Put a Dolly on your wish list
NEED SOME ESCAPISM FOR THE EARS? GARETH MAY ROUNDS UP THE BEST NEW PODS FOR UNSEASONAL LOCKDOWN
For the record DIP-IN
Though Spotify’s bi-monthly podcast may be a mixed bag, bouncing from earning reports (yawn) to unpacking the metrics of K-Pop’s popularity in the Middle East (hmmm), the latest holidays-themed episode really warms the Crimbo cockles with a rare interview with the grand dame of country music and Covid-19 vaccine heroine, Dolly Parton.
From Christmas carols to Miley Cyrus to a cougar crush on baby-faced crooner Michael Bublé, as Dolly says: ‘There’s a joy in Christmas, there’s a hope.’ Better still, it’s bookended with a tracklist of classic yuletide tunes.
LENGTH: 30 mins
Death in Denmark BINGE
Based on Denmark’s truecrime podcast Danske Drabssager, this sees crime reporter Stine Bolther looking into a reallife murder case every episode, charting the journey from the discovery of the body to conviction in court.
Though bereft of modish production and cliffhanger storytelling, the compact episodes unfurl like a speedier version of The Killing thanks to its evidential insight, forensic precision and a real sense of peering behind the curtain of police investigations. Perfect for murder buffs who enjoy some intellectual meat on their true-crime bones.
LENGTH: 50 mins
transmissions: the Definitive Story BINGE
Featuring interviews with Bono, Damon Albarn and Liam Gallagher, this band biography charting the rise and fall of Joy Division, and the rise again of New Order, has official approval, meaning that not only do we get excellent narration from a star like Maxine Peake, but we also get contributions from band members Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook.
Unlike other studies, Transmissions doesn’t exploit the death of Ian Curtis – instead, it captures the vivid moments and epic achievements of the Manc group.
LENGTH: 40 mins
NatureBang DIP-IN
What might sound like a Mitchell And Webb sketch is in fact a QI-style nature show hosted by Becky Ripley and Emily Knight.
Start things off with what ants can teach us all about surviving a pandemic, and then get stuck into a back catalogue featuring love lessons from a ‘rodent the size of a satsuma’ and ‘sea-sponges and the illusion of self’. Irresistible.
LENGTH: 15 mins
Hell Cats BINGE
Hidden behind the Audible pay wall, this fictional pirate-pod raises the sails on two of history’s lesser-known sea-legged trailblazers: Anne Bonny and Mary Read.
This is a podcast project from director Kate Saxon (whose credits include Call The Midwife and Bafta-winning video game Alien: Isolation) so expect sharp production, savvy casting and a rollicking narrative – one that marries together the mayhem of life on the high seas, a passionate love affair and a tale of two women who had to disguise themselves as boys to escape a bland life on terra firma.
LENGTH: 40 mins