Podcasts I Love

I've fallen hard for podcasts. Me and everyone else, I know, but until last year the only podcasts I ever regularly listened to were a couple of Australian radio shows (one day I might explain this niche interest but that is a conversation for a different blog post) and now I have officially branched out into the wonderful wide world of podcasts and found some that I love so much I just need to talk about them.

Dear Hank & John

In Dear Hank & John Hank and John Green, aka the Vlogbrothers, take questions from listeners and do their best to answer with dubious advice, and, at the end of each episode, share the weekly news from Mars and AFC Wimbledon. I've been a fan of the Vlogbrothers and of John's books for a very long time and, although I haven't watched their videos as regularly as I used to over the past couple of years, my favourite videos were always the ones where both brothers were together, so for me this podcast is an excellent development and a joy to listen to each week.

The Bestseller Experiment

In The Bestseller Experiment Mark Stay and Mark Desvaux attempt to write and publish a bestselling novel in just one year, interviewing a plethora of publishing industry professionals, from writers to editors to copyright lawyers and everyone in between, along the way. The two Marks have spoken with professionals from almost every aspect of the publishing industry to try and figure out how to make a book into a bestseller and, although my favourites are usually the episodes where they talk to authors, there has yet to be a single interview that I haven't found fascinating to listen to.

Buffering the Vampire Slayer

In Buffering the Vampire Slayer (the newest addition to my subscription feed) married couple Kristin Russo and Jenny Owen Youngs discuss each episode of the wonderful Joss Whedon show we all know and love, one by one, closing each episode of the podcast with a song written and performed by the duo recapping that week's Buffy episode. It's adorable. I love when other people geek out over things I enjoy and Kristin and Jenny are a delight to listen to. Even though I am not yet caught up with all of the episodes so far I still feel pretty confident in declaring this one a new favourite. Even if it is desperately making me want to abandon all else and just spend my days re-watching the entirety of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Witch, Please

In Witch, Please self-described lady scholars Hannah McGregor and Marcelle Kosman (sometimes joined by guy with a film degree, Neale Barnholden) discuss the Harry Potter books, movies, and everything else related to J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World through an academic and decidedly feminist lens. Again, this is a great one for listening to people geek out about something I love. Although Hannah and Marcelle are quite critical of J.K. Rowling's work, it all comes from a place of genuine love and appreciation of the Harry Potter world and as an English Literature graduate and life-long Harry Potter obsessor, this podcast was kind of made for me.

My Dad Wrote a Porno

In My Dad Wrote a Porno, Jamie Morton reads aloud a chapter each week of his dad's self-published erotic novel series, Belinda Blinked, while his friends Alice Levine and James Cooper listen and react, generally with delight and dismay in equal measure. My Dad Wrote a Porno is, without doubt, the funniest podcast I have ever listened to and I think I've yet to make it through a single episode without laughing out loud. I mean, I really don't know what else to say about it. It is just belly-laughingly funny. Please, if you've heard of it and been on the fence, just listen to the first episode. You won't regret it.

S-Town

In S-Town, Brian Reed embarks on an investigation into a murder that is rumoured to have occurred and been covered up, at the behest of a man called John B who describes his home in Alabama as a corrupted 'Shit-Town'. I think this podcast is best listened to without really knowing any other information so I'm going to leave my description right there and just beg you to go and download every episode right now, then come back and talk to me about it when you've finished because I am desperate to talk about it! It's the first time I've experienced a podcast being used to tell a narrative in this way and to me it just felt so immersive and innovative. I haven't listened to Serial yet but after becoming so thoroughly hooked by S-Town, it is absolutely next on my list.

If you have any suggestions of other podcasts you think I might like based on this list then please let me know in the comments! I am well and truly on the podcast bandwagon now and always on the lookout for more.

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