10 Podcasts To Listen To This Month
Diary Of A CEO With Steven Bartlett
Before he became CEO of marketing company Social Chain, Steven Bartlett was overdrawn, living on the poverty line and a university dropout. After years of hard work and entrepreneurial spirit, he became the youngest ever investor on Dragons’ Den and now hosts his own podcast to interview people from a variety of backgrounds. From tech entrepreneurs of multi-million-pound companies, to celebrities who’ve grafted their way to the top, each has a unique story to tell. Since hitting the airwaves last year, Steven’s interviewed the likes of influencer Patricia Bright, rapper Professor Green, and author and broadcaster Elizabeth Day.
Episode Highlight: Patricia Bright: How She Made Her Millions
One of the UK’s first influencers, Patricia Bright’s lifestyle content and relatable persona have helped her amass more than a million followers on Instagram. Over the last decade, they’ve seen Patricia get married, have two children, and build an impressive multimillion-pound empire. In this episode, she talks about feeling out of place growing up, being a woman in the spotlight on social media, why more women should be investing, and what it’s like working alongside her husband. She also talks about dealing with a cyber stalker who spent two years bombarding her and her family with abuse. A fascinating listen.
Listen here
Hooked
Apple TV’s new podcast explores the true story of Tony Hathaway, whose addiction to legally prescribed opioids led him to spiral from a respectable job to becoming one of the most prolific bank robbers in American history. He robbed 30 banks in a single year, all within a 30-mile radius of his suburban home. But before he was a masterful bank robber, fooling police departments and the FBI, he was a design engineer at Boeing. Based on three years of conversations between Hathaway and journalist Josh Dean, Hooked is a fascinating true-crime story.
Episode Highlight: How Not To Rob A Bank
In a previous episode, we hear how Tony’s son, Conner, finds his father’s drugs and starts taking heroin. Weeks later, the two are out of money, cigarettes and drugs, so they decide to rob a Seattle bank to fund their addiction. Spoiler alert: they get caught. But it’s Conner who pays the price and ends up in jail – dealing with intense drug withdrawals on his own.
Listen here
Harsh Reality: The Story of Miriam Rivera
Hosted by American actor Trace Lysette, Harsh Reality is a true crime podcast about a 2004 reality TV show that went wrong. There's Something About Miriam had a simple premise: six hot guys enter a villa in Ibiza to compete for the love of the beautiful and mysterious Miriam, and a cash prize. Miriam was a 21-year-old Mexican model – the show was supposed to be her big break. But the TV producers had different ideas, instead outing Miriam as transgender and surprising the contestants. In this unbelievable story, we hear how one woman was demonised by the British press, which ultimately led to her tragic death.
Episode Highlight: Outlaw Superstar
In the second episode of the series, we learn more about Miriam Rivera – how she crossed dangerous borders to build a better life for herself in the UK, triumphed in the ballroom scene, and made it as a ‘Speed Angel’ in the LGTBQ+ community. Providing important context for the rest of the series, we learn why Miriam desperately wanted to become a star and household name.
Listen here
When Diana Met…
There have been countless podcasts dedicated to Princess Diana’s life, but we were intrigued to listen to this new series from CNN which details her most notable meetings with public figures, politicians and celebrities, revealing truths and misunderstandings about her life as the Princess of Wales. Host Aminatou Sow looks at a series of high-profile people the Princess was connected to and what each relationship teaches us about power, gender and control.
Episode Highlight: Hair Stylist, Sam McKnight
Sam McKnight was a hair stylist for Vogue when he met Princess Diana during her cover shoot in the 90s. Taking Diana from a voluminous 80s haircut to a modern pixie crop, it marked a new era for her personal style. From there, the two worked together for several years and became close friends. In this episode, Sam discusses meeting Diana for the first time, becoming her confidant, and what he misses the most about her.
Listen here
Bad Blood: The Final Chapter
If you’ve been tuning into regular updates on The Dropout podcast, add this series to your library. Bad Blood: The Final Chapter focuses on the downfall of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the blood-testing start-up Theranos. Holmes, who was recently convicted of fraud, lied to investors, doctors, colleagues and even sick patients about the capabilities of her technology. In a nutshell: the technology didn’t work. Currently awaiting sentence, she faces up to 20 years in prison. This podcast takes listeners into the courtroom to examine the intricacies of one of Silicon Valley’s – and America’s – biggest scandals.
Episode Highlight: This Week in Court #10: Prosecutors Make a Big Mistake
With hundreds of documents, strong witness testimonies and damning evidence from every angle, convicting Elizabeth Holmes sounds like an easy task on paper, but during the tenth week of court proceedings, prosecutors make several mistakes. Host John Carreyrou and reporter Emily Saul discuss a big blunder that Holmes’s defence team jump on, one falsified pharmaceutical report, and the estate attorney who connected several billionaire families to Theranos.
Listen here
Media Storm
Hosted by journalists Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia, Media Storm is a different kind of news podcast that gives a voice to the people who don’t usually get a chance to tell their side of the story. ‘Migrants’, ‘criminals’, and ‘sex workers’ are often in the headlines, but we rarely hear from them directly. This podcast provides a space for minority groups to exert their right to reply, shedding new light on old stories, and debunking common misconceptions from clickbait headlines.
Episode Highlight: Pandemic Of Hate: We Need To Talk About Anti-Asian Abuse, With Zing Tsjeng & Hussein Kesvani
With reports that anti-Asian hate speech surged 1,662% during the pandemic, and rising levels of hate crimes against Asian people in the UK, Mathilda and Helena interview some of the people affected. They’re joined by Vice UK editor Zing Tsjeng and podcaster Hussein Kesvani to discuss how the mainstream media reports crimes of Asian hate, the representation of Asian people on TV, and racism within the world of professional athletes.
Listen here
The Hundamental Guide To Life
Need some light relief? Instagram ‘hun account’ (dedicated to sharing camp UK celebrity memes and culture) has launched a podcast. Presenter Gareth Howells – the brains behind the account – welcomes a different guest each week to talk all things ‘huns’, from ‘hunlingo’ to what makes a ‘Royal Hun’ – such as Bimini Bon Boulash from season two of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Expect to hear from soap stars, TV personalities and drag queens.
Episode Highlight: Susie Amy & Zöe Lucker
Susie Amy and Zöe Lucker played spoiled and outrageous WAGs Chardonnay Pascoe and Tanya Turner in the iconic TV show Footballers’ Wives. As well as being on-screen BFFs, the two are close friends in real life. Sharing hilarious anecdotes from the series and their favourite moments filming over the years, this episode is a nostalgic trip back to the early noughties.
Listen here
As the Season Turns
Nature writer Lia Leendertz releases a new episode of this podcast at the start of each month to guide listeners on what to look out for in the month ahead, from seasonal produce to flora and fauna. Episodes are around 20 minutes long, and there are already 24 to listen to, so there’s plenty to catch up on ahead of the new episode next month. We recommend listening at bedtime – Lia’s voice is very soothing.
Episode Highlight: January
In the first episode of 2022, Lia takes listeners through a field to learn about the English oak – which supports more life than any other tree species native to the UK. You’ll also hear about the intricacies of beehives, which teem with life during the winter months, what robins are up to in the trees, and how the humpback whale starts its epic migration.
Listen here
Reclaimed & Rewritten
Reclaimed & Rewritten is a new podcast by gal-dem magazine which shines light on overshadowed events in history. In this first series, writer Clarkisha Kent tells the story of Oklahoma’s Tulsa massacre in 1921. Before the state-supported massacre, Deep Greenwood was a thriving Black community of economic success, until it became the target of white supremacist rage and envy. This podcast tells the story of what actually happened. A harrowing but important listen.
Episode Highlight: What We Think We Know
In episode two, Clarkisha unpacks the story of Dick Rowland, an African-American shoeshine boy whose story is cited as the so-called trigger for the Tulsa massacre. Deep Greenwood was a town with thriving trade links, good education and a strong community spirit, so why was it destroyed so barbarically?
Listen here
Ghost Writer
This dramatised podcast comes in the form of a one-off 90-minute psychological thriller about a former journalist (Kate Mara) who reluctantly accepts a job ghost-writing a murder mystery novel for an eccentric billionaire (Adam Scott). As they collaborate on the project, questions – and suspicions – begin to arise. Is the story fictional or are elements shockingly close to the truth?
Listen here
DISCLAIMER: We endeavour to always credit the correct original source of every image we use. If you think a credit may be incorrect, please contact us at info@sheerluxe.com.