Podcasts... from museum mysteries to Mosley’s health tips
Hosted by Katie Razzall, and recently broadcast on Radio 4, Thief at the British Museum describes how hundreds of the museum’s artefacts “went missing and were sold (on eBay!), but nobody at the institution noticed”, said Miranda Sawyer in The Observer. Although it’s true crime, the tone of the podcast is more that of an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit, with an “eccentric foreign detective” – in this case the Dutch antiquities dealer Dr Ittai Gradel, who first alerted the museum authorities to the suspected inside job. It’s a compelling and astonishing tale, with a “suspenseful orchestral soundtrack” – and makes for a “delightful” listen.
“Could this be the first podcast election?” Five years ago, when Boris Johnson battled Jeremy Corbyn, The Rest Is Politics didn’t even exist, said James Marriott in The Times. This time, a “sizeable portion of the electorate” will have spent weeks before the poll imbibing politics “with their headphones glued to their ears”. Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart’s creation remains the “king” of political podcasts, beloved by “centrist dads” all over. But there are plenty of pretenders to the throne. Politics at Jack and Sam’s, with Politico’s Jack Blanchard and Sam Coates of Sky News, is a daily 15-minute podcast focusing on electoral tactics, and a “treat for political nerds”. Political Currency, with Ed Balls and George Osborne, offers punditry and analysis. Electoral Dysfunction, featuring Beth Rigby, Ruth Davidson and Jess Phillips (though guests have replaced her during the campaign) is “down-toearth” and well-informed. And The Times’s How to Win an Election is the go-to for a humorous approach. It has Matt Chorley marshalling Daniel Finkelstein, Peter Mandelson and Polly Mackenzie. If none of these get your vote, try: The News Agents (for daily analysis), Trendy (a pollingfocused pod with John Curtice and Rachel Wolf), or newcomer Not Another One (with pundits from across the political spectrum).
Just One Thing, the late Michael Mosley’s hugely popular Radio 4 show and podcast about simple changes to improve your life and health, has long been a “favourite” for me and for people I know, said Patricia Nicol in The Sunday Times. Friends have “swapped experiences of standing on one leg while cleaning their teeth to improve balance”; the episodes on swimming are shared on my lido WhatsApp group. The show is a “model of clarity and brevity” – and on BBC Sounds there are more than a hundred episodes for you to try if you’ve never had the pleasure. “Mosley will be greatly missed as a motivational broadcaster, but his positive impact will live on.”