picks were compiled by Rowan Slaney.
