picks of the week
countered terrorism
Audible, weekly episodes starting today
The verdict on David Harewood’s portrayal of the anti-terrorists in Homeland and Spooks? “It oversimplifies reality,” according to the actor himself in this behind-the-scenes look at frustrated terrorist plots. As FBI agents take him inside the disruption of an Islamic terror cell and ex-IRA members discuss their attempt to bomb London’s power stations, the seriousness of Harewood’s narration adds even more drama to the stories. of the. alexi duggins
Pop Culture with Chanté Joseph
Widely available, weekly episodes
The Guardian’s insightful and chatty podcast on the hottest weekly topics in the world of pop culture returns for a second series. It’s the same interesting and informative look everyone’s talking about, with its first episode asking, “Have movie awards gotten a little trashy and stale?” Lots of irreverent fun. ADVERTISEMENT
Easter
Widely available, weekly episodes
“Grief can have a way of distorting the historical lens, trapping us in a moment,” says Atlantic’s Vann R Newkirk II. That’s why his podcast about the week of riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King is so important. Newkirk gives a strong flavor of 1968 mood, followed by despair and rage. hannah verdier
900 degrees
Widely available, weekly episodes
Fifty-six people died in a fire at Bradford City’s football stadium in 1985, but the aftermath of the tragedy left many questions unanswered. In this moving and powerful podcast, journalist Mobeen Azhar tells the story, with eyewitnesses describing how the joyful carnival atmosphere of the season finale against Lincoln City turned into horrific scenes. high voltage
Time with Mr. Reed
All episodes widely available now
How far would you go for the chance to have a baby? When Reed Domingo racked up a quarter of a million dollars in IVF bills, he decided to rob 12 banks in San Diego. “I did it all for love,” says the boarding-school-educated Englishman turned unlikely anti-hero, telling the delightfully twisted story in his own words. high voltage
There’s a podcast for that.
With 2000s New York indie music retrospective Meet Me In The Bathroom in theaters this week, Tara Joshi selects Five of the Best Podcasts for Indie Music Fansfrom Kate Nash on the rise of the Arctic Monkeys to guide the “indie dump”.
Arctic Monkeys: Believe the hype
A series hosted by Kate Nash on Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, the 2006 debut album from the biggest British band to emerge from the indie days of the early 2000s, sounds like a Myspace kid’s wet dream. While it certainly could be a bit meatier (each episode is around 15 minutes long), it offers a warm and informative trip down memory lane. Nash does a fine job of weaving together the story of four Sheffield lads propelled reluctantly to stardom, with shocking archival audio and interviews from the likes of Jo Whiley, then NME editor Conor McNicholas, and Sam Fender, all reminiscing about those heady . days of discos, alcopops and kebabs.
Up The Bracket: 20 years of The Libertines
Two decades after the debut album from the chaotic London band that seemed to be the UK’s answer to The Strokes (despite them having been around longer, the Libs were only considered a viable prospect by record labels after seeing success of the New York band), The Libertines have produced a miniseries about their beginnings. Hosted by DJ Sunta Templeton, the series would perhaps have benefited from some more dynamic editing: each episode is a one-on-one, often somewhat rambling interview with a band member, journalist or writer. Still, it’s worth it for the funny moments, like when the band reminisce about their first impressions of each other, and their poignant, often harrowing reflections on fame.
XS Long Player: Classic Independent Albums
In another interview-based series, this time from Manchester radio station XS, presenter Jim Salveson goes into the granular details of what he considers to be classic indie rock albums with the people behind them. Perhaps revelatory of the times, he leans heavily towards conversations with men, be it the artists themselves or the people in the studio; plus, he raises the perennial question of what we even define as “indie” (Travis comes across somewhat incongruously). Still, there’s plenty to enjoy for those who want to listen, for example Alex Kapranos talking a lot about Franz Ferdinand’s debut, or producer Gordon Raphael talking about the extraordinary experience of making The Strokes’ Is This It.
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indiecast
It’s understandable that this weekly show from music critics Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen (known for their work for American publications like Stereogum and Pitchfork) has a more North American bias. While their tongue-in-cheek conversations technically focus on contemporary indie music, there’s also plenty of musing and thoughtful discourse on older works. That means deep dives into Japandroids 10th Anniversary Celebration Rock, Oasis Chat, and an episode dedicated to all the great albums that came out in 2002. of indie music, and current music in general, as well as those looking for the fuzzy 2000s nostalgia.
garbagefuture
Britainology 21: Landfill Indie is certainly just one episode in the spin-off series of left-wing comedy podcast Trashfuture, explaining British cultural niches (other episodes explore such important artifacts as Skins, Christmas pantomime and dogging), but as an introduction to a singularly embarrassing but amazing time for british music, it’s a must-listen. Bringing in Spector’s Fred Macpherson (formerly in bands like Les Incompétents and Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man) and journalist Oscar Rickett, the group discuss that early 2000s era of UK youth culture. where NME and Myspace dominated, covering post-9/11 music, dubious record label practices and, of course, the unfortunate rise of too-tight skinny jeans.
Why not try…
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A case of mistaken identity, or could it be something far more sinister? – in i’m not nicholas.
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The incredible true-life story of a daring art theft in Cambodia, in dug dynamite.
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Guardian gardening columnist Alice Vincent meets up with other green-fingered friends at why do women grow.
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