Long lockdown days call for distraction

One thing we’ve all become good at over the past month is staying in. If you’re after some distraction from the monotony as we approach the end of level four, check out these pods designed for locked-down listening.

An exploration into married life in quarantine is the focus of Staying in with Emily and Kumail.

Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V Gordon podcast about their life indoors – a way of living that is familiar to them as

Emily, who has Stills disease, is immune compromised.

You’ll know comedian

Kumail from TV and film – he’s the writer and star of the movie The Big Sick and the TV series Silicon Valley.

This is a comedy podcast and these two are experts in banter. Kumail is riding the emotional rollercoaster of life in quarantine – sometimes it’s so hard he weeps. Emily, as a homebased writer and former couples’ counsellor, is a pro at staying in.

The pair offer advice on how to make it through and are joined by friends to talk about the impact of this insular way of life on livelihoods and mental health.

They are giving all the proceeds from the podcast to charities that support foodbanks and medical workers.

If cooking the same 21 meals a week is becoming repetitive then let Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat chef Samin Nosrat help you out in her podcast Home Cooking.

Nosrat has teamed up with Hrishikesh Hirway, creator and host of popular podcast Song Exploder to help listeners figure out how to cook a meal with whatever’s in the pantry.

Some good tips from Nosrat: Don’t hoard, but invest in a wellstocked pantry of spices, oils and vinegars – the richer your pantry, the more directions you can go in with your cooking.

There’s a whole episode on how to bake without flour and how to create great lunches. It’s packed full of good tips, and Nosrat’s laugh is infectious.

If getting to sleep is an issue, check out Nothing Much Happens. The premise is simple – soothing stories read twice by host Kathryn Nicolai, but the second reading is slower and more relaxed.