THE OLD TESTAMENT - Classic Episodes From The Podcast Archives

With the stars of Pod Save The UK gracing our cover it felt only right to give a shout out to it's sister show and inspiration. Pod Save America offers an irreverent view of US politics from former White House aides Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor and Jon Favreau. Their inside knowledge and list of contacts not only produce incomparible insight, it also led to them hosting Barack Obama for his last interview as sitting President. What followed was a refreshingly candid and human conversation.

Journalists Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale explore how reality TV has shaped our lives and the ethical questions raised by the format. Episode one spotlights Big Brother, the behemoth that began as a fly on the wall social experiment before quickly becoming shrouded in controversy. The episode focuses on some of BB's breakout stars like Nasty Nick and Jade Goody, while also examining it's creative treatment of actuality and the alleged manipulation of both it's house mates and it's audience.

Scroobius Pip hasn't missed a week since starting his podcast back in 2014, recently reaching 500 episodes. While chats with the likes of Michael Fassbender, Mary J Blige or Stephen Fry may stand out, it's so often the conversations with previously unknown personalities that make Distraction Pieces so engaging. This Refugee Week Special showed early on how adept an interviewer Pip had become as he spoke to Ramelle, a refugee forced to leave her native country then seek asylum in the UK.

Cariad Lloyd's Griefcast has been discussing death and how we deal with it since 2016, back when open conversations about grief were far less frequent than they are now. Her outwardly warm and sensitive approach allows guests to comfortably tell their stories at their own pace, as this episode with Rev Richard Coles demonstrates. Richard discusses the loss of his partner David to alcohol addiction and the difficulties of attempting to process things during a global pandemic and national lockdown.

What’s the connection between certain women - from Lady Gaga to the Queen Mum - and queer society? DJ and LGBT activist Alice Beverton-Palmer, explores the Dorothy in the ‘friends of Dorothy’ phrase by speaking to a variety of guests from famous names to unsung heroes. Dr Fern Riddell is a historian, podcaster and author who reveals that British people in the past weren’t necessarily as narrow minded about sex, sexuality, and gender as you might think.

Prepare yourself for a hugely emotional listen as Stacey Soloman discusses what it means to be a new Mum on her unapologetically honest podcast, Here We Go Again. In this episode Stacey speaks to close friend Nadia Sawalha about the fear and desperation felt in those early days and even shares voice notes sent to Nadia in the hours after birth. A truly heart warming listen that showcases the importance of friendship and family support for any new parent.

David Weinberg presents a collection of conversations recorded in Los Angeles on Friday nights across many years. The episode forms a portrait of a bustling city and it's people, from teenagers prepping for prom night, to window cleaners who dreamt of making it in stand up to poets, activists and delivery drivers. A wonderful collage of audio that evokes the buzz of city life and became even more impactful as most listeners were confined to their homes when it was released.