Podcasts are more popular than ever before – the problem is, where do you start when it comes to diving in?
Throughout the year, we spoke to numerous musicians and asked them to recommend their favourite podcasts to us.
The best part is that not all of these are music-related pods, so there's a good spread of genres in the mix.
Go forth and listen!
ZARA LARSSON: “I probably listen more to podcasts than music actually, funny enough. I like Freakonomics Radio. I'm not that into economics, but it got me very interested in how economics and the human brain works.”
JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW: “Reply All. All the stories on it are related to weird and kind of crazy stuff emanating from the internet and internet culture. Some of it will genuinely make your brain melt. I would recommend the episode called "Negative Mount Pleasant" as a good starting point - it's WILD.”
JOY CROOKES: “The Blindboy Podcast, because he is a genius and you will be hooked.”
TOM GRENNAN: “Peter Crouch's podcast. You should subscribe to it because it's probably one of the funniest podcasts that's out there at the moment and has been for a very long time. It's ledge!”
JAFARIS: “WYHA? Podcast, which is a black Irish podcast that covers topics on the Irish creative scene, as well as cultural topics and current events. Aired on all platforms - but I recommend watching it on YouTube.”
NEALO: “Tony Cantwell's Hit Show. The greatest Irish podcast of all time.”
JOSEF SALVAT: “Just started listening to a new one called ‘True Spies’ (each episode about real life spies, for example Valerie Plame and the sorts of skills they developed and the sorts of hijinks they got up to) and was legitimately not bored once - but my safe bet is ‘Seriously…’ from BBC4 which is an episode a week about a new interesting topic and almost always delivers the goods and has a huge back catalogue to plumb.”
BITCH FALCON: “I’d say Tony Cantwell, as it’s the only one I listen to because the sound of my intrusive thoughts are quite loud.”
THE ZEN ARCADE: 'We recommend our own podcast ‘Higher Fidelity’, (named after the novel by Nick Hornby). The segments include ‘Guilty Hatreds’ (bands you feel bad about not liking), ‘Never Mind The Fuzzbox’ (essentially the Intros Round from Never Mind The Buzzcocks, but we rig up the mic through a fuzz pedal first for extra spicy confusion) and ‘Yours Mine and Archive’ where we unearth rightly unused and thankfully forgotten demos. We pad out the rest with live performances, guests and endless re-appraisals of Spider-Man 3.”
PETER BRODERICK: “Aesthetically I love the Duncan Trussell Family Hour... crazy dude does all kind of wacky sonic experiments, along with mind expanding interviews with all kinds of brilliant weirdos. And if you’re interested in foraging and wild foods, I highly recommend the WildFed Podcast.”
OH WONDER: "We always get our incredible designer Casey Roarty to recommend podcasts. We've just downloaded his suggestion of 'Broken Record' for tour. Also, if you've somehow managed to miss it, Season 1 of Serial remains the most gripping podcast of all time."
ROYAL YELLOW: “Song Exploder. It's a window into how people write songs. It really demystifies the process and shows how we're all clumsy and imperfect.”
WELSHY: “I absolutely love The 2 Johnnies podcast. If you’re Irish and have even the tiniest interest in the GAA, this podcast will leave you in tears.”
AIMEE: “Pretty Big Deal - Ashley Graham. It is a great podcast about inspiring women and how they overcame their individual struggles to become successful as a woman.”
LAURA ELIZABETH HUGHES: “I’ve been listening to David McWilliams' podcast (out every Tuesday) for the last while. Explaining the human side of what’s gonna happen to the economy during and after this whole weird crisis in the most conversational, accessible way… I highly recommend it!”
BLOSSOMS: “Blossoms pubcast!”
NEW HOPE CLUB: “We like the three guys known as Aunty Donna. They are very silly, and their podcast is probably the least structured thing I’ve ever listened to, but it gives us a good laugh.”
GREG TISDALL: “I'm a big fan of politics podcasts, like Chapo Trap House. They talk about what's going on while also keeping it pretty funny.”
FIA MOON: “Caggie Dunlop's Saturn Returns - I only literally just discovered it the other day. I've gotten quite into astrology since lockdown but I've found the topics she touches on really honest and relatable.”
ELM: “I’m Grand Mam’ - as we have moved to the big smoke of LDN to become the true sensations we’re born to be, we relate too much to this podcast of two queer Irish Londoners navigating life in London. G A A A S S S S.”
TRUE TIDES: “I absolutely love the podcast “Hanging Out With Audiophiles” by Jamie Lidell. A performer and producer himself, he interviews some of the biggest producers and writers around and always gets great stories and insights from them.”
FLYNN: “I’ve been listening to Blindboy's podcast a lot lately, He has a great outlook on life and touches on mental health a lot. He articulates himself brilliantly, and doesn’t take it all too seriously. Definitely worth a listen.”
