The Times - UK (2021-12-18)

the times | Saturday December 18 2021 saturday review 13

Damry and Jericha Domain, created by

the comedians Julia Davis and Vicki Pep-

perdine, offer hilariously explicit, inappro-

priate, mad and unhelpful advice to their

readers’ urgent questions about their per-

sonal and sexual lives.

History

The Rest Is History

This is one of the best going. The historians

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook

chat about the past. They’re funny, knowl-

edgeable and excited. This year they’ve

covered everything from the Norse sagas

to Watergate via Alexander the Great, the

Industrial Revolution and the Beatles. It

will make you cleverer and happier.

British Scandal: The Profumo Affair

This is the best of Wondery’s British

Scandal series, which started with a

run of episodes about the murder of

the Russian dissident Alexander Lit-

vinenko. This is a jokey but gripping

retelling of one of the most salacious

episodes in British politics. Joyfully

easy, entertaining listening.

Stephen Fry’s Edwardian Secrets

A sequel to Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets,

this new series argues that the Edwardians

were more interesting and strange than

their reputation suggests. Audible shows

always come with high production values,

and this series is notable for a beautifully

written and funny script. Audible

The Presidents & Prime Ministers with

Iain Dale

Last year Iain Dale embarked on a quest to

make a podcast about every British prime

minister. It’s wonderful, informative lis-

hard to explain the appeal of this podcast

hosted by the young American comedians

Cat Cohen and Patrick Regan. Whatever

they’re doing it’s hilarious. Nominally

about “boys, sex, f***ing, dating and love”,

it’s really about whatever pops into its

millennial hosts’ heads. Cohen and Regan

are surely stars of the future.

Red Scare

Red Scare really needs a category more

complicated than humour. This caustic,

nihilistic, furiously smart and altogether

complicated show about culture and

society hosted by the anti-woke millennial

socialists Anna Khachiyan and Dasha

Nekrasova (think Mean Girls meets Marx)

has become essential listening for anyone

interested in the online “discourse”. (You

may have spotted Nekrasova pop up in the

latest series of Succession as Comfrey.)

Giles Coren Has No Idea

Giles and Esther Coren sit down at the kit-

chen table to thrash out a subject for his

latest Times column. It’s a charming prem-

ise for a hilarious and often slightly manic

show about life and everything. The un-

missable episode of the most recent series

is a discussion about internet pile-ons.

Fortunately... with Fi and Jane

Best friends and BBC stars Fi Glover and

Jane Garvey put the world to rights and

make each other laugh. The best kind of

podcast comedy. It feels as though you’re

talking to two old friends who happen to be

very funny, very well informed and very

good at talking on the radio.

Dear Joan and Jericha

The spoof local radio agony aunts Joan

News and current affairs

Chinese Whispers
Feel underinformed about the world’s
rising superpower? The Spectator’s new
podcast on China is a fascinating guide.
There are episodes on everything from
China’s relationship with drugs, the use of
facial recognition software and the pro-
spect of a war over Taiwan.

Stories of our times
The flagship podcast from The Times. Ev-
eryday hosts Manveen Rana and David
Aaronovitch dive into the most interesting
stories of the day, whether it’s the latest
Westminster drama, the trial of Ghislaine
Maxwell or the real nature of Xi Jinping.

Hacks on Tap
A well-informed podcast about the mad-
ness that is American politics. David Axel-
rod (Barack Obama’s former campaign
adviser) and Mike Murphy (a Republican
political consultant) are the jolly uncles of
US political commentary. Useful as we
approach the 2022 midterm elections.

Finding Q
One of the most entertaining (and fright-
ening) podcasts released this year. The
journalist Nicky Woolf goes in search of
the shadowy figure of “Q”, the person
behind the QAnon conspiracy theory that
claims that American elites are Satan-
worshipping paedophiles and only Donald
Trump can stop them. Woolf comes away
with some interesting answers. Audible

Society
Revisionist History
Malcolm Gladwell’s smart and thought-
provoking podcast returned this year for
another season of prodding at received
thinking. This time Gladwell (famous as
the author of Blink and Outliers) tackles
driverless cars and wonders what Disney’s
The Little Mermaid can tell us about justice
and contract law (a lot more interesting
and convincing than it sounds).

Blocked and Reported
The essential podcast about culture wars
and cancel culture hosted by the Amer-
ican journalists Jesse Singal and Katie
Herzog. Each week they run through the
latest outrages from a woke-sceptic but
thoroughly sensible perspective.

Uncanny
A great improvement on Danny Robins’s
previous paranormal show, The Battersea
Poltergeist. Uncanny follows spooky go-
ings-on (is a Belfast halls of residence
really haunted?) with humour and a
healthy dollop of science. Really good fun.

Have You Heard George’s Podcast?
The third series of the poet George Mpan-
ga’s fêted podcast puts black music at its
centre. Sonically it is impressive, layering
song, polemic, conversation and hubbub.
Plus you get to crash his wedding.

Humour
Seek Treatment
Silly, ironic, rude, banal, dumb, weird... It’s

tening (although you suspect that the epi-

sodes on Margaret Thatcher and Tony

Blair have attracted more listeners than

the one on, say, Spencer Perceval). Dale’s

project has expanded to tackle the US

presidents too. Great stuff.

Bad Women: Ripper Retold

For more than 120 years there has been

speculation about the identity of Jack the

Ripper. Yet how many can name his vic-

tims? In her award-winning The Five, the

historian Hallie Rubenhold told their bi-

ographies, riling “ripperologists”. Here she

evokes Victorian London, those women’s

tragic stories — and her own trolling.

Human Resources

Moya Lothian-McLean is the daughter of

a white British mother and a black father,

from Jamaica, descended from slaves and

overseers. Frustration at not knowing

more about her background prompts this

exploration of our country’s mixed heri-

tage and the inextricably linked histories

of modern Britain and the Caribbean.

Sex and wellbeing

Philippa Perry: Siblings in Session

The great psychotherapist Philippa Perry

has recorded a series of therapy sessions

centred on her clients’ problems and issues

with their siblings. This, Perry reckons, is

one of the most important but overlooked

relationships of our lives.It’s full of emo-

tional insight and intelligence. Audible

How’s Work: Esther Perel

The Belgian psychotherapist is a sterner

podcast presence than Philippa Perry, but

she is equally insightful. Esther Perel’s lat-

est series tackles problems at work. These

turn out to be endlessly fascinating. From

a woman struggling with her friend’s pro-

motion to an artist and a gallerist whose

professional relationship is blurring con-

fusingly into a personal one.

Operator

A fun and scandalous podcast about the

birth of the phone sex industry in the

1990s. Full of interviews with eccentrics

and some hilarious recreations of steamy

phone calls, it’s a total romp.

Welcome to Your Fantasy

Welcome to Your Fantasy was one of the

year’s most joyous shows. A true crime

mystery in the world of the Chippenda-

les male strippers deepened into an ex-

ploration of female sexuality and the

American dream.

Just One Thing

Dr Michael Mosley’s series of short

BBC podcasts about small changes

you can make to improve your life and

health is a total treat. If breathing exer-

cises, warm baths and daily walks in

nature sound like small tweaks, the

science behind them is remarkable and

convincing.

A Thorough Examination

This series argues that the obesity crisis is

caused by ultra-processed foods. Its hosts

are not only doctors, but identical twins.

One (Xand van Tulleken) is fat and the

other (Chris) is thin. No genetic twins in

the UK have more divergent weights. A

fascinating and personal exploration of

the impact of environment and genetics

on weight gain.

A friendly ear: 25 best series of 2021

James Marriott picks

the must-listens for

the Christmas holiday

podcasts

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follow the leader

Margaret Thatcher and

Ronald Reagan feature

in Iain Dale’s podcast

about prime ministers

and presidents. Below:

Philippa Perry’s series

focuses on sibling

relationships

All available on the

Apple podcasts app,

Spotify etc, unless

stated otherwise

GARY HERSHORN/REUTERS