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" The '30 for 30' strand started life as a series of behind-the-scenes docs for the sports channel ESPN. It has now spawned an equally fascinating series of podcasts. Like the films, these podcasts don't rely on access, the usual currency of sports journalism, and are strangely excited by stories that are complicated and require telling at length. "

David Hepworth

Life

Sports

" 'Adrift With Geoff Lloyd and Annabel Port' features Absolute Radio escapee Geoff and erstwhile colleague Annabel doing something similar. All are appealing individuals with plenty to say, tentatively getting used to their new freedom to talk about anything. "

" Others may recognise their world in 'Eat Sleep Work Repeat'. This podcast is the side project of Bruce Daisley, who works at Twitter. It consists of him talking to experts about what makes us happy at work and why. "

" According to the producers of gripping podcast 'Death, Sex & Money', these are the three things we think about a lot but need to talk about more. "

" If you don't work near a water cooler and hanker for the company of fellow natural history enthusiasts, 'The Blue Planet II Podcast' has Emily Knight and Becky Ripley enthusing infectiously about and delving deeper into the most recent episode. "

" Richard Hoggart's cultural analysis 'The Uses of Literacy' was published in 1957, but its influence still hovers over anyone setting out to write seriously about people's affection for things that aren't serious, such as the products of pop culture. "

" There's only one podcast subject that can give Donald Trump a run for his money when it comes to vulgarity, excess, and base comedy, and that's football. "

" Podcast listening, much like radio listening, is largely a question of habit. And the most powerful habits are the ones that fit into our daily routine. "

" There are lots of podcasts that look at films from the audience's point of view. There are also plenty that look at it from the combatants' point of view. It's invariably the case that the less likely you are to have heard of the people talking, the more interesting they'll be. "

" The podcast by 'The Kitchen Sisters' celebrates the staggering variety of a society of immigrants via its food, from the Sheepherders' Ball in Boise, Idaho, through the favoured cuisine of Emily Dickinson to the unbelievable rituals of the great rural barbecue. "

" 'How I Built This With Guy Raz' asks entrepreneurs to tell the story of how they made their name and, in some cases, their fortune. Whether they're in the business of selling burritos or dating apps, there's inevitably something you can learn from their stories. "

" Bobby Bones is a young country DJ who does a widely syndicated morning show. He's at his best with his BobbyCast, in which he talks to Nashville up-and-comers such as Kelsea Ballerini and Lauren Alaina. Guests are encouraged to relax on Bones's couch and talk about anything they like. "

" In 'The High Low', in some respects an audio version of 'Grazia,' Pandora Sykes and Dolly Alderton wonder whether they missed something in their survey of the Harvey Weinstein story. Maybe they did, they decide. "

" The podcast 'Note to Self' is 'the tech show about being human'. Human notions of privacy have changed. "

" The neurologist calls it 'Non-REM parasomnia'. For the sufferer, it might mean rising in the middle of the night, getting your motorbike out, going for a ride, and waking in the morning with no memory of the experience. "

" 'I Was There Too' talks to people who played non-starring roles in big movies. That means the likes of comedian Jimmy Pardo, who didn't make it to the finished 'Dreamgirls.' Still, he recalls that when an actor is put on hold for a movie, he gets paid for two weeks just for sitting at home waiting to be called. "

" The 'Art of Charm' podcast can be intimidating. Not just because it's the work of a lawyer called Jordan Harbinger. Not simply because Jordan has worked out how to weaponise all the many elements of the human personality that go to make up charisma in order to get people to listen to him, be impressed by him, or hire him. "

" Jim MacLaine was the hero of Ray Connolly's 1973 movie 'That'll Be the Day', about a young man turning his back on a university education at the turn of the '60s in order to try his hand in a rock n' roll band. "

" The podcast most likely to encourage you to fully appreciate your food is the episode of BBC World Service's 'The Food Chain' in which Antonio Carluccio talks to Emily Thomas about his life in five dishes. "

" 'Bombshell' is a remarkable podcast. In the course of it, three people who know what they are talking about cover 'military strategy, White House mayhem, and the best cocktails'. "

" 'Athletico Mince' started life as a football podcast but has dropped the football, unless the latest on the state of the 'hair island' atop Steve McLaren's head is your idea of football coverage. "

" I once interviewed Anthony Burgess on the radio. I played pop records between the conversation. "

" Some of the vintage comedy on Radio 4 Extra wasn't very funny to begin with, whereas some things just get funnier regardless of the changes in public attitudes over the years. "

" Lucy Kellaway's columns in the 'Financial Times' lend themselves to podcasts because they usually consist of her giving a brisk ticking off to some CEO or subversively wondering whether we're really as busy as we pretend we are. "

" If you listen to 'Pod Save America', which is run by former Obama staffers and Democratic party partisans, you'll be exposed to ads for home delivery of everything from gourmet meals to underwear, presumably in the belief that you're too busy being fabulous to go near a shop. "

" Half the battle with successful podcasts is in the naming; here, the big media owners have a lot to learn from the smaller operators. "

" I don't think most rock stars are particularly calculating. I don't think they sit there and think, 'I will do this; therefore, on Monday, I will sell another 200,000 records'. "

" Fortunately... 'With Fi and Jane' features BBC veterans Fi Glover and Jane Garvey sitting in the BBC cafe, nattering about whatever interests them. "

" British podcasts tend to shamefacedly shuffle the ads towards the end. Americans put them up front and promote them enthusiastically. I think the Americans have it right. "

David Hepworth

End

British

" If, like me, you've never watched 'Game of Thrones', the podcast 'Binge Mode: 'Game of Thrones'' ought to be unlistenable. It isn't, thanks to the energy of the two expert presenters Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion, who have the wit to laugh at their own deep-dive devotion and are helped out by some smart editing. "

David Hepworth

Energy

Game