When I am doing manual work … in the garden, in the kitchen, in the shed … I like to listen to podcasts. The challenge is finding good ones. Bad ones outnumber the good by at least ten to one. Plus, the barrier to entry is so low that everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.
Caroline Crampton’s newsletter The Listener provides a valuable, and free, curation service. Every few weeks it shows up it my Inbox. I scan through and put whatever looks interesting on my phone. Then, whenever, I listen to the recommended episode and decide whether or not to subscribe. Most of the time the answer is no, but there’s the occasional nugget that makes it all worthwhile.
There’s a paid version, too, but my needs are well met by the free. Thank you, Caroline!
| THE LISTENER |
| Score, Car, Fan |
| BY CAROLINE CRAMPTON – VIEW ONLINE → |
| This is the occasional free edition of the Listener Newsletter, but they also have a paid version that provides three outstanding recommendations every day. Episode: “Closing Credit Music | Podcast: Mark Kermode’s Celluloid Jukebox | 19m55s Series from 2017 exploring the relationship between pop music and movies. This episode is about film credits and the music that has been chosen down the years to play while the text scrolls up the screen and people start shuffling out of the cinema. It’s hosted by film critic Mark Kermode with lots of music clips played in between his commentary. Among the many bits of trivia that Kermode resurfaces here is the fact that Doris Day declined to be featured on the soundtrack to Heathers because the film contained profanity (19m55s)Road Trip Episode: “Victor And Alma” | Podcast: Driving the Green Book | 25m17s Documentary series about the Green Book, an annual motoring guide published in America between 1936 to 1966 as an aid to Black travellers navigating segregation and racial discrimination on the road in the era of the Jim Crow laws. As well as general safety advice, the volumes included the details of hotels, restaurants and gas stations that were willing to serve Black motorists. This episode is about Victor and Alma Green, the creators of the book, and sees the hosts visit the project’s archive in Harlem, New York (25m17s)If you also need some help finding the best articles around the web to read, consider signing up for The Listener’s sister publication The Browser. Get five captivating reads chosen by editor Robert Cottrell in your inbox every day by signing up here.Going Live Episode: “Flava Flav, Spencer Pratt & Debbie Gibson” | Podcast: Talk Ain’t Cheap | 47m49s Conversational podcast analyzing the content offered on the Cameo app, a platform on which fans can pay celebrities to make short personalized videos. It surged in popularity after Covid-19 shut down live sports, live music and film and TV production, with personalities seeking to replace their income or donate to charity while observing quarantine rules. The hosts here focus on who is offering good value for money in this new marketplace and which personalities are overpriced. An insight into a strange new world (47m49s) Get three outstanding podcast recommendations to intrigue and excite you, as an email newsletter and directly in your favorite podcast app, every single day:Join the Listener |