What’s new to listen to
Ximena Smith rounds up the best of recent podcasts.
The Coldest Case In Laramie
This eight-part limited series from Serial Productions and The New York Time follows Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Kim Barker as she investigates an almost 40-year-old cold case in her hometown of Laramie, Wyoming. Barker was a high school student when 22-year-old Shelli Wiley was the victim of a grisly murder in her own apartment. The brutality of the unsolved case has long played on Barker’s mind, so in 2021, she decided to take a look. The series is a slow-burn, with earlier episodes laying the necessary groundwork – particularly during some of the long, low-quality clips of archival audio, which required a certain degree of concentration – but in the end, its shocking revelations made the show’s gradual, methodical build-up a worthwhile listen. All episodes widely available.
The News Agents
Global Media & Entertainment’s The News Agents is arguably the pick of the crop of daily news podcasts, drawing on the heavyweight journalistic chops of its three hosts (former BBC North American editor Jon Sopel, former BBC Newsnight anchor Emily Maitlis and former Sky News political correspondent Lewis Goodall) to deliver compelling, incisive and often humorous interviews and analysis of the big stories of the day. While the format changes subtly from episode to episode, each edition generally begins with the hosts discussing a big, recent current affairs story before bringing in an authoritative outside voice for an interview. Comparisons to The New York Times’ podcast The Daily are inevitable, and while it lacks The Daily’s vast newsroom resources, the hosts’ experience and chemistry fill the void admirably. It also features a broader cross-section of guests: journalists, of course, but also lengthy sit-downs with politicians and other luminaries (comedian Joe Lycett, chef Nigella Lawson and writer Armando Iannucci). The podcast is understandably dominated by UK-centric political stories, but the trio – Goodall in particular – take pains to provide context, both in the prologue and in their rich, wellresearched questions. New episodes released Tuesday-through-Saturday NZ time on all major podcast platforms.
Untidy
Media personality
Matilda Green and children’s author
Hannah Davison host this Kiwi series about the messy complexities of parenthood.
Alongside a different guest every episode,
Green and Davison plunge into thorny parenthood topics, such as postpartum sex and intimacy, reclaiming your identy after having children – and more. Green and Davison are podcast rookies but with the production help of the experienced team at Popsock Media, each episode is noticeably slick (save for a few slightly clunky musical interludes). Usually stories about traumatic childbirths and baby poo stains act as a strong reminder to non-parents of how they don’t feel ready for parenthood. But the genuineness, vulnerability and humour that Green and Davison bring to each episode make the prospect of parenting a little less scary and would be a comfort to both new and old parents alike. New episodes every Tuesday.