PODCASTS/AUDIOBOOKS
Late Fragments Various platforms, review by Yvette Huddleston
Hosted by Chloe Fox, this fascinating series returns to speak to remarkable octogenarians about their lives and careers, interviewing them about politics, sex, religion and money, topics which are always good conversation starters. In the previous series we heard from the likes of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, legendary travel writer Colin Thubron, Great British Bake Off presenter Prue Leith, inset, and actor and national treasure Miriam Margolyes. In the opening episode of this new season Fox hears from humanitarian Terry Waite, who speaks compassionately about homelessness and the cost-of-living crisis and talks of his time spending five years in solitary captivity when, as a special envoy for the then Archbishop of Canterbury, he was kidnapped in Lebanon in 1987.
Black History, for Real Various platforms, review by Yvette Huddleston
This new weekly series hosted by Franchesca Ramsey and Conscious Lee delves into the lesser-known aspects of black history, going beyond the more widely recognised figures, such as Martin Luther King, inset, who shaped black culture in the 20th century. The opening episodes focus particularly on the women of the Black Panther party, a political organisation that was part of the black liberation movement of the 1960s. They include activist Assata Shakur who, in her twenties, was accused of and convicted of murdering a state trooper, despite maintaining her innocence. Two years into her sentence, she was broken out prison and escaped to Cuba and 40 years later became the first woman to be placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list.
The Hidden 20% Various platforms, review by Yvette Huddleston
Hosted by entrepreneur Ben Branson, who was diagnosed with autism and ADHD as an adult, this series explores the creative way in which neurodivergent minds work. Branson speaks to range of guests about their experiences of living in a neurotypical world as one of the 20 per cent who are neurodivergent, with the aim of changing people’s attitudes. Guests include BBC radio presenter turned ADHD advocate Hester Grainger, who has set up neurodiversity consultancy, Perfectly Autistic. Actor Kit Harrington, inset, speaks candidly of his addiction issues and ADHD diagnosis and talks about the challenges of bringing up children as a neurodivergent parent, while author Ellie Middleton, diagnosed with autism and ADHD as an adult, discusses why so many neurodivergent women slip through the net.
Undercover: The Spy Cops BBC Sounds , review by Yvette Huddleston
In this ten-part series, journalist Andy Whittaker investigates the case of undercover police officer Mark Kennedy, AKA Mark Stone, who infiltrated a group of climate activists in Nottingham. Through that notorious case, Whittaker takes a broader look too at how undercover police operate. In the opening episode he meets activists Eleanor Fairbraida and Ronny who recount their first meeting with Stone, talks to former undercover cop Neil Woods who reveals what it was like for him during his time working undercover and how officers would build up trust in the community they were working in by forming friendships. We also hear from volunteers Pat Smith, Katie and Lisa (not her real name) who had close romantic relationships with Stone, not knowing his real identity.