FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Famous faces talk about their favourite takeaways and a look at stories behind artefacts stolen by the British Empire are among this week’s podcasts
MY FAVOURITE TAKEAWAY
With restaurants closed for months and nowhere to go, the pandemic intensified the temptation to open a takeaway app and order dishes to our doors.
Tom Craine (Drunk History) and his friend Cimran Shah have turned the subject into a podcast, visiting a guest’s home each week to tuck into their favourite delivered meals and chat about their eating habits.
Guests so far have included fellow comedians Ed Gamble (who chose Thai food), Ellie Taylor (Domino’s pizza) and chef and broadcaster Andi Oliver (who cooked his own takeaway).
On the face of it it’s yet another ‘comedians cracking jokes with other (mostly) comedians’ show, but the format makes this one more like eavesdropping on old friends’ easy banter than witnessing competing punchlines.
WHERE TO START: Josh Widdecombe’s memories of student takeaways will take you straight back to uni halls, while Shah shares the dishes Indian people order at Indian restaurants
STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE
As museums around the world come to terms with the idea that they don’t necessarily have a right to the objects in their collections, this podcast reveals the stories behind a tiny fraction of those stolen by the British Empire.
It’s well known that the Empirebuilders helped themselves, sometimes violently, to treasures they found with little thought to whom they belonged, but the discussion of whether these should be returned is relatively new.
Award-winning host Marc Fennell considers the political implications of these thefts – from the Gweagal Shield stolen from a local warrior in Botany Bay by Captain James Cook in 1770, to the Parthenon Marbles removed from the Acropolis by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century. Their stories are elaborate and fascinating – and highlight the importance of reconsidering the concept of ownership.
WHERE TO START:
The Abductions episode about how a little girl’s kidnap led to the discovery of the Motunui Epa, wooden panels hidden in a New Zealand swamp by the native people