PODCASTS THE BEST AUDIO SHOWS TO LISTEN TO THIS WEEK

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FRANK SKINNER’S POETRY PODCAST The football-loving comic waxes lyrical

Frank Skinner fell in love with poetry as a student. Now he’s putting his passion to good use in a fantastic new podcast. Too many shows about poetry have an aura of elitism about them – not this one. Each week Skinner reads and talks about a few poems he admires: he knows what he likes and does a good job of communicating why. Start with the episode on the Beat Poets.

FEAR ITSELF Harry’s ex shows her people skills

Actress Cressida Bonas is still best known for having gone out with Prince Harry. Yet her new podcast reveals her to be a thoughtful interviewer too. Each week she talks to a guest about their experiences of fear. Pop star Ellie Goulding (right) is candid about struggling with fame, while psychotherapist Benjamin Fry talks about grief. An unexpected success.

JAMES ACASTER’S PERFECT SOUNDS Was 2016 a classic pop year?

In 2017 comedian James Acaster had what he describes as a ‘lovely little breakdown’. To cope, he bought as much music from 2016 as he could, and now owns 600 albums from that year alone. On this madcap new BBC podcast he tries to convince comedians such as Phil Wang why 2016 was the best year for music in history.

THE WEEK IN ART The latest art chatter

Remember galleries and exhibitions? This podcast made by the Art Newspaper offers a weekly fix of art chatter. There’s one subject in town, and it’s Covid-19, but if you’re curious to hear from those in the art world about how the pandemic is ripping up the industry, this intelligent, weekly show is indispensable. It gets great guests, too – a recent episode featured Marina Abramovic, whose Royal Academy show has just been pushed back to next year.