9 Podcasts You Should Be Listening To
At Wooden Overcoats HQ (which is shaped like a big coffin… but a nice one), we’re all about podcasts. Here are some of our favourites.
1. Gods of Comedy
Comedians talk religion! Hosted by London-based Australian comedians Bec Hill and Brydie Lee-Kennedy (you might know Brydie from her column for SBS). Gods of Comedy hosts active and exciting fringe-to-mainstream acts to discuss a very specific subject. Bec and Brydie are excellent interviewers with a real personal investment in the show.
2. Worst Idea of All Time
New Zealanders Guy Montgomery and Tim Batt spent a year watching Grown Ups 2 once a week. 52 weeks in, they switched to Sex and the City 2. Rather than taking a snarky critical view of pop culture and slagging off inept films, TV or games, it poses an unrealistic challenge to our two heroes and conveys their slow mental breakdown.
3. I Was There Too
From Wolfpop. Matt Gourley (Superego, Spontaneanation, etc.), hosts a show where the lesser-known actors featured in well-known films (eg. Phil LaMarr in Pulp Fiction, Stephen Tobolowsky inGroundhog Day) discuss their careers and experiences making those films. An episode to watch out for features the woman who pushed the baby carriage which falls down the train station staircase inThe Untouchables; she now works as a teacher and has an entirely different life to talk about but vividly remembers and enjoys discussing her acting career.
4. Rosie and Jessica’s Day of Fun
Rosie and Jessica are sisters. Rosie and Jessica are podcasters. Rosie and Jessica are hobbyists, adventurers, foodies, listers, and two of the most charming and listen-to-able hosts in podcasting. Highly recommended.
5. Beef and Dairy Network
It’s a testament to the prevalence of non-fiction podcasts that this is the only fiction one on our list. However, it’s fantastic. Miranda Sawyer said so in The Guardian. The apparent Beef and Dairy Network takes a wry look at niche interest media through the lens of cattle farming. The interviews, adverts, hosting are all played completely straight with a sense of humour so dry, you’ll need a glass of lovely dairy to accompany it.
6. FF1S
We love podcasting for its breadth of topics and ability to bring enthusiasts together to present their knowledge. In For Formula 1′s Sake, Terry Saunders, Cheeka Eyers and Phill Tromans discuss the latest news in F1. Don’t be daunted, none of us on Team Overcoats know anything about the sport but Terry, Cheeka and Phill’s own enthusiasm and humour carry us along every episode.
7. The Z List Dead List
A lot of people have died. Trust us, we’re undertakers. But who affected history without making the textbooks? Comedian Iszi Lawrence interviews a different expert every week in these live shows. If you subscribe to Stuff You Missed in History Class, this is required listening.
8. Judge John Hodgman
Perhaps the biggest name on our list but here with good reason. If you’ve not yet subscribed to His Honour (and bailiff Jessie Thorn), drop what you’re doing and head straight to court. Every week, a new dispute is resolved via Skype. While it’s first and foremost funny, the show manages to throw in a lot of wisdom, often with touching results.
9. Do the Right Thing
Podcasts and radio are moving ever closer together and we’re seeing more radio formats turn up in the podcast world. Five seasons in, Do The Right Thing is a brilliant panel show hosted by Danielle Ward, with regular panelists Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Michael Legge. In each episode, contestants work their way through increasingly difficult hypothetical situations to find where their “right” answer lies.
