PODCASTS/AUDIOBOOKS
Poet Laureate in the Arctic BBC Sounds, review by Yvette Huddleston
Poet Laureate Simon Armitage leaves behind his writing shed in West Yorkshire to embark on an Arctic adventure for this new series. As a nature poet and a geography graduate, upon his announcement as Laureate in 2019, Armitage made a pledge to put the environment at the centre of his thinking in the role. Here he travels to the Arctic to see for himself the impact of climate change – and what he finds is shocking but sadly not surprising. He begins with a visit to the Steindalsbreen glacier, with biochemist Prof Jemma Wadham as his guide, to witness the devastating effects of global warming. In the poems Armitage writes in response, he attempts to capture both the majesty and the vulnerability of the place.
Building Soul BBC Sounds, review by Yvette Huddleston
In this new series, architect Thomas Heatherwick poses the question ‘when and why did our buildings become so boring?’ He argues that by simply walking around some of our oldest cities it is easy to see that this wasn’t always the case. He then explores the origins of the ‘sameness’ that he feels can be seen in modern architecture and looks at ways in which we can create buildings that have soul and which enrich the lives of the people living or working in them. Suffice to say that Heatherwick is not a big fan of renowned 20th century French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier, one of the pioneers of Modernism, a movement which Heatherwick argues still has far too much influence on architecture today.
Out to Lunch with Ade Edmonson Various platforms, review by Yvette Huddleston
Ade Edmonson takes over as host of this hugely popular series in which celebrity guests are taken out to a lovely café or restaurant for a chat over lunch. Edmonson is perfect for the job – kind, witty, a good listener, he coaxes some interesting anecdotes from his guests as they enjoy a delicious meal. In the opening episode he lunches with Grammy-nominated singer songwriter and rock icon Chrissie Hynde who chats to him about her favourite lyrics of all time and the time she appeared on the hit sitcom Friends and fills him in on the new Pretenders album Relentless. Other guests lined up for a seat at the table include crime author Ian Rankin, actor and writer Daisy Haggard and comedian Ed Byrne.
Wonderbox Various platforms, review by Yvette Huddleston
Comedian and broadcaster Russell Howard has launched a new podcast series which is a sort of counterpart to the long-running BBC Radio 4 Room 101 in which guests place items they dislike into the fictional Room 101. Here Howard invites his celebrity guests to select treasured items to be put into a Wonderbox, described as ‘a place where you keep little reminders of what makes life worth living.’
The series kicks off with a double episode in which Howard chats to singer songwriter Sam Ryder, who reveals his love for Formula 1, and actor and comedian Munya Chawawa who speaks of his fondness for video game Streets of Rage. Future guests include Jimmy Carr, Jack Whitehall, Rachel Parris, Greg Davies and John Oliver.